WHAT'S BEST FOR YOUR CAREER: STAIRS OR ESCALATOR?

I was taking time to read a book given to me from a corporate client at Auto-Owners Insurance. This easy-to-read book is called “Take The Stairs” which deals with leadership lessons learned from a lifetime of service by Roger Looyenga, the chairman and chief executive officer at AOI.

One of the paragraphs dealt with long term success rather than short term gain which made me think of our Mentoring members. I hear from so many and the focus seems to be always on securing a big league job right off the bat especially those that are just graduating from college? My question: Is that truly the best avenue to take? How much is someone leaving on the table when it comes to personal growth, hands on experiences and the ability to truly see how an operaton works from the ground up by not pursuing a minor league pro sports team position?

I remember when I first started out in Billings, Montana at the Junior Hockey League level of my sport (don’t let the title make it sound like the level of play was for kids! My arena sat well over 8,000 people for the games!) My job back then was the ‘jack of all trades’ in our front office. I was involved in season ticket/group sales, promotions, game operations, PR & media, player appearances and advertising placement. I didn’t know a single facet about the business when I started out in this position. Did not go to college. I must admit that back in 1977, sports was truly a ‘game’ not like today where it is now an investment business more concerned with accumulating revenues. Teams, more so this period of time, are wanting to hire specialists that are "potty trained" and can come right in and get the job done without the need of time spent on training, etc.

On the flip side, when I was lucky enough to get that call up to the big leagues, for some reason or another, I always felt like a DH in baseball versus the 3rd or clean-up hitter (if I can use a baseball term here!) My teams in the minor leagues and junior hockey levels always counted on me to knock in runs for the franchise sort to speak. I so enjoyed the ton of responsibility with the job at hand. In the big leagues, I felt pigeon holed into one department. Focused on one thing. Never could cross over. That was the feeling of being a DH that led to me leaving the big leagues on three different occasions in my career to go find a lineup (job) that allowed me to bat in the top half of the order!

In closing, I want to share a great quote stated by Mr. Looyenga in his book which he said: “When faced with the decision of whether to take the stairs or ride up the escalator, you will always be better off taking the stairs.” I am glad that I took the staircase up through my journey in the sports business. I’ve also been on a few escalators in my time and I have to admit (truthfully) that one time my shoe actually got caught on the ride and I spilled by infant baby out of her stroller going down an escalator. Maybe that’s why I've been so fond of ‘stairs’ through the years!


Jim Loria, Career Planning Expert for Sports Professionals
Email address: loria@sfstampede.com