The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Pro sports offers examples of how manage through the pandemic
There has been a longstanding use of sports as analogies of management, teamwork, success, failure, motivation and more. Sports, and more specifically teams, offer to us relatable, timely examples that cut across all cultures.
Recent efforts throughout the sporting world can serve as examples that will be remembered for some time.
In ancient Greece, people would stop wars in order to hold the Olympics. This year, because of a global pandemic, the 2020
Tokyo Summer Olympics have been postponed until 2021.
I think it would have been appropriate to hold the world’s premiere sporting event during the 75th anniversary of the United States dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended World War II. Sadly, that cannot happen.
The amount of teamwork to ready a city and nation to play host to the Olympics is enormous. The cost of the Olympics, according to some sources, has ranged from $17 billion to $26 billion. It is staggering to imagine the project management and team effort that goes into the preparation for the games.
Think for a moment of the athletes, teams and national sporting organizations or nations affected by a year’s delay.
For some, a year delay will allow them to further refine their skills for perhaps a better performance. For others, such a delay might result in them not being able to hold their performance peak. Regardless, the motivation and discipline to undergo another year of rigorous training will be a test for the individual athletes, teams, coaches and organizations.
The management comparison here: Your team has been working on a major project for at least two years. Then, within four months of the launch, you are told the client cannot accept the order for a year. Management, motivation and teamwork can save the day.
Professional sports is providing us a microcosm of approaches of how to manage through the pandemic.
Professional basketball — both men’s and women’s — have taken the bubble approach. Smaller total population and facilities make this easier and so far the most successful.
Professional football I consider is taking a bubble “lite” approach. Large facilities, largest total population, aggressive roster reductions and minimal preseason contact in an attempt to reduce injuries hopefully will get teams on the field in September. It does appear that coaches are keeping an eye on players since in addition to normal injury
concerns a COVID-19 infection could impact a player’s season.
Professional baseball took the most lenient approach. The Canadian-based team had to find facilities in the United States to play because of the pandemic travel restrictions for entering Canada from the United States. Numerous games have been postponed due to outbreaks in teams. In a shortened season, postponements will result in additional rescheduling and perhaps affect pitching rotations.
This year, organizations have had shutdowns, employee shortages and availability issues, as well as federal and state programs to navigate, and the impact of the pandemic continues. However, when you need a break or, perhaps, inspiration, look at our professional sports and you will probably find an analogy that might boost you and your team.