Life Lessons from the Former Czechoslovakia

 Admittedly, I’m an inconsistent blogger and when I do write it’s usually related to things like strategy, leadership, marketing, and sport. Knowing I don’t have a million readers, perhaps all of my blogs are self-serving and personal, but even if not, this one might very much be so.  

30 years ago today, my last days in grade 11 mere days behind me, I got on a plane to the former Czechoslovakia. (I want to address that first – I know I was extremely fortunate to get to do this and I have never lost sight of that. I have been very lucky in many ways in my life, and this is a leading example.) A good friend, whose mother is Czech, had come to me in a Chem 30 class earlier in the spring asking if I’d like to go to Olomouc, Czechoslovakia to teach English to students our age. Thinking it would never materialize, I thought “sure, that sounds fun!” and within a few months our flight was taking off. We spent three weeks in Olomouc, lived in a 500 year old house, helped two students with their English, had a week in Prague, and overall got to experience life in a country less than three years removed from communism.

Driving to Olomouc the night we landed in Prague, we went past Wenceslas Square where much of the Velvet Revolution had taken place. I’d become interested in global affairs with everything that had happened in 1989 and as a 17 year old to be driving past a square central to the movement, it hit me very quickly where I was. The stories I’d seen on TV were suddenly very real.

I’m not here to recount all the fun and crazy things that happened that month. That would truly be self-serving (though who wouldn’t want to hear a story of getting stranded at a beach, planning to walk the 2 hours back to our house and guessing how to get there, while everyone back at home was holding a séance to ensure I was still alive!). Instead, I’m here reflecting on the importance of this month which I’ve realized comes down to three things.

Luck – How did I end up born in Canada and at a time after the two world wars? I’ll never know. But confirming this luck came in hearing one of our hosts recount a story of starting a historical society and ultimately being jailed for 7 years due a communist collaborator believing his actions meant that he was anti-communist. He told this with a quiet smile and sense of calm to have mistaken him for telling a children’s story about a trip to a museum. I knew then a greater understanding of freedom than I’d had prior to the trip. 

Global awareness – Not to suggest I’ve mastered that now, but this trip taught me how similar we all really are, no matter where we’re from, what language we speak, nor our background. The people were so kind to us, were patient with my lack of Czech, though I did learn key things like cukrárna (sweet shop/bakery) and pivo (beer) and matched our curiosity about their lives and country with the same about life as a Canadian. These people had been through so much in the previous 60 years, yet they went about things with incredible positivity and optimism. 

Toughness – I learned I’m tougher than I thought I was. Overall, it was an amazing trip but inevitably there were challenges and obstacles and I generally navigated them well. While I still work on this everyday, and don’t always succeed, it taught me that there is enough here with me and to relish that, rather than think the opposite. 

I think about this trip all the time. The curiosity sparked while there led, I’m sure, to living in Belgium and some of the work trips I’ve been privileged to go on. It gave me more of a reason to see our world for its similarities and to think critically about how people and countries are portrayed. It was an incredible experience and 30 years on, it’s still teaching me. 

Quit the Spikes - Focus on Long-term Fan Engagement

We all know that social media can be quite negative, but it can at times spark interesting discussions. I posted, complimenting the Elks on their strategy that is focused on building long term attendance rather than intermittent spikes driven by one off events. To me this reflects a shift not only from how this team has done things but in how sports has largely been marketed in recent years. Some agreed, some weren’t sure.

My argument is that in sport, or with any organization for that matter, you want to attract people based on your core deliverable. This is what you own and is what you’re good at - in this case, that’s football. Everyone through the doors doesn’t need to understand why that curl route was run at a certain depth, but for long term sustainability, they should be there for a reason connected to football. That could be:

• I love football and my team, and I can’t imagine missing a game
• I love my city, and this is an important part of my city, so I want to support it
• My kid plays football and it’s important that she get to the games

If the reasons fans come are because the hot dogs are good, or to see the halftime show, your core product isn’t bratwursts or concerts so that’s not a model built for success. When done well, those help enhance the experience, but they can’t be the reason people are coming. Next time there’s a craving, they’ll find a gourmet hot dog at the hottest new spot, and they’ll hear more songs with a better concert experience at other venues. So, they don’t return.

Go to a Premier League soccer game. No surrounding entertainment, fancy promotions or sometimes even a scoreboard that’s easy to see – it’s about the game alone. This core deliverable road, especially in sport, is definitely not the easy one as that brand and cultural connection the Premier League has doesn’t exist for everyone. In my football example, it could mean engaging with young flag football players, focus groups with expired season ticket holders, or identifying ways to keep star players with their teams for longer as ways to create that connection – all things that take time and investment.

People’s buying decisions are complicated and it can be easier to show immediate results with 2 for 1 tickets or giveaways to drive spectator numbers believing the myth that “if they see the product once, they’ll be back”. That’s when you migrate from your core service and try to become concert promoters or culinary experts. Hopefully this Elks example can show that sports clubs can go another way to building a deeper, more committed fan base.

Five Ideas to Push the Elks Back to the Front of the Class

As we near the start of another season for the EE, talk in Edmonton surrounds how this team builds back and regains its status as the leading franchise in this proud league. Clearly new president Victor Cui has had an immediate and positive impact on this franchise and its direction. And while there exist no easy answers for how the club does this in the long run, and not that anyone has asked for my thoughts, but here is a five-point plan of considerations (in honour of the club’s 1978-82 heyday) for how to get this club re-established as the beacon that other league teams follow.

1. Conversations

Research is a crucial component for any plan, and while the Elks in years past have done surveys of their season ticket holders, the questions asked have focused largely on operational issues. They’ve tried to solve issues at the tactical level, not at the core. 

What they need now is conversations. Ones where you can get to the heart of why this team matters to Edmonton and Edmontonians and also why it doesn’t. This can’t be a small focus group of a few people, but I’m talking hundreds of coffee conversations with people young and old, long-time and new Canadians, sports fans and non, just to name a few segments. These stories won’t give the club a road map to solve its issues, but they will hear stories of how someone became hooked on the green and gold, the types of experiences that they want to have, what drives them away, and what could happen to make this team matter. Conversations reveal information. Lots of conversations reveal patterns. Patterns help develop plans.

2. Study Success

Yes, more research. Chip and Dan Heath’s book “Decisive” talks about finding someone who’s solved your problem. For this, I’d look at three options:

• Smaller European football leagues – many of us know about the Bundesliga and Premier League, but what about the Scottish Premiership or Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League. On many levels, none of these smaller leagues can compete with top ones yet each still has passionate fan bases there to support their teams year in year out. Scotland is a good example as it lives next door to the elephant that is the English Premier League (sound familiar?). Scotland has big clubs, a handful that are profitable, and sees much of its revenue driven by an ever-important broadcasting contract. Despite any challenges, the league still has ardent supporters. Studying these may give a glimpse into the ‘why it matters’ question.
  
  
• Saskatchewan Roughriders – While as a fan of the green and gold it pains me to salute the Green Riders, they do have a long-standing connection with their fans that runs deep. No matter where they are, people from Saskatchewan are intensely proud of their home province, and for a large majority that pride comes through in their support for the Riders, no matter how well they’re playing. What knowledge can be gleaned from diving into what makes this franchise, and more importantly, its fanbase tick? Another good example might be the Montreal Canadiens - an organization that continues to successfully find ways to engage while honouring the incredible success of its past.

3. A Focus on the Individual Ticket Buyer

For many years, a focus of the EE seemingly became about attracting the corporate supporter. Corporate ticket packages and hosting areas were the emphasis, and even a new video sponsor ribbon around the middle of Commonwealth took the space previously held by Wall of Fame inductee plaques. This all took place at a time when season ticket totals were declining as was overall attendance. I didn’t see the books at the time and wasn’t in the room to hear the conversations around this strategy, so there could have been great logic to focusing on corporate buyers who may spend more to host clients or provide unique experiences. But, to me it seemed a bit backwards. Instead, a focus on the individual ticket buyer is where my attention would be. Getting more people in the stadium, and especially those maybe less restrained than people might be in a corporate suite, creates a better atmosphere. Create a better atmosphere, more people want to be a part of it. And who wants to be around more people? Corporations generally want to be around more people. 

4. Fewer One Year Contracts

This is a league issue, and not one just plaguing the Elks. The annual migration of players from one team to the next doesn’t allow fans to connect to players, which creates less connection to their teams. Growing up in the 80s, I could know that my two favourite players, Tom Wilkinson and Brian Kelly, would be back the year after. Only retirement took them out of green and gold, so for years I had my idols I could mimic. Now, the CFL emulates house league hockey where every year kids are moved around to different teams with different players. The CFL doesn’t want to be house league hockey. One year contracts are partially solved by stronger revenue streams that don’t make signing bonuses poison pills for teams and enable players to feel confident in longer term deals. There is no quick fix to increasing revenues, but it needs to be addressed to minimize the annual player shuffle we see each February. 

5. Meet Fans Where They’re At

With any team in any sport, you’ll have a fanbase that covers the spectrum from casual to team colour bleeding type fans. The Elks are no different but meeting each fan where they’re at can help further the likelihood more would be willing to tattoo a logo somewhere on their body. Ok, I’m not really suggesting that has to happen, but you see the point. Anyway…for new fans start up Football 101 again. Traditionally geared to women watching football for the first time, create one for new Canadians who are learning not just about football but sporting culture in Canada, which could be very different from where they come from. For casual, but interested fans, perhaps it is about tying other entertainment and experiences to their trips to Commonwealth, tailgating or post game time spent on the field come to mind. And for football nerds like me, give me experiences like film sessions – the chance to hear an ex-player or coach breakdown film would give me amazing insight and would be something that I’d be all over. Fans don’t come in one shape or size so find unique experiences that fit their distinctiveness. 

The Double E hold such a strong place in the history of this city and the hearts of many. My Esks/Elks origin story is deeply tied to my parents and grandma so the connections run deep. Whether my ideas fit where this team needs to go or not, I wish for nothing more than for this franchise to again be admired in this city to that same extent we’ve seen in years past. As noted, President Cui has already taken immense strides and I can’t wait to see what transpires as the season nears. 

Olympic Value

Another Olympics have come and gone, and while I will be the first to admit this one felt different than previous versions, it still reinforced to me its importance in our wonderful but tricky world. It accomplishes things that other events, governments, businesses, and people are rarely able to.

They bring people together. I do believe the ideas of ‘togetherness’ and ‘one family’ from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) can come across differently to different people, but that doesn’t take away the fact it does achieve those things. Imagine any other activity that allows you to spend 3 weeks living in an apartment block with people from all over the world, where you have the opportunity to learn about them, their culture, their struggles, their possibilities. It won’t solve all our international issues, but it does enable a level of worldliness and understanding that people would be hard pressed to get in any other setting.

They show goals are achievable. The Olympics don’t hold a monopoly on the ability to show that goals and dreams can come true, but it is perhaps the most visible one. I’m not even talking about winning medals, but the sheer ability to get to that level of competition is an incredible accomplishment full of sacrifice and effort. Those lessons not only help the young recognize the power they possess, but we adults too can see that goal setting should be a lifelong endeavour, no matter how big or small the aim.

They provide distraction. More than one person has said to me over the last two plus weeks that they’ve been thankful for the Olympics simply to take their minds away from the challenges in Canada right now. I’m not here to pretend that the Olympics act as some vision of panacea for those in our country or world who are living through extreme challenges and struggles, but the idea that sport can temporarily take people is a reality. The global scale and visibility of the Olympics, and the connected nature of so many of us watching at once, make it better than any other sporting event at doing this.

They show that competition is good. In a world that, at times, makes competing and bettering ourselves seem like negative concepts, I like that the Olympics puts competition on full display. Those athletes want to win. They’re trained to do that. But, for the most part they recognize this as only one aspect of the event. Yes, compete to win but aim to do it fairly and in respect of your opponents – we saw this on display many times with athletes celebrating the achievements of others, even when vanquished. Everything isn’t always going to be fair and equal for us and seeing the balance of competition and sportsmanship demonstrates this.

While the world of international sport faces great challenges, the Olympic movement still brings with it significant value. Those challenges can be debated, but I do think at its heart the Olympics are a great event and one that every two years highlights values and lessons that all of us can incorporate and live by.

Re-Evaluation

Even early in the pandemic, it was clear this was going to change us. Maybe we didn’t know how long we’d be in its grasp, and still don’t for that matter, but we collectively knew this situation would cause a shift. For me, I felt like I wanted to come through it a different person. More grateful? More positive? More hopeful? I’m not sure what I was aiming for, but it’s always said that you don’t let a good crisis go to waste and I wasn’t about to let that happen. 

Flip ahead a few months and when I was a free agent, with my time at Edmonton Tourism at an end, and change was upon me. Though this exit may not have been the direct plan, it as an opening, a forced chance to re-evaluate and I’m wanting to embrace that. And that’s been the aim the last dozen plus months.

With that re-evaluation comes lots of questions for an introspective thinker like me. I’m not unique that way as many of us have internal dialogue that can simultaneously be positive and combative. Questions abound such as what I want my future to be? How do I get there? Have my needs and goals changed? Those are all important but beyond that I think bigger thoughts have come to mind:

• Interactions matter – even if you’re on the introverted side of the spectrum, as I am, being with people matters. That may just mean being in a coffee shop solo surrounded by others, but we all crave connection. With the many restrictions over this pandemic, I missed the ease of meeting up with people and have appreciated to a greater degree the ones I’ve been able to have these last many months. 
  
  
• We still have it rather good – if the most challenging thing I’ve had to deal with over the last many months is figuring out how to develop my business, reshape my career objectives, and wear a mask in public, I’m ok. So many people in our country, and certainly in other parts of the world, deal with far more complicated situations. That’s a pretty obvious assertion, but even though covid has knocked us down, many positives still surround us.  
  
  
• Little things really do matter – I’d never intentionally taken for granted hugging my nephews, but I sure missed it early in the pandemic and over the last year as we had to do gatherings more carefully. Seeing the 3 year old run up to me or being able to hug the others meant even more than normal. I hope that lesson sticks and is applied to other situations.

In challenging times it’s easy to wax poetic about all the wonderful things we should do and how much we’ll change. If the first phase of this is re-evaluation, then I’ve been fully in that for many months. Continued action is next and that’ll be the interesting test.

Support for Mental Health - The Huge Strides Taken

As we go through another Bell Let’s Talk Day, it’s easy to feel like there is still so far to go in terms of how mental health is managed and supported in this country. But, in looking back over the last 20 years, it should allow us to see how far we, as a society, have come. 

In the fall of 2004, I was just less than a year into a new job. It was busy and stressful, and I was working up to 70 hours a week. While there were parts I enjoyed, it was becoming too much. Around that time, my sister invited me to a Support Network breakfast where former NHLer Ron Ellis was speaking. He spoke about his depression and how it slowly began to take over in him. As I listened, I heard him describing me. I had never really thought of myself of being depressed. Sure, I had some down times, but I had never felt it was my mental health that was the issue.

Days later I sat down with my sister. Not only was she family, but she was experienced in supporting others with such challenges. She was extremely helpful in talking me through what I was feeling and potential ways I could manage it. One of those options was to use the employee assistance program through my employer and talk to a counsellor. This was another thing I never thought I’d use. It was something others might need if they couldn’t figure things out on their own, but I’d always thought I’d fall into the camp of people who could solve their own issues. Finally I went ahead and met with a counsellor. He was helpful and engaged me in some good conversations that got me on a better path. That said, I kept it hidden. I didn’t seek support from other people around me partly because I wasn’t sure how they’d react. I admit, at the time I was a bit upset at myself that I’d let things slip and that I didn’t have the answers on my own. 

If I was going through this for the first time today, I am confident in saying that embarrassment or self-anger would be less likely to exist. In a relatively short time, our society has made it safer for people to share and open up. We’ve made it normal for people to be honest about their struggles. We’ve made it a more common for people to be vulnerable more regularly, and not just in front of counsellors. This is success – no, it’s huge success. It’s incredible growth we’ve seen. To no extent am I suggesting that we have fully solved the mental health challenges in our country. We haven’t. Supports for mental health need to be better built into our health system so it’s treated as a health ailment, much like a broken arm or an ear infection and we’re not there yet. We need to continue to support people in sharing their thoughts, through formal or informal settings, and to further normalize the idea of talking and sharing or anxieties and feelings. But…we’ve made huge improvements and we need to celebrate that.

In so many parts of our world it’s easy to look at where you are today and feel as though strides forward have been few. On the topic of mental health, we have made huge moves ahead. We hear about mental health and its importance discussed now almost everyday and from all walks of life. Through that, more people are opening up and getting the help they need. We’re far from being there yet, but we’re an awful lot closer today than back in 2004 when this writer cautiously and quietly took his first steps to improving his mental health. 

Being in the Room

The reality is, if we’re not in the room, we really don’t know what’s going on. In our ever-connected world where information on any and all topics comes flying at us incessantly, it’s made us all feel like we’re experts on everything. But we’re really not. 

Lately, we’ve all become armchair infectious disease experts. Or take sports as an example. The December cancellation of the World Junior Hockey Championships brought ‘experts’ out of the woodwork claiming it should’ve been cancelled all along or that it was ridiculous it was ended. With the Oilers ongoing struggles, thousands of general managers in waiting are asking “Why haven’t they gotten a goaltender yet? They’re not trying.” Truth is, unless we’re in those rooms hearing all the angles, actual facts, opinions, projections, implications, we really don’t know what’s going on. Being in the room, you can still disagree with the decisions made, but at least those opinions would be made having heard the realities and not the made up ones pieced together from the info thrown at us. 

In 2005 we at University of Alberta Athletics were hosting the men’s university hockey championship, with the final at Rexall Place. After reasonable ticket sales leading up to the tournament, orders went crazy the day of the gold medal game. Phones were ringing like crazy and prior to game time lineups were out the door at Rexall, and across the bridge over 118th Avenue. We received criticism from fans and the media for being unprepared. However, if those critics had been in the room with us, they would’ve heard the whole story. They would’ve heard us talk the day before about preparing for a 50% walk up of ticket buyers (based on tickets sold to that point), which according to our ticket partner would be extremely high and unlikely to occur based on to-date sales. They would’ve heard us discuss how to balance staffing the building for this unlikely potential walk up, without incurring unreasonable costs, for an organization that had to watch its dollars. 

We had a 100% walk up. We doubled our existing sales in one day - almost unheard of for live sport. That was a scenario only hindsight could’ve prepared us for. We were certainly not perfect in our preparation, but we planned to our best ability with the best info we had leading up. Only being in the room would have given our critics that perspective, not just the casual and incomplete observations from the outside. 

To paraphrase former US President Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the one who points out how the strong person stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming…”

Decisions seem easy and obvious with only a fraction of the information or considerations. The easy thing for any of us to do is to call out from afar others’ challenges or failings, perceived or real. So, imagine yourself in that room. Consider all the hard truths coming at you in making a decision. Then, and only then, are you really in a position to understand what’s truly happening.

The High Road

One of the best things I’ve learned in my career is the idea of ‘taking the high road’. At Incite this was inherent in our culture, so I’m fortunate it was taught to me there, and I’ve aimed to carry this on. 

Challenging situations in business or any walk of life will happen. And in those challenging situations it’s easy to get frustrated or angry and push to get back what we feel we’re owed. With this mentality, all that often results is two sides digging in trying to get all they can. They’re not seeing the bigger picture of their own interests or even how maintaining a mutually strong relationship can provide better results for all. 

There is a tendency for any of us to think, “If I take the high road, I’m not standing my ground or defending my interests. I’m letting myself be pushed around.” What taking the high road actually means is separating yourself from the conflict of the moment to instead see what could be. Float up above the situation to see what’s really needed. What can you absolutely, not give in to? What does the other side really need? If we work together to find a solution, what opportunities does that open for us both? This ‘floating’ takes discipline to see the possibilities, rather than what divides, and to replace winning in the moment for winning together in the long term. 

As any of us work to be high road people, navigating the immediate frustration of the moment is what is hard. It isn’t comfortable to think the other side is succeeding at our expense. The benefit, however, is the environment that’s being created. A culture is being set up that aims to build strong relationships of give and take. Strong relationships that easily endure through inquiry and hard questions, asking for what you need, and that ultimately put you in a better position than had you retaliated in the initial moments of conflict. 

The high road isn’t easy to find and I have to constantly remind myself to stay on it and why that matters. As it’s practiced, in each difficult situation we’ll be asking “what is the best possible outcome for both sides here and what do I need to do in this moment to make that happen?”. Doing that lets us enjoy the view from the high road.