Business Game Time

The NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat gave so much interesting insights and ideas that I tried to put together 10 learnings that can easily be transferred to the business world and to our work environment.

Filed under: basketball by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: basketball • be yourself • broadness • chris bosh • common goal • common vision • dallas mavericks • deliver • dirk nowitzki • don nelson • donald carter • draft • dwyane wade • earvin "magic" johnson • expectations • free agent • holger geschwindner • humbleness • image • improvement • jason kidd • jason terry • lebron james • mark cuban • mavs • mentoring • miami heat • nba • next level • pressure • promises • schadenfreude • self-confidence • sense of purpose • stars • talent • team work • trust • weakness • work ethics

How the Golden State Warriors’ season tickets promotion shows what a great value offering can look like: A consistent high overall level of quality, outstanding efforts in customer interaction, an emotional connection and integrity.

Filed under: basketball by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: all star ballot • all star game • basketball • chris paul • compensation • consistence • contract • customer experience • emotional connection • fairness • golden state warriors • guarantee • high level of quality • home wins • integrity • kobe bryant • lockout • monta ellis • nba • oakland • playoffs • promotion • risk-free renewal • russell scibetti • sales • season tickets • value

The NBA banned Athletic Propulsion Labs’ Concept 1 shoe because it creates an “unfair competitive advantage”. The way APL turned this into sales success shows how to deal with market entry barriers by breaking market rules.

Filed under: basketball by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: adam goldston • adidas • advertising spending • apl • athletic propulsion labs • ban • basketball • brand • calculable • change the rules • concept 1 • concept one • distribution • dynamic • fuzzy • jump • los angeles • market entry • market entry barrier • marketing • nba • nike • product • reebok • ryan goldston • shoes • sports apparel • supply chain • unfair competitive advantage • unpredictable • vertical leap

With LeBron James and the Miami Heat starting the season as favorites, here’s an analysis why the labor market in the NBA is fairer than the one you’re on and how companies can use this to gain a competitive edge.

Filed under: basketball by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: alternatives • basketball • boston celtic • chelsea fc • chris bosh • christiano ronaldo • competitive edge • dwyane wade • fair market • florida • hire • judgement • kaká • l.a. lakers • labor market • lebron james • long • los angeles lakers • manchester united • markets • miami heat • nba • new york yankees • opportunity • orlando magic • ratio • real madrid • recruiting • relative • salaries • short • tranfer fees • uefa champions league • value • value potantials • war for talent • world series

The first round of the NBA playoffs ended last week with some quite surprising results, notably in the Western Conference, where two of the top four seeded teams dropped out already. The top seeded team, the L.A. Lakers, made it to the second round, as usual lead by their biggest star Kobe Bryant, who score [...]

Filed under: basketball by Johannes
2 Comments » Tagged with: application • balance of power • contract • disproportional • disruption • economic slowdown • economical crisis • expiring contracts • extension • free agent • general manger • george akerlof • high performers • irrational behavior • kobe bryant • l.a. lakers • labor market • limit • long • los angeles lakers • market for lemons • maximum duration • mitch kupchak • nba • oklahoma city • performance • performer • playoffs • reduce cost • renegotiate • risk taker • salary • short • transaction cost • transparency • transparent • war for talent • western conference

The playoffs in the best basketball league in the world, the NBA, just started last Saturday. For that occasion, the NBA put together an advertising video that combines parts from player interviews. The main theme of the video is “Focus”. Focus is not only a good idea when you are playing in the NBA playoffs [...]

Filed under: basketball by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: advertising • amare stoudemire • chauncey billups • dwight howard • dwyane wade • focus • inspiration • kevin garnett • lebron james • nba • players • playoffs • text • transcript • video

In my last post, I wrote about Evgeni Plushenko and his comeback. When his wife Yana Rudkovskaya was asked about his comeback plans, she gave a clear answer: “I understood that he really missed the life of a competitor”. That’s something I read a lot in interviews with some of the biggest stars in sports. [...]

Filed under: basketball by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: a whole new mind • angel investor • basketball • blog maverick • chutzpa • competition • competitor • creativity • dallas mavericks • dan pink • daniel h. pink • evgeni plushenko • learn • lose • mark cuban • mavs • nba • play • processes • risk • win • yana rudkovskaya • yevgeni plushenko

A quiet time in the sports year: The soccer leagues in Europe are either taking a winter break or postponing most of their matches due to heavy snow and NBA and NHL are early in the season. The only big league really heating up is the NFL, where the playoffs started this weekend. So for [...]

Filed under: (american) football by Johannes
No Comments » Tagged with: (american) football • assessment center • concentration • nba • nfl • nhl • penalties • playoff • playoffs • turnovers