February 09, 2008
MIT Sloan Sports Business Conference
The conference is about to get underway with a keynote address by Wyc Grousbeck, the Boston Celtics CEO.
Update: Here's Wyc:
Wyc Grousbeck
Photo: David Pinto, Baseball Musings
Update: Grousbeck is talking about why we love sports. We love the excitement, the conflict.
He uses Ted Williams last home run as an example of the excitement of fans being part of history. The fans cheered for minutes to try to get Williams to come out, and he didn't (he read the Updike New Yorker piece). Williams never came out, but the fans knew they were part of a special moment.
Update: His second point is on decision making. Wyc wants to use data and analytics to help decision making, but he doesn't want to hide behind the data in making decisions.
Update: His decision to buy Celtics was an emotional one with 90 seconds of analysis. The cash flow worked, so he paid more for the team so the deal would go through.
Update: Wyc's third point is talking about putting this team together.
- Hiring Danny Ainge because he was a team player. They didn't have any data on him as a GM, but they liked the way he would work with them.
- Extended Paul Pierce. Wants him to be a Celtic for life. Another emotional decision.
- Trading for Ray Allen, knowing they could trade for Garnett later. A data driven decision.
Data is a tool, but dosn't drive decision making.
Update: People at the peak of their performance aren't driven by the money. They love what they're doing. He gives a good example of Kevin Garnett showing up early for an optional practice, missing two shots in a row, then running suicide sprints as self-inflicted punishment.
Update: A very good keynote. I agree with his final point that you should do what you love. It worked for me.
Posted by David Pinto at
08:52 AM
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Here's the thing though - it's sort of self-selecting. Wyc is in front of a group advocating doing what you love, taking risks (like when he said he made a deposit on the Celtics before he had any other investors lined up). But he's there because it worked out for him. No one gives the keynote to the guy who dropped a $20 million deposit with $0 in investors, and ended up getting no one else and forfeiting his deposit. Likewise, we're reading your blog because you succeeded at doing what you love. The guy who tried it and couldn't make it work, doesn't have a blog anymore :-)
