ESPN The Company: The Story and Lessons Behind the Most Fanatical Brand in Sports

by Anthony F. Smith, Keith Hollihan

Overview

A fascinating look at ESPN and its success as a brand

ESPN The Company reveals the inside scoop on the biggest business story in sports, detailing the creative and innovative spirit and practices that drove the programming, products, and services of the most powerful and prominent name in sports media. The authors provide a behind-the-scenes perspective on how ESPN dealt with their many partners and how they handled mistakes and missteps along the way-from the humble beginnings of ESPN as an underrated startup to the pinnacle of their success as a major industry player.

ESPN and other great organizations invest in their people. They train them. They believe that if you spend the time and resources turning talented performers into leaders, you're going to get better organizational performance and engender higher levels of commitment and sweat. ESPN The Company

• Explores the dedication to excellence that makes ESPN the "Worldwide Leader in Sports"
• Reveals how the steps ESPN has taken to excel can be applied to whatever type of business you're in
• Shares the lessons learned at ESPN about launching and growing a wildly successful enterprise

Engaging and informative, this entertaining guide reveals how any company can benefit by embracing the best practices of ESPN.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470542118
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	09/08/2009
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Anthony F. Smith is cofounder and the Managing Director of Leadership Research Institute, recognized as one of the leading management consulting firms in the world. He has been an active consultant for over twenty years in the areas of organizational change and assessment, team building, executive coaching and development, and leadership training and design. Smith has served clients in a variety of fields, including American Express, the National Football League, Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs, the National Geographic Society, The Walt Disney Company, Deutsche Bank, and ESPN. His writing has appeared in several publications, including BusinessWeek, the Economist, and Investor's Business Daily, and he is the author of the critically acclaimed book The Taboos of Leadership.

Keith Hollihan is a writer who has collaborated with Smith and many other top business and leadership experts on books and articles covering a wide range of issues that leaders face today. He is the coauthor of the bestseller Everybody Wins and The End of Energy Obesity, both published by Wiley.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: The Biggest Business Story in Sports xiii

Chapter 1 Turning Fanatics into Fans 1

Chapter 2 Think Like an Incumbent, Act Like a Challenger 31

Chapter 3 The Right Leader at the Right Time 65

Chapter 4 Create Your Own Game 103

Chapter 5 Expand the Brand 131

Chapter 6 Playing Well with Others 161

Chapter 7 Blow the Whistle, Spot the Ball 181

Chapter 8 Are You Having Fun? 201

Notes 219

References 221

About the Authors 223

Index 225