Here at CORE Communications, when
we are hiring for our Management Training Program, we often find ourselves
drawn to candidates with backgrounds in athletics. Maybe that’s because our
manager, Ryan, played professional soccer, or maybe it’s because our top
producer, Trent, was the quarterback at Texas A&M, but we think it goes
beyond that. So, we decided to put together a list of why we think someone with
a sports background typically does well at CORE Communications.
1. People who compete in sports are, well, competitive. In order to be successful in business, you have to be competitive. The outspoken coach of the Dallas Mavericks and self-made Billionaire Mark Cuban said it best: “I love the sport of business. I love the competition. I love the fire of it. The sport of business is the ultimate competition. It’s 7 x 24 x 365 x forever."
1. People who compete in sports are, well, competitive. In order to be successful in business, you have to be competitive. The outspoken coach of the Dallas Mavericks and self-made Billionaire Mark Cuban said it best: “I love the sport of business. I love the competition. I love the fire of it. The sport of business is the ultimate competition. It’s 7 x 24 x 365 x forever."
2. In sports, and in business, in order to win, you must choose to work hard. Putting aside his current injuries, who
is widely recognized as the best basketball player in the game right now? Kobe
Bryant. It is no coincidence that he is also widely recognized as the hardest
working athlete out there. Many teammates, trainers, and even competitors have
attested to Kobe’s work ethic. He hits the gym to practice alone in the wee
hours of the morning, typically works out at least 4 hours per day year-round,
and counts all of his shots made in practice, only allowing himself to stop
when he gets to 400. He even practices without a ball. “You’d walk in there and
he’d be cutting and grunting and motioning like he was dribbling and shooting –
except there was no ball. I thought it was weird, but I’m pretty sure it helped
him,” said Shaquille O’Neal.
3. Every winning organization needs a good leader, whether it's a sports team or a company.
“Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The ones who
win get inside their player’s head and motivate.” –Vince Lombardi, legendary
football coach.
4. Kids
who grow up playing sports are used to dreaming big. If you show up to a high
school football game and take a poll of the roster, I’d guess that about 80% of
the kids aspire to play in the NFL. According to the NCAA, in reality, only
about 5.8% of them will play in college, and an NFL team will eventually draft only 0.08% of those who played in high school. That’s 8 of every 10,000. They have to know it’s unlikely, but
they don’t care. They dream big. Similarly, about 100% of people would like to
be a millionaire, but currently, only 1.6% of Americans are Millionaires.
5. The best athletes and business people
can pick themselves back up and dust themselves off after a failure. “Obstacles
don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael
Jordan.
Copyright 2014 CORE Communications, Inc. Houston, Texas
