What I Like.... With SportsMark Management Group President Keith Bruce

SportsMark Management Group President Keith Bruce

What I like in an insight: Sports is more than a business, it is a societal institution that is deeply woven into the lives of everyone, everyday. With that comes significant responsibility.

An influential person in my career: JAN KATZOFF, founder of SportsMark. He brought me here six years ago, and is a mentor and great friend.

An out-of-the-box idea: MLB All-Star winner gets home-field advantage in the World Series.

A timeless idea: The real time score graphic on all sports game broadcasts. (Can't imagine life without it!)

A business deal: The CBS/Turner NCAA deal -- a game changer for college basketball.

A sports facility: AT&T Park.

A sports event: The FIFA World Cup.

A strategy: Always keep the client's interests out in front of you. Deliver for your clients everyday and you will keep that client for a long time.

A hire: Pac-10 hiring LARRY SCOTT and LPGA hiring MIKE WHAN as commissioners. Both properties went outside to get great talent.

A brand: Visa. Universally recognized, universally respected, universally used. Doesn't get more powerful than that.

A trend: Corporate social responsibility becoming a critical element of sponsorship and corporate hospitality activation.

An innovation: TV graphics like Sportvision in football (field graphics) and ShotLink on the PGA Tour.

A pro league or team business initiative: MLS team expansion and "First Kick" initiative.

An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: Silly Bandz -- my girls have hundreds of them all over the house.

A fantasy job: To be JIM NANTZ. I always wanted to be a sports broadcaster.

What I like about my job: When my friends outside the business introduce me to other people, they describe me first as "having the best job in the world." SportsMark is a great place to work.

Sports: It is the great equalizer -- whether you are 8 or 80, male or female, you care.

Sports business: Anytime you can mix a love of marketing with the love of sports and get paid for it, it's a good place to be.

Sports media: Omnipresent. Passionate.

Sports technology: It allows you to experience sports so differently now -- imagine it in 10 years.

Competing: When you win, there is no better feeling. When you lose, you get up and dig in deeper.

The future (or direction) of sports business: I see nothing but up, up, up as the popularity and accessibility of sport expands. It is a growth stock.

Sports fans: Win or lose, the loyalty to their teams are beyond logic.

What I would like to change: Eliminate penalty kicks in the FIFA World Cup Final -- play to the last goal scored.

Change in what I do: Listen more, be a better leader. Personally, work out more, be a better winemaker, play more golf.

See: USA wins the FIFA World Cup. It will happen.

See more of in sports: Accessibility for fans and kids to see more of the big sports events.

See more of in sports business: 1) More altruistic values in sponsors, more giving back to the community. 2) Expanding the roles of agencies to add more value to the business process.

See less of in sports: Greed.

See less of in sports business: Corporate procurement divisions.

See different: An Olympics opening ceremonies under two-and-a-half hours.

What I don't like in general: The use of the term "no problem" as a replacement for "you're welcome." (Since when is gratitude a derivative of a problem?).

Pet peeve: The inability to look at things differently or change things up -- in business and in life.

In sports: The cost of a ticket to everyday games.

In business: Lack of decision making. I know it is said a lot, but there is just too much "paralysis by analysis" in business that can stymie the great idea.

About sports fans: Win or lose, they are never satisfied!

What I like in people: Navy seals, teachers, philanthropists, Olympians.

That would surprise those who know me: I was going to be an architect, which is the real reason that everyone can read my notes.

Above all else: My wife KIMBERLY and two daughters MADELEINE and MASON.

About myself: The ability to stay real and grounded -- I know I am very fortunate to do what I do.

Heroes: My mom, who is a two-time cancer survivor.

Players: ALBERT PUJOLS, LANDON DONOVAN, LIONEL MESSI.

Teams: 49ers, St. Louis Cardinals (grew up there), University of Illinois (went to school there).

City: Cape Town.

Possession: My 1967 230SL Mercedes convertible roadster.

Memento: Memories from all the amazing sports events I have attended over the past 20 years.

Time of year (because): Fall. Harvest time in the wine country, great weather, start of football.

Music: World beat/Lounge chill on planes -- contemporary rock on the ground.

Books: "Why Companies Win," by DAVID CALHOUN (CEO of Nielsen); "The Gold Standard, Building a World-Class Team," by MIKE KRZYZEWSKI.

Magazines: SI, Wine Spectator, Kiplinger's Financial.

Web sites: ESPN, SI.com, Wine.com, Seatguru.com.

Gadgets: iPad (two of them, so I don't have to fight with my daughters over just one).

IPad app: WeatherHD, SportsTap, iZones, Angry Birds.

Chores: Cleaning -- I am a renowned neat freak.

Hobbies: Winemaking, golf, tennis, road biking in Dry Creek Valley, gardening.

Trips: Weekend journeys to our house in Healdsburg, Calif.; Lake Tahoe; family trips to New York City.

Movies: Favorites: "Bottle Shock," "Invictus," "The Shawshank Redemption," Bourne trilogy movies.

TV: ESPN, "Entourage," "30 Rock," "The Big Bang Theory."

Concerts: The Who at our CBS event last year. U2, Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band.

Artist: WADE HOEFER.

Food: Give me a perfectly grilled steak and I am happy.

Drink: My 2008 Sonoma County Zinfandel or 18-year-old Glenmorangie.

Vacation spots: Hawaii, South Africa, Italy and soon Brazil.

Cars: All German. BMW, Mercedes, Audi.

Singer: FRANK SINATRA.

Quote: The most important name on your uniform is the one on the front of the jersey, not the back -- JOHN WOODEN.