Wednesday July 14, 2010

Clemson's Steinbrenner

Clemson’s Steinbrenner
Yesterday was a sad day for all Yankee fans as we lost our leader George Steinbrenner. Like all of us, Steinbrenner had flaws and was by no means a perfect man. However, Steinbrenner had a lot of very appealing traits that helped make him a seven-time world champion.

On my radio show this morning I made the point that many of Steinbrenner’s traits would be beneficial to the owners, general managers and coaches in professional sports and the administrators in college sports.

Bill McLellan is probably the closest thing Clemson had to George Steinbrenner. The athletic director at Clemson from 1971 until 1985 reminded some of The Boss. McLellan spent money to improve facilities including the addition of both upper decks in Death Valley. He also held his coaches to a high standard of winning. His tenure saw Clemson’s only national championship in football in 1981. And like the Steinbrenner era in New York, many say there was no doubt who was in charge when McLellan was at Clemson. He was the man in control and that point was clear to most.

I know Steinbrenner had the advantage of having the biggest budget in the biggest market and I know Clemson is in a different budget environment today than in years past. And again, I know some will not find anything of value in this blog because of the Yankee influence. But my guess is that Steinbrenner would disagree with the theme that “Championships Begin With Scholarships” and state that championships don’t begin with budget constraints. Alabama’s didn’t. Duke’s basketball title did not either.

Here are ten things future athletic administrators at Clemson could learn from Steinbrenner:

Never Give Up
Steinbrenner did not always win in New York. He did not just go out and buy a championship every year. In fact the Yankees did not win the World Series 29 of his 36 years he owned the club. They won a lot of division titles and American League pennants but those did not matter to George. The World Title was the measuring stick and losing only motivated him and grew his will to win the next year. Clemson cannot win every year in every sport but losing should be a huge motivation the following season. A leader inspires those to follow even in the tough times.

Reinvent Yourself
Steinbrenner is a perfect example of how it is never too late to reinvent yourself. In 1990 Yankee fans cheered the day it was announced he was banned from baseball. He was reinstated three years later and he came back a different man. Steinbrenner was loved by Yankee fans in last years of his life. George found out that you can change the way people feel about you and he did all he could to endear himself to the fans. No matter how bad it gets, everyone can change.

Embrace Your Community
Steinbrenner lived in Tampa but loved New York City. He often talked about how it was the greatest city in the world and the people of New York were the greatest people in the world. I think Clemson is the greatest town in the world and the people here are the greatest on Earth. Future administrators could benefit from learning this lesson. People want to be valued and Steinbrenner understood this. We have a lot of advantages here and future administrators could benefit by often talking about how great this place can be.

Visibility
George understood the media and how valuable exposure could be. Earlier in his career he was always in front of the camera and always calling the beat writers. He loved his character on Seinfeld and hosted Saturday Night Live. Clemson’s next administrators could benefit from being more visible. Clemson people love getting together. We love going to the IPTAY meetings and Clemson Club affairs. Coach Ford understood this as much as anyone. Coach Ford could make a $100 dollar IPTAY donor feel like he was the most important man in the world. Clemson people like being able to approach their leaders and feel like they have access to them.

Think Outside the Box
Steinbrenner had a good television deal with MSG Network but it was not enough to do it like others. He put together his own network, Yankees Entertainment and Sports (YES Network). This was the first of its kind and created a huge stream of revenue. Clemson’s next administrators need to think outside the box as well. They need to become creative in the way they create revenue because technology is allowing so many more avenues for revenue. Staying ahead of the technology curve would be an asset to future leaders in our athletic administration.

Pride
George Steinbrenner thought the New York Yankees were the greatest professional sports team and it showed. His passion for the organization was obvious to anyone who paid attention. He once told his team in spring training that putting on the pinstripes was different than putting on any other uniform. I want athletic administrators at Clemson who are beaming with this glow about their job and their programs. I want to see them at all of the sporting events supporting their coaches and student-athletes with a passion. When they speak at functions it ought to be obvious that they have passion for the place and their energy and enthusiasm ought to be contagious. Magnetic personalities that attract people to their cause would be a terrific attribute for the next generation of Clemson’s athletic leaders.

Charitable
It has been written and said by many that Steinbrenner was a very charitable man especially when it came to children. Clemson has done a lot in the past in creating a family atmosphere and nurturing the relationships with our children and that should always be the focus. Our future students and leaders will come from this group and the earlier we can get to them the better chance we have of retaining them for a lifetime. Clemson has always been good here but it needs to remain a strength of the department.

Give Your Employees What They Need to Be Successful Then Hold Them Accountable
The final three things on this list are the most important lessons in my opinion. Steinbrenner gave his people what they needed to be successful and he then held them accountable by the highest standards. It is not fair to not give your people the full support then hold them to those standards. An employee should only be held to the highest standards of the resources they have been provided. Hopefully future administrators in Clemson athletics will make this a policy.

The Fans
Steinbrenner knew the most important aspect of the organization was the fans. He knew without fans a team has nothing. He knew that you could never over value their significance and he often spoke about his decisions were based solely on what he thought was in their best interest first. Yankee fans felt connected to Steinbrenner because he made us feel appreciated. He never talked down to us and often spoke about giving the fans what they deserved. In a perfect world in the future of Clemson’s athletic administration, the fans will feel as they are the most important aspect of the program.

Also, the players of the Yankees knew they were given every chance to win and felt valued. It is crucial that the future student-athletes at Clemson know that they given everything they need to be successful and they feel valued.

Winning
George Steinbrenner once said, “Winning is second only to breathing!” He stressed that winning took everyone in the organization and that everyone in the boat had to rowing in the same direction. Employees knew the goal and knew their work was valuable to get to the goal. So often in recent years there seems to be a divide among so many aspects of Clemson people. It is my hope that in the future Clemson can have athletic administrators that can sell the ideas that winning is the goal, that it takes everyone committed to that goal and anything less than winning is unacceptable.

In summary, I don’t want to pretend that Steinbrenner was a saint without flaws. I also understand that some will never appreciate anything he did because he was their enemy. Yeah he paid a lot for players and drove the salary structure up and yes he was overbearing at times. However, he was a winner and we can learn a lot from his style. Maybe Clemson’s athletic future would be brighter if our future administrators took notice of some of his ways.

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Prayer List
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Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, The Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle familty, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Richard Crawford, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, Steve Williams Jr, Steve Williams III, Kim Thomas, Reid Thomas, Sam Thomas, Linda Wiggs, Emily Claire Young, Dr. Wallace Honeycutt, Stacy Fowler, Kitty Bowers.