James & Co.’s Michele James said ESPN’s “HORSE” competition, won by Mike Conley Jr., helped the company stand out during the crisis.ESPN Images
I was interested in the news that Rachel Jacobson joined the Drone Racing League as president last month. What would cause someone to make such a big career move in the middle of a global pandemic?
I called the executive recruiter who led the search, James & Co.’s Michele James, to get a glimpse of what it was like to fill a job while the entire sports business world is quarantined, working from home.
Ironically, James credited those shelter-in-place conditions for allowing both DRL and Jacobson to be more patient in filling the position.
“This was one of the more thoughtful searches that I’ve run this whole year because people had time to breathe,” James said. “You had a candidate who wouldn’t have been available who was now. And you had a CEO in Nick Horbaczewski whose colleagues are home and whose financial sponsors are home, which allowed us to do a thoughtful president search.”
That idea of embracing the patience that comes with being in quarantine — James calls it “winning the wait” — is what is allowing some organizations to stand out.
James pointed to NASCAR President Steve Phelps as an example. NASCAR has found success with an esports series that it likely would never have spent much time on had there been no pandemic. The series (see story, Page 18) has resulted in good TV ratings and positioned NASCAR as a model for other leagues.
“Maybe NASCAR would not have moved so many of their senior leaders into all-hands-on-deck into iRacing if it was business as usual, but they did it,” James said. “Think about how you can make your workforce nimble with high-functioning teams.”
James said ESPN was able to stress-test the HORSE concept.ESPN Images
James also applauded ESPN’s “HORSE” programming as a unique stunt that helped position the network as cutting edge, even though it failed to generate a big audience and used technology that appeared substandard.
“What a great dare,” James said. “The people who worked on that should be applauded. They are pioneers. Now what’s the solve? Did it have the right tech? Did it have the right athletes? Those are easy solves because ESPN already stress-tested it.”
In such daunting times, I asked James to share the advice she is giving these days to help “win the wait.”
Advice for companies during the pandemic
Reassess your senior leadership team.
“Who has been able to show up? Who has not been able to show up? I mean that from both a personal and professional perspective.”
Rethink rewards.
“How are companies going to compensate people when they come back? We have a lot of people who are rewards-based. Rethinking rewards is really important for when people come back. People don’t talk enough about rewards. That’s what the stressor is.”
Prepare for re-entry.
“There’s going to be a lot of career PTSD when people come back to the office. A lot of it. When we’re at home and we’re alone, we tend to want to do things that we like to do vs. the things that we have to. When we go back, it’s going to be different. The most well-organized companies are now working on that re-entry.”
Hypercommunicate
“Re-entry is not just about setting a date. How are you going to lead with your people when they come back? We’re now at two months and people have gotten used to working from home.”
For candidates
Keep control of your personal narrative.
“Now is the time between Zoom calls to look online at peers at other companies and see how they present themselves. Candidates should open their résumé twice a year. Get your narrative organized now.
Self-reflection.
“When were your happiest, most productive days? Now is the time when you’re home to really think about how you want to come back.”
Check your emotions.
“You can’t control your company’s furlough or salary cuts. You can control your response to it. Check the emotions. This will pass. Calm down. Breathe. You have skills. You have friends. Now is the time to reach out to them.”
Five smart calls a week.
“One phone call a day to the one person that would be cool to talk to. Think about how you are going to reach out to these people. I’m not advocating for cold calls — nobody has the capacity for cold calls. I’m advocating for warm-to-hot calls.”
Philanthropy.
“Now is the time to volunteer and give. That’s what we’re going to want to see in the new résumé. It’s important messaging for people looking for a gig right now. Be philanthropic and opportunistic at the same time.”
