Jesse's Solution

The professional sports industry (owners, unions, sports agents, and media) has turned the focus on "team" into a focus on the individual. Look at how they are rewarded. The individual rewards are tied (for the most part) to individual performance. And the contracts are written based on expected individual performance (1 to 10 year contracts) versus actual individual performance (what happened this season). There is no real $ motivation for team performance.

 

My solution – All the money generated by every team in the league goes into one large pot (including TV, radio, venue and endorsement revenue). Fixed percentages are given to each team based on how they finished in the final standings. The top team gets the most, the worst team gets the least. Each team will have the same fixed percentages for operations and players/coaches. At the end of the season the money is put on a table in the locker room and the coaches and players work out how much each person gets as a team. I can guarantee that the quarterback won’t take that much more than the offensive linemen who have protected him so well all year long. The superstar who gets hurt early in the season and doesn’t play won’t take any more than their backup who came in and contributed to the success of the team. Drafted players would have to prove themselves on the field, and would only leave the team if "released" by the team (coaches included). I also believe individuals would be less likely to participate in personal actions that could potentially harm the team’s ability to perform. And if they did do something to harm the team they would feel the hurt in terms of their reward at the end of the season. They could even be released with no guarantee of being picked up by another team. What team is going to take a chance on a player released by their teammates?

 

I think there is a similar challenge in most companies. How does the CEO justify taking 10000 or even 1000 times more money than the lowest paid worker at the end of the year? Is that teamwork?

 

Jesse Freese

Fissure