Being open to change is the key to a successful culture in a sports organization, execs said yesterday at the '16 CAA World Congress of Sports. StubHub President Scott Cutler has been in his position since April ‘15, and said that mindset led to a rewarding first year on the job. “One of the benefits coming in new, fortunate for me, was that I had no religious ties to decisions that had been made in the past,” Cutler said. “We made one particular change that has had a massive impact on our business. I was able to do that because I didn’t have any previous ties. But we had to spend a lot of time convincing the organization it was the right move.” USA Track & Field CEO Max Siegel joined his organization four years ago, noting USATF had not signed a new sponsor in 11 years. “When you are with a global brand that wins most of the Olympic medals, having people understand there is a need for change is often difficult,” Siegel said. “We’ve added 15 new partners over the last four years. When you have small successes that demonstrate your strategy is working, that’s infectious.”
JOB SEARCH: Siegel, Cutler and Sporting KC CEO Robb Heineman addressed their tactics for hiring candidates. Heineman employs a strategy used by Charles Schwab President & CEO Walt Bettinger, who in a recent interview with the N.Y. Times said he invites applicants to breakfast, but arrives early and tells the server to intentionally give the potential candidate the wrong order. Heineman said, “We want to have a disruptive culture. We do that just to see how they handle it -- to see if they’ll say something. ... It’s a really good indicator if they’re going to respond to disruption the way we want them to.” Siegel said USATF also tries to be “deliberate with people who are passionate about the industry and have their finger on the pulse about what consumers might want.”
BECOMING MORE DIVERSE: When it comes to diversifying his company with more female and minority employees, Cutler said StubHub can do more. “I want to have a workplace where my daughter, where women have equal opportunity and equal voice,” he said. “You have to lead from the top. ... I don’t think organizations are doing enough on this issue right now.” Siegel: “Our consumers are from all segments of the population and it’s important that our businesses reflect that. For us, we make it a point to be deliberate and identify diverse talent.”
Quick Hits:
* Cutler: “If you’re not changing and evolving as an organization, you’re dying.”
* Heineman, on thinking outside the box for the club’s business decisions, “We did a reverse naming-rights deal with Livestrong where as opposed to them paying us, we paid them. Lance Armstrong sort of nuked that whole thing.”
