Name: Chris Flynn
Position: Sporting KC Manager of Group Sales & Sporting Club Network
Age: 29
Where I’m from: San Jose
Where I call home: K.C.
Focusing on right now: Securing the team's 50th straight sellout.
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| Flynn (r) said complacency is one of his biggest professional pet peeves |
Best advice: If you’re not striving to improve, you’re stagnating or, worse yet, potentially regressing. Complacency is one of my biggest professional pet peeves. It’s all about making a conscious effort every day to make yourself better.
Exec I admire most: MLS Commissioner DON GARBER. MLS as a whole has made huge strides under his leadership and his vision has changed the sports landscape. Also, someone I’ve closely worked with who has to be mentioned is Sporting KC Chief Revenue Officer JAKE REID. He has personally overseen nearly all aspects of our franchise’s turnaround.
A must for a new hire: Work harder, work smarter than really everyone around you. For me, coming from the ticket sales background, you’re starting off your career in inside sales. You not only want to stand out against the peers in your class, or whoever is hired with you, but you’re also trying to work against the account executives and the senior account executives. It’s all about working harder than everyone around you.
Best book I’ve read this year: One of the book that I read over and over again since college is SUN TZU’s "The Art Of War." While the book was written about warfare and strategic planning, it has real world applications if you think abstractly towards the business side of life. It really puts into perspective making sure that you have all your ducks in a row, being very well prepared.
First thing in the morning: I’m a big news guy. So whether that’s local news from here in Kansas City or back home, to national and world life news, sports, sports business. When I go days without actually reading that, I kind of feel lost.
Talking tech: I have a love-hate relationship with my iPhone. I’m absolutely enamored with having so much information and technology at the palm of my hand, instant access, instant gratification. But I’m always connected to it, much to the disappointment of my wife.
Must have music: I’m a big pop-punk kind of guy, big reggae fan, as well. My iPod is full of stuff like FALL OUT BOY, NEW FOUND GLORY, YELLOWCARD. On the reggae side of things, BOB MARLEY, and I’m a big fan of a Santa Barbara band called REBELUTION.
Food for thought: I’m a big sushi fan, which is a bit amusing now that I live in almost literally the dead center of the country, so that goes back to my California days. Living in Kansas City, the barbecue is famous here, so that has grown on me too.
How I unwind: I’m a big fantasy sports fan -- whether it’s baseball, basketball, or football. It’s a great way to stay current with sports, but also to keep in contact with old friends, colleagues that have gone to different organizations and stuff like that.
Day in the life: Our Sporting Club Network is a bit unique in that it’s almost a regional affiliation that we have with some of our larger youth soccer clubs in the area. I think we stretch to seven or eight or nine different states, spreading from all the way up in Minnesota to Kansas City, Iowa, Nebraska, Nashville. When our organization gets out to games, does player appearances, coaching licenses and mini clinics, it brings those teams closer with Sporting Kansas City and really helps to build our brand.
