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Olympics

DOES BLAKE MAKE SOME QUAKE AROUND USOC? LEARN ABOUT NORM

          USOC CEO Norm Blake "has lived up to his reputation as
     'Pink Slip' Norm," according to Heiman & Weiner, who profile
     Blake in the current issue of BUSINESS WEEK.  Blake said
     that he has "no regrets" about firing numerous USOC
     officials and employees because he "needed better people." 
     Hyman & Weiner: "Wherever Blake has gone, there has been
     pain. ... The question now hanging in the thin Rocky
     Mountain air: Can Blake's scorched-earth strategy succeed in
     the politically charged, nonprofit world of the USOC?" 
     Those who have "complained about an unresponsive" USOC in
     the past say they "welcome" Blake.  John Hancock Financial
     Services CEO David D'Alessandro, on Blake's treatment of
     sponsors: "One thing that's evident since Blake has been
     around is less of a noblesse oblige attitude.  It used to be
     you'd be made to feel, 'Consider it an honor to send us
     checks.'  Norm has recognized, as a businessperson does,
     that people who send money actually should have a say in
     what they get in return."  Hyman & Weiner add that Blake
     draws a "comparatively modest" base salary of $500,000 per
     year for the three years "he has promised to stay.  Yet at
     the rate he's torching relationships, some privy to the
     inner workings of the USOC wonder if he'll last even that
     long."   Blake: "My tenure here is three years.  I'm willing
     to take the abuse along the way."  Hyman & Weiner report
     that "within days" of his arrival in February, "the winds of
     change began to howl."  USOC board member Sandy Knapp: "He
     was simply doing the job we hired him to do.  When you bring
     in a high-ranking, high-powered CEO and you tell him you
     expect him to run the business ... he thought that meant he
     was supposed to run the business.  It was a huge departure
     for us."  Hyman & Weiner note that under Blake, the USOC
     "theoretically will now hold wasteful spending in check," as
     each NGB "will be required to submit a detailed business
     plan explaining where their money will be spent and
     outlining future medal objectives" (BUSINESS WEEK, 8/28).
          BLAKE Q&A: Blake, on what "teams that rarely -- if ever
     -- produce" medals can "expect" from the USOC: "A nominal
     level of financial support that essentially assures them
     they will stay in business."  Blake notes the "minimal
     level" of funding is higher than what the USOC is currently
     giving seven "small-size" NGBs, which receive "less money
     than we would provide as a guaranteed minimum."  Blake, on
     how he can "justify" the cut: "Nothing is free in life.  If
     we agree upon certain objectives and you meet those
     objectives, we'll make greater investments as we gain
     confidence" (BUSINESS WEEK, 8/28 issue).
          WAS IT A BAD BET? A "bad bet" on the value of the
     Australian dollar cost the USOC $500,000 "that would have
     been used to fund the American delegation" in Sydney.  The
     loss came from the purchase of "several million" U.S.
     dollars worth of Australian dollars in a "hedge bet" that
     the Australian dollar "would be stronger by the time the
     Olympics began" (USA TODAY, 8/15).

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