Written by a renowned international management consultancy specialised in the world of sport, this book provides the crucial link between management theory and the practical day-to-day work of running a sports organisation. The purpose of the book is to present a view of the essentials needed to successfully manage today’s sports organisation, based on research and theory and tested by consultants worldwide in various different sports.

TSE Consulting works at the senior executive level with a wide variety of inter-national and national sporting organisations. The company focuses on the introduction of management thinking and tools within these organisations and on training in the areas of management and communication.

Edited by:Lars Haue-Pedersen

Contributions by:Robin Courage, Greg Curchod, Caroline Anderson, Bettina Kuperman, Kenneth Quah

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“The new sports organisation - eight essentials for renewing the management of sport” by TSE Consulting Copyright © 2009 by TSE Consulting SA, Switzerland. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part of any form.

Design and lay-out by proSport publishing, Austria. Printed in Hacettepe University, Turkey on recycled, acid-free paper fiber.

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Contents

Forewords

Acknowledgments

About TSE Consulting

Introduction: eight essentials for renewing the management of sport

Chapter 1: FoCUs – define

Chapter 2: VALUes – lead with more than rules and regulations

Chapter 3:stRAteGY – let strategy guide structure

Chapter 4: seRVICes – move beyond administration

Chapter 5: BRAnD – reach out to a broader audience

Chapter 6: PARtneRs – diversify the approach

Chapter 7: MeAsUReMents – secure a target-oriented performance

Chapter 8: CHAnGe – balance stability and improvement

Conclusion: the ninth essential

References

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the operational frame

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President, General Association of Internationalsports Federations (GAIsF)

I am often criticized for being too much of a business man in the sports industry. It often seems that people don’t believe that sport and business are compatible. When I started with the International Cycling Union we were three people and we were in debt. Fourteen years later, we had a big surplus and now we have about 80 people working at the federation. This could not have been accomplished without a sense of business.

Sport organisations are not businesses, but should be run like one. They need to be more efficient in promoting and selling sport. The challenges and opportunities that federations are faced with grow everyday and the majority of federations simply can’t keep up to these rising demands. As our top athletes have grown more professional, surrounding themselves with top lawyers, agents, doctors, and a variety of other consultants, there is a need for federations and their administration to also become more professional.

Professionalism means being pro-active in an increasingly complex world. As a consequence of this professionalism, the role of volunteers

A FOREWORd ByHeIn VeRBRUGGen

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N will undoubtedly decrease. The environment is forcing federations to bring in top people to try to meet the demands of the industry. This will naturally be followed by a change in how sports federations are managed.

At GAISF’s we believe our role is to continually provide services to the fed-erations so that they can pro-actively meet the demands of the industry in a more professional and efficient way. We follow trends in sport to ensure that federations are able to react and respond in the right way.

The very existence of this book is a proof that this need for professionalism has been called on within the industry.

Hein VerbruggenFebruary 2009

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olympic gold medal winner, 1980 & 1984

As an athlete nothing quite matches the pressure an hour out from the final of a major championship, facing the same distance, the same track as you have done thousands of times before in training but with the pres-sure of expectation, the crowds and the unknown factor of your competi-tors. So despite their apparent simplicity, races are complex and whether you are just an hour away or have four years until an opening ceremony, every day you have to add value, to show purpose. Sports organisations are faced with similar challenges. On an almost daily basis they strive to develop solutions and to deliver results throughout all levels of their sport. Governing bodies too, facing ever increasing competition from other distractions, need to constantly evolve and to become more pro-fessional in their approach and more transparent in their governance.

This book sets out to provide sports organisations with the tools that will help them to develop and to prosper in the modern era.

As a former athlete and now an administrator I am absolutely convinced about the postive role of sport and its unique ability to touch many different aspects of our lives and our communities.

This book looks into this and I hope that it adds value to your own thinking. Sebastian CoeFebruary 2009

A FOREWORd ByseBAstIAn Coe, KBe

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President, south African sports Confederationand olympic Committee (sAsCoC)

When I was elected as SASCOC President I stated that I was of course daunted by the huge responsibilities that had been entrusted to me, but reiterated that I firmly believed that my overriding passion for sport would stand me in good stead. Passion is indeed just one of the three overriding factors which should influence the success of a sports administrator, the others being accountability and discipline.

Our passion for our own sports should be the daily driver for everything that we do as individuals involved in the administration of sport. However, I continually question why sports federations do not feel responsible for the outcome of their programmes, for without such accountability, they can never deliver the success upon which they must be judged. In a similar vein, why should a sports federation provide training programmes when its staff, coaches and trainers do not implement their learning? Such basic disciplines must form the bedrock of a successful organisation.

All governing bodies have to be run in a professional manner. It is our responsibility to ensure that sport delivers the benefits that governments

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throughout the world are increasingly realising can impact so dramati-cally on its citizens. As my country prepares to welcome the world of sport to our shores in 2010, we are only too aware of the impact that this major event can have, not only on our own people, but on the entire continent and throughout the world. Africa’s first Football World Cup must and will be a true celebration of all that is good in sport and it is our role as admin-istrators to ensure that this is the case.

I welcome this book, as it is high time that a book about sports manage-ment took a practical approach, which is clear and straight to the point and, most importantly, is a book that is directly applicable to all national and international sports federations.

Gideon SamFebruary 2009

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Associate Professor, Copenhagen Business school

Sport provides us with unforgettable moments, as we witness a mem-orable victory for our favourite team or watch live as a world record is broken. Equally, sport provides unforgettable moments for its participants, whether it be the completion of a major challenge like a marathon, slot-ting home that last second goal or just playing with children or friends.

When asking someone for their proudest national moment of history, sport will feature amazingly often. The French and Italians will never forget their victories in the football World Cup, nor the Australians or New Zealanders in the Americas Cup. The increased brand awareness or self-esteem gen-erated for nations or cities through hosting large teams or major events are immensely important; just consider Barcelona and Sydney and their memorable Olympic Games, events like the Berlin Marathon or the Hawaii Ironman, or teams such as the Chicago Bulls, the New york yankees, Real Madrid and Manchester United. Why should it be fun to run the New york Marathon? There are far too many runners and you can never run your best time. Why is it fun to be anywhere in the Nou Camp in Barcelona and be 100m away from the pitch? It’s fun because of the power of the occa-sion, the feelings and excitement that such moments can generate.

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A book which looks into and analyses the very core of the governance of sports and major sporting events is certainly needed and in this respect this book is unique. This book discusses the strategies, the challenges, the issues of governance and manoeuvrability required for a sports governing body to be successful. different sports are increasingly in fierce competi-tion for a share of the worldwide audience, whether it be spectators, tele-vision coverage or sponsors. Transparent governance and investment in the future are crucial to their growth.

TSE Consulting has always been a visionary sports consulting firm and by launching this book they once again prove to be in the forefront of the provision of advice to visionary sports governing bodies.

Sport is fantastic, but we have to manage it better if we want to protect and harvest all of its values.

Troels TroelsenFebruary 2009

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N About TSE Consulting

TSE Consulting was established in 2002 as an international management consultancy specialising in the world of sport.

The company provides advice and training to sports organisations and advises and assists cities, regions and countries in their bidding for and hosting of major sports events. Combining these two sets of clients, TSE creates and facilitates the connection between sports organisations and the public sector.

Within the sports sector, TSE works at the senior executive level with a wide variety of international and national sporting organisations. It focuses on the introduction of management thinking and tools within these organisations and on training in the areas of management and communication.

At the same time, TSE also works with public sector organisations, pro-viding consulting services related to the development, implementation and communication of sports strategies, as well as other strategic and communication services including tactical advice on attracting major sports events. Working together with its clients in the sports world and public sector, TSE connects these two partners allowing cooperation and integration of their strategies for mutual benefit.

In addition to connecting sports organisations and the public sector, the professional philosophy of TSE is to integrate strategy and communica-tion in all consulting and training assignments.

Consultants from TSE have over the past years published numerous articles in various national and international publications but the “The new sports organisation – eight essentials for renewing the management of sport” is the book from the company. The central office of TSE Con-sulting is in Lausanne, Switzerland – where a wide range of international sports federations are headquartered. In recent years TSE Consulting has established national offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, denmark, Turkey, Russia and China.

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Acknowledgments

The writing of this book was a collaborative effort. Credit is due not just to the listed authors, all of whom are consultants working for TSE’s central office, who drew on their experience and knowledge in their contributions to this book, but also to the many other sources of inspiration that touch TSE on a daily basis. In this regard, we would like to thank the following;

Our clients; who walk beside us in our efforts to develop solutions and deliver results. They provide us with the continual platform upon which we can challenge ourselves and develop our thinking. We thank all those who have stimulated us, supported us, and allowed us to contribute to an even brighter future for sport.

Our colleagues from our offices around the world; who enable us to work on an international scale, and also provide local knowledge and expertise that allows us to learn from sports organisations from every corner of the world.

Our academic advisors; who allow us to think aloud and test new ideas. It is their forward thinking that enables us to make a connection between the academic theory and concepts and our practical delivery of those ideas.

Our partner institutions and organisations; those who collaborate with us both in our thinking and in our delivery. Our publisher; ProSport Publishing, who believed in this project from the beginning and encouraged us to see it through. Our editing advisor; Serena Allott, UK based author and journalist, who provided us with the first set of external eyes to read the book.

And finally, we would like to send a special thank you to the Senior Execu-tives from various organisations around the world who contributed to this book via interviews.

Lars Haue-Pedersen, Managing director TSE ConsultingLausanne, Switzerland - March 2009

www.tseconsulting.com

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This book is about sport. It is truly an interesting time for sport as it has never before been so popular or so commercially successful. Equally, it has never before been so scrutinized and questioned. The growth in professionalism of sport has intensified over the past years and the increased focus on commercial and financial aspects has tested the sports industry’s fundamental values and management methods. The influx of money into sport has also created new and unprecedented op-portunities to develop and promote sport.

This book will look specifically at sports organisations: the national or international federations, or governing bodies, of various sports around the world. These organisations have the central role of creating a link between two levels, ‘grassroots’ and ‘elite’; being the interface at which the two ends meet they create a mechanism whereby money made from top level competition feeds down to develop and finance the grassroots sector. In the current sports landscape these organisations are being challenged to a degree at which their existence is being questioned. do we need a European or International body like UEFA or FIFA to govern football? do tennis players in a country need a national tennis federation to play tennis in that country? do athletes around the world really need a “governing body”? Based on our research and our experience from

INTROdUCTIONEight essentials for renewingthe management of sport

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Nworking with many different organisations in different sports across all five continents our answer to all those questions is yes. But at the same time we are convinced that the sports organisations need to evolve, ad-just to the new reality and renew themselves. We need sports organisa-tions, but they need to evolve. This book will explain what we think of as the “new sports organisation”, and examine what we believe to be the eight essentials needed to renew the management of sport.

Why do we need the governing bodies?

Sports organisations, faced with questions about their role and overall purpose, often struggle to provide convincing answers. Perhaps this is understandable, as their roles and responsibilities as national or inter-national federations are complex. They face many – and at times - con-flicting interests which must be handled within a democratic system that does not always allow efficient decision-making. At the same time they are, by their constitutional nature, a monopoly. There is only one FIFA, UEFA, IOC, etc., and only one official national federation for each sport in each country. Monopolies are by definition often slow, complacent, bu-reaucratic and focused internally on fixed rules and regulations.

However, without central governing bodies of sport, there would be a lack of interest in the development and expansion of sport on a grassroots level, a lack of interest in working to further the recognition of the sport, or to take on social responsibility for it. Why should anyone take on these responsibilities without the prospect of immediate gain?

In regards to the elite or competition level of sport, a governing body is essential to limit and balance the interests of those who want to gain from the commercial offerings of sport. A strong central governing body is beneficial as it takes on the role of making tough decisions and aims to keep the sport on track by safe-guarding it from too many competing outside interests, whether they are political, commercial or any other. Moreover, without a governing body the sport can suffer from the cre-ation of too many championships, leagues, and versions of the sport. This is probably the main reason why most popular extreme sports have not yet managed to establish equally popular competitions.

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N Why do the governing bodies need to evolve?

While recognising the need for governing bodies in sport, our research and experience tells us that these governing bodies need to develop, adapt and evolve if they want to maintain their central function. While remaining by definition a monopoly, each one should become a dynamic monopoly which in a transparent and open way manages to combine and balance its democratic and regulation based structures with a market oriented ap-proach constantly adjusting to changes in society. Each body should rec-ognize that it is governing an organisation and running a business. At one and the same time it is focused on earning money and spending money. It is dealing with members and with customers. It must be democratic without compromising its efficiency.

How to manage this move towards being a “new sports organisation” is one of the most important questions that the managers of today’s sports organisations must consider. And this book has the answers.

We think that the new sports organisation is one that sees itself as both a not-for-profit organisation and a commercial enterprise. In defining its organisational frame, it has thus identified the focus for its opera-tions and has a clear understanding of what constitutes success. It is an organisation that needs to depend on something greater than the rules and regulations of the sport and organisation to make its decisions. The leadership of the organisation is based on some core values that are both meaningful and powerful. It is an organisation that does not change its structures simply because it wants to break from tradition, or in order to encourage development. Rather, it focuses on developing a strategy that moves the organisation forward and allows changes in structure to fol-low. The new sports organisation focuses on the services it provides to its members rather than just being an administrative and governing body. To add value to members, a governing body needs to provide advice, guid-ance and leadership. Staff view themselves as advisors or consultants rather than simply sports administrators.

This new sports organisation will develop into a brand. Not by focusing just on itself, but by combining its three core elements: the organisation, the

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Nsport and the products it offers. It recognises that in order to become relevant to members and other stakeholders, it must build and promote a brand which is constantly nurtured and developed. It views external partners as an integral part of its activities. It is an organisation that ex-plores new partnerships and increases revenue through innovative think-ing and the development of new opportunities.

The new sports organisation focuses on measurements. Much as it mea-sures the performance of its athletes and its clubs, so it measures itself. It develops adequate tools to perform this measurement, and bases it on clearly defined objectives. Finally, it embraces change. It adapts. It finds a system to ensure that stability and improvements can occur at the same time. Within the busy competition schedule, and the daily operations of the organisation, it has a system to ensure progress. Each of the eight chapters of this book introduces one of these eight essentials; Focus, Values, strategy, services, Brand, Partners, Measurement and Change, and explores how it will develop in the modern era. We delve into each subject with a conceptual and practical expertise, while sports managers from around the globe give their viewpoint through extensive interviews.

There are many sports management books, written by individuals from the academic or pure business world, that try to dip into the uniqueness of sports management. These books are necessary for understanding and comprehension of the sports industry. They do not, however, shed light on the potential mistakes that sports managers risk making while leading their organisations into the modern era. TSE Consulting has gained experience and developed expertise in working with many differ-ent organisations in different sports across all five continents. Our ex-perience is based in both international and national organisations. Our consultants have advised and trained these organisations in areas such as change management, strategy development and implementation as well as communication. It is the intention of this book to inspire and to provoke thought and discussion rather than to instruct, and we will not therefore go into the fine details of management practice. Our purpose is to present a view, based on research and theory, tested by consul-tants worldwide in various different sports. We hope to move you beyond the teachings of traditional management books and to share the lessons

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N we have learnt and the challenges we have faced throughout the indus-try. We hope to inspire, educate and liberate managers and to change their thinking about the management of national and international sportsorganisations.

If you are reading this book, we suspect that you have seen the changes and new obstacles that face sports organisations and that you want to understand how to make sports organisations work better. Our book has been written to guide you in developing your own understanding and vision for moving sports organisations forward during these times of challenge and uncertainty.

We hope that you do more than just read this book; carry bits of it in your thinking when you are working, see it as a workbook that is guiding you towards a better understanding of the sports industry. Write in it, high-light, cross out parts you don’t agree with. Make it an experience.

Enjoy the journey with us. We hope to learn from you as well, so please share your thoughts and experiences with us.

Contact us at books@tseconsulting.com

Sport is on the move and the organisations managing sport need to move as well – become a part of a “new sports organisation”.

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It wasn’t so many years ago that the core activity of most sports organi-sations was related only to the development and co-ordination of grass-roots activities. Today, sports organisations also have the responsibility of operating the business side of the sport; managing high level politics, promoting social responsibility and being effective partners to cities and regions around the world who are using sports events as a facilitator for destination branding and tourism purposes.

These many areas of activity and interest – which are frequently con-flicting - make the focus of many sports organisations unclear and the implementation of any management strategy very challenging. A sports organisation today operates both within a political and regulated environ-ment with a supply-driven approach, and at the same time in a commer-cial environment where the approach is market driven and the focus is on the demand side.

Managing a sports organisation has therefore become a very complex operation and it is not sufficient to identify what the organisation is not, e.g. “we are not a traditional business”, “we are not a traditional non-profit organisation”, etc. Statements like these are indeed right – but they do not answer the question: what are you?

1 FOCUS– define the operational frame

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N Sports managers, prior to focusing on how to manage sports organisa-tions effectively (which we will look at in the following chapters), should start by defining exactly what it is that they are expected to manage: is it a traditional non-profit organisation, is it a business or is it something in between? There is a need to define the frame in which today’s sports organisations are operating. Without a clearly defined frame it will be-come very difficult to set objectives and outline related strategies on how to achieve them. Moreover, it will not be possible to define the key skills that the managers of the sports organisation must master. To put it very simply: sports managers can’t move toward high performance if they don’t know what they should be good at.

Traditionally the main term used to categorise a sports organisation is “not-for-profit”. The not-for-profit label is used to differentiate sports or-ganisations from the corporate world, and at the same time move them closer to the cause-related not-for-profit organisations like Greenpeace, the Red Cross and other humanitarian organisations. The not-for-profit label has also been used to justify governmental financial support, vari-ous sorts of tax exemptions and in general a kind of “protected” position inherent in being seen as an important pillar in society.

While this position is of course very beneficial to sports organisations, the question must be raised whether it is actually correct to say that today’s sports organisations, in terms of objectives and operational frame, are closer to a not-for-profit organisation than a commercial business? We think the answer is clearly, no. Moreover, it does not help a sports organisation aiming to move towards high performance if it has the not-for-profit notion at the centre of it purpose and objectives. A sports organisation – defined as it is in this book as the national or international governing body of a particular sport– may not be a profit-driven corporation but we would claim that a focus on the non-profit connection will not be helpful for the organisation either.

In fact, we think the frame in which the new sports organisation will be operating is much closer to that of a corporate body than that of a traditional not-for-profit organisation and should be managed accord-ingly. We can examine this by comparing three different aspects of a

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sports organisation both with the traditional, cause-related not-for-profit organisation and with a corporate body. Any sports organisation must be able to define these three aspects very clearly in order to establish its operational frame:

• Customers• Competition• Growth

When many customers don’t buy anything

Caused-based, not-for-profit organisations such as International Red Cross or Amnesty International cannot be expected to focus on custom-ers. These organisations survive on contributions from the public but they will have only limited on-going relations with those who contribute. They don’t serve these people because their mission is to serve the cause, not the people contributing. They even often tell their contributors that they will not serve them well because all money being generated must go to the cause. A traditional not-for-profit might have to think about major governmental donors but the organisation is fundamentally not meant to be doing any customer relations management.

For a corporate, however, “the customer is king”. The customers who are buying the products or services are the centre of everything that the cor-porate is undertaking. No customers, no corporate. What about a sports organisation? If the organisation was viewed mainly as a not-for-profit organisation, the notion of customers would not be relevant, but that is of course not the case. In fact, sports organisations have a wide range of customers, and the interesting aspect is that whilst the customer of a corporate only becomes a customer when actually buying something from that corporate, many sports organisations’ customers must be viewed as customers even though they don’t buy anything.

Alternative expressions are often used such as members, fans, spectators, sponsors, media, etc., but are they not all in one way or another “custom-ers”? Whether we call them customers or partners, it is important for the sports organisation to recognise that the keyword here is activation.

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N The two key elements in creating activation

Whilst a customer of a corporate often just buys the product and con-sumes it, the various different customers of a sports organisation must be activated in order to provide on-going revenues for the organisation. The fans must follow the teams, the media must write about the sport throughout the season, the television viewers must view it, the sponsors must invest in it and the people in the street must talk about it.

It is not enough for the sports organisation just to sell to its various cus-tomer groups – it must also activate them afterwards and the more active the various groups are, the more revenues short term and long the sports organisation will generate. The key drivers for such activation are “values” and “involvement”.

A sports organisation needs to promote strong values to secure this acti-vation and it needs to secure as much involvement from the various cus-tomer groups as possible. The synergy created between the two – stron-ger values will create more involvement and increased involvement will cultivate stronger values – will be based on the image of the organisation.

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In Chapter 5 we will look more into the move from being a sports organi-sation to becoming a sports brand but for now we can conclude that one important part of the frame of the new sports organisation is to recognize that it does have a wide range of customers and the key objective is to not only sell to them but to activate them.

When the competition is the product

While competition basically shouldn’t play a central role for a cause-based, not-for-profit organisation (the International Red Cross will never claim to be competing directly with another not-for-profit organisation in a specific market), competition is a fundamental element in the operation-al frame of any corporate with a clear objective: to beat the competitors and ultimately to force other competitors out of the market. For a sports organisation however, “competition” is a more complex question. Even the weakest national hockey team in the world would not want to force its competitors to leave the market. Maybe the fans would be happy to see any competing team disappear – at least short term - but it of course does not make sense. This is in essence because the main difference between sport and business is that in sports – from national governing bodies to local clubs – the competition is the product. What a sports organisation has to sell to sponsors, media and spectators are the competitors. By far the most viewed match played by the Chinese men’s basketball team during the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the one they were sure to loose – against the US “dream Team” with the many NBA stars.1

Manchester United’s main products are the football games against other Premiership or Champions League teams - and the stronger and more qualified competitors that the team faces, the more sponsors, spectators, television viewers, etc., can be attracted and the more income will be gen-erated for the club. Compare that to Microsoft benefiting financially from the launch of a new attractive product from Apple! In business the notion is ridiculous, but in sports it is actually the case. The sport organisation cannot grow alone but needs its competitors to grow with it.

1 SportsBusiness Magazine, November 2008.

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N Competition in the CORPORATE world

Competition in the SPORTS world

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The “competition is the product” syndrome in sport leads to an interesting paradox: sporting success, to a certain extent, is based on weak competi-tors whilst financial success is linked to strong competitors. The sports organisations need to be able to handle this aspect. The drafting system practised in many US professional sports where the weakest teams have first pick of the best players for the following season is an example of how to balance the financial aspect with the sporting aspect.2 A sports organisation can’t succeed without its competitors and while it cannot be the purpose of the organisation to actively support the competing organi-sations, it must be recognized that – in strong contrast to the corporate world - a kind of cooperation with the competition is a condition for suc-cess and thus provides an important part of the operational frame.

When growth is focused on the top-line

For cause-based not-for-profit organisations, growth of the market is normally what they are there to prevent - less pollution, fewer political prisoners, reduced poverty, etc. Many not-for-profit organisations have grown over the years and some of them are now employing thousands of people all over the world, however, their aim is fundamentally to become superfluous and regrettably, even though that might not happen within the near future, growth can never become for them a strategic objective.

In the business world growth is a main driver in the business and the value of a corporate is often based on its potential for growth and less on its current performance. Whilst top line growth (increased revenues) might be a strategic issue in the short/medium term, the focus for any corporate will at a certain stage always shift to growing the bottom line (profit), which can be achieved by an increase in revenues or a decrease in costs. What about the sports organisation? Maybe growth is the key-word when trying to determine the core objective for a sports organisa-tion and thus growth is the central part of defining the frame. For the new sport organisations, growth is the main criteria of success – but growth here means top-line growth through an increase in revenues which will

2 Read more in: SportsEconomics Newsletter, October 2005.

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N allow the organisation to increase spending and thus further develop the sport. Whilst the corporate world is filled with famous and admired “cost cutters” who help increase profit, few leaders of sports organisations will be praised simply for cutting costs year after year and thus improving the bottom line. At the same time, sports management will have to strategi-cally handle the various interests related to growth: more sports related success or more financial success, in other words “fan value” vs. “share-holder value”. What comes first - financial success or sporting success? While various empirical studies will produce different results, we dare to conclude that sporting success will not always lead to financial success while financial success seems to be the best way to sporting success.

What it means to the managers of the “new” sports organisation

If growth (in various forms and within various areas) is the core objective of a sports organisation, we can conclude that what sports managers should focus on and should be really good at is managing the various as-pects of competition within sport, managing the activation of the various customer groups and ensuring constant growth.

The key skills of a corporate manager vs. sports manager

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CASE INTERVIEW

This means the high performing managers of the new sports organisa-tion must master how to stimulate competition, activate the customers and create top-line growth. All skills which are different from but compara-ble to a manager of a corporate whilst not even close to the skills needed to run a traditional not-for-profit.

“The line between sport and business is becomingincreasingly blurred”

Over the past few years the United States Olympic Committee has gone through a transformation which has resulted in it be-coming a more streamlined, focused and effective organisa-tion with a professional and client-centered approach. It has worked to find the right balance between becoming more busi-ness-like in their management methods while retaining their central aim of developing sport within the United States.

With a collective effort of setting objectives, and the introduc-tion of strategic planning and systems of accountability, the organisation has sharpened its focus.

As USOC First Vice-President, International, Robert Ctvrtlik (RC) has been at the core of this transformation.

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Robert CtvrtlikFirst Vice-President, International,United States Olympic Committee (USOC)

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TSE: What are the main differences between heading a commer-cial business and a sports organisation?

RC: Based upon my own national and international business experience in imports, exports and real estate, there really aren’t that many differences. Both are extremely competitive. They involve setting goals and objectives, hiring and managing a talented team of individuals, and commitment to producing a quality product. The difference lies in the ultimate product and the measures for performance.

With a sports organisation, such as the USOC, the product is the team and athletes. The end result is developing an emo-tional attachment, whereas in commercial business, the focus is on productivity. The USOC is unique from many other sports entities. As a non-profit organisation, we rely primarily on the support of our corporate partners through sponsorships, as well as on private donations.

TSE: How does the USOC define success?

RC: One obvious way in which we measure success is per-formance on the field of play – the results from the Olympic and Paralympic Games, top performances at World Cham-pionships, and improving in international rankings. But be-yond that, we look at the ability the Olympic Movement has to impact and shape lives, and the profile and impact of the Olympic Movement in our country.

We believe the Olympic Movement is a unifying force that helps to bring the world together in friendship and peace. And, an important part of that is building relationships with the other National Olympic Committees, as well as with the International Olympic Committee and the International Fed-erations. We therefore take a holistic approach to defining

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success, including other more subjective forms of measure-ment such as being a good international partner and working with other nations to promote the Olympic Ideals.

TSE: How does the USOC set objectives?

RC: We have a very collaborative effort to set objectives, and there are numerous stakeholders that influence those objec-tives. The USOC’s Board of directors and Management Team work closely together in setting the direction of the organisa-tion. We also work closely with the 45 sport National Governing Bodies, and their needs and input weigh heavily on how we es-tablish our objectives. We evaluate the goals of our corporate partners. Additionally, we put a priority on building meaning-ful partnerships with the Olympic Movement worldwide – the USOC has a desire and commitment to be an active and en-gaged partner internationally.

TSE: How are these objectives measured?

RC: A clear measure of our objectives is how our teams per-form on the field of play. But, that’s not the only way to evalu-ate the organisation. We also look at participation in Olympic and Paralympic sport at the grassroots level in our country. We measure how the Olympic Ideals are influencing and shaping lives. We are constantly evaluating our efforts as an organisa-tion and seeking ways to become even more effective. From an international perspective, we are looking at various factors, such as the annual number of international exchanges we host for athletes and coaches from other countries, as well as the number of international sporting events or meetings we host in our country. We work to ensure we build long-term relation-ships internationally and support the growth of Olympic and Paralympic sport.

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TSE: Do you think the management of sport will draw closer to business management?

RC: The management of sport and business will always sharemutual dynamics, and there are many important lessons and best practices to be learned from each. The fact that the line between the two is becoming increasingly blurred, we think is a good thing. Given the investment that the stakeholders make, and the expectations on their returns, it is natural that the two will grow closer. Our goal is to help the stakehold-ers meet their objectives without undermining the integrity of sport. It is because of the involvement of corporate partners, because of the donations of individuals, because of the tickets fans purchase, that we can expand sport and increase the im-pact of sport worldwide.

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USthe legal frame

defining and understanding the core activities of a sports organisation and employing the correct strategy for these activities is the first step in creating a better management platform for a high performing sports organisation. There is however, also an important and until this day still undefined legal frame that needs clarification.

At the end of 2007 the development of European sport was analysed in a review commissioned by Sports Ministers from members states of the European Union (EU). The “Independent Sports Review” points out the serious threats to the development of sports – not only in Europe but around the world.3 It highlights, among other things, the lack of a clear legal framework within which sports operate, as well as the diverse in-terests and priorities that sports organisations have. The review calls for legislators to solve these problems as soon as possible to avoid further legal conflicts and to strengthen the platform upon which the sports fed-erations operate.

The lack of a clear legal framework complicates the work of today’s sports managers especially in regards to long term planning and strate-gic decision-making. Under the current “case by case” approach to legal issues in sport, there is a reluctance to implement new organisational or even sports related rules. Unfortunately the definition of the legal frame-work is ultimately decided upon by the legislators and beyond maintain-ing a close dialogue, the sports organisations do not have much influence on the process.

The development of the legal framework might still take time so in the meantime sports organisations can focus on their internal development, securing a continual growth independent of their outside environment. defining and understanding the frame of the new organisation and em-ploying the correct strategy for operating within this frame is the first essential needed to create a management platform that will enable and cultivate high performance.

3 See: www.independentfootballreview.com

The new sportsorganisationEight essentials for renewingthe management of sport

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