Happy Birthday - To My Blog

While searching for an old article, I found this post from March 2006 where I wished a "Happy Birthday to my Blog" (yes, this from a guy who threw birthday parties for my dog when I was a kid!).

March 2005 I began this online effort.  Seven years later I am still here.  Nobody read this blog back then.  Now I have some regular subscribers and readers, and many more occasional visitors.  Some find me via search engines.  Others come here from a social media link they run across.

Writing this blog has been therapeutic.  It has sparked business opportunities.  I have met people online which has lead to in-person connections.  Most of all, it has been an ongoing constant part of my evolution as a writer, speaker, consultant, and person.

I have shared victories and failures with anyone who is interested.  I am reminded by readers when I make mistakes or fall short of expectations.  I have tried to be honest and helpful all the time.  The real one who learns from my blogging efforts is me.  I have discovered my own short-comings and have worked toward being better.

Being human is a journey.  Too many people forget this and form opinions of others from a limited view point and hold on to their judgments.  I am not the same as I was seven years ago, and this realization has helped me accept others for their own flaws.  Hopefully I have expanded my soul, and this blog has helped me along the way.  There is still a long way to go (I hope), and for those who are here with me..... THANK YOU.

I love to see others succeed, and try to be a resource for others.  Most often this is just by sharing and brainstorming.... as I believe we achieve more when be have friends than when we have foes.  If you find yourself reading these words, please reach out to me if I can be of assistance.

Have A Great Day.

thom

The Smart But Dull Conference? Does Content Stand Alone?

Is content king?

I continue to see the discussion around the meetings industry about "content vs style" when it comes to speakers.  I have long argued that there should be no disagreement on this topic, as it is not too much to expect both from those who make presentations at events.

I would never argue against content.  That is crazy talk.  However, there seems to be a fear of "pure motivational speakers" taking over the meeting world.  I am not even sure what that means.  Without content there is no motivation.  "Fluff" cannot stand alone.  We need and want content.

Yet, all speakers should be motivational.  Without a level of connection with the audience, and the ability to move people to action, you just have a book report.  The speakers set the tone for the whole meeting and create the threads that are weaved into the overall experience.  Besides, what is the opposite of "motivation"? (Discourage?, Disincentive?, Deter?, Suck the energy out of the room?)

With all the talk about content over experience, I have not seen a conference organizer advertise their event by saying "Our speakers are monotone, dry and might suck the energy out of the room and make you wish for reruns of Punky Brewster, but dang it, they are smart".

Nobody looks forward to attending the "Smart But Dull Conference"

This does not mean that every presenter needs to be a professional speaker or trained orator. I am saying that seeking only content can leave a hole in what the audience desires and deserves. There are many experts who do a great job of sharing their information clearly and concisely with audiences and create a positive learning experience.  But there are others who suck.

Vetting speakers and understanding their level of experience is key.  I had one planner tell me she does not want to be offensive by asking industry leaders for references or a list of speaking experience.  This means she has no idea how many times people have ever spoken publicly. Would you hire a band to play at your event without talking to people who have heard their music or seen them play?  What if your band only decided to learn to play instruments recently?  Ouch.  (Trust me, you do not want me to play guitar at your event!).

Content is important, but so is experience, style, and communication skills.

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

Thom Singer is known as "The Conference Catalyst". He works with meeting planners and conference organizers to set the tone for a meeting. His presentations educate, inspire and motivate attendees to engage deeper in the event and make meaningful connections. http://www.conferencecatalyst.com 

The NBA Draft & Early Entry Decisions

Finally, one year later, the sports world is recognizing the challenges that student-athletes in the sport of men’s basketball face when navigating the rules relative to entering the NBA draft early. The NCAA and NBA have developed rules that, when combined, protect everyone except student-athletes trying to make a good decision.

Lots of articles been written on this subject, and I’d encourage you to read the following:

1. An opinion piece I wrote last April, predicting that this will be a problem for student-athletes.
2. Two advice pieces, written for student-athletes.
a. By Marc Isenberg -- link.
b. By Darren Heitner -- link.
3. An opinion piece by Bob Kravitz of the Indinapolis Star pointing out the current problems.
4. A lengthy law review article I wrote outlining the history of the NBA draft and arguing for change.

Cool Things My Friends Do - Ed Cavazos TEDx Talk

Each Friday I am posting  "Cool Things My Friend's Do" onto my blog.

My friend Ed Cavazos is an IP Attorney with Bracewell & Giuliani LLP in Austin, Texas.   I recently saw this video from his TEDx San Antonio presentation in 2011.  I have known several people who have given talks at TEDx events around the country, but since I just ran across this one, I wanted to share it with the readers of my blog.

If you cannot see the video, here is the YouTube link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUvkaRx63e0



Have A Great Day

thom singer

38th Annual Sports Lawyers Association Conference

The full program for the the 38th Annual Sports Lawyers Association Conference has been released. The event takes place May 10-12, 2012 in San Diego, CA. Highlights from the conference include the following:

College Conferences and Their Own Networks - Will College Sports Be Changed Forever? Counseling Your Client in a Crisis Situation
Town Hall Debate Collective Bargaining:Winners and Losers
Ethics for Sports Lawyers, The Lawyer's Dilemma: Ethics vs. Reality
Title IX: 40 Years Later
The Olympic Games as a Showcase - Anticipated Issues
And many others

Eight Tips To Make Your Conference An Industry Happening

Can a company's "user's conference" become an Industry Happening?

It can when Troux Technologies hosts their customers for their annual Troux Worldwide Conference.  For the second year in a row this Austin company had an event that is the buzz of the Enterprise Architecture world.

With a more than 20% increase in attendance over the 2011 event, this year they had over 400 attendees and employees from over 20 countries converge in Austin, Texas for two days of education and networking.

I had the honor of being the Master of Ceremonies for the event (I was a speaker at last year's conference), and it was an experience to see how the customer's presentations and the "hallway conversations" sparked impactful learning and connecting for everyone present.

Is your company's conference an "industry happening"?  

Here are seven tips to make your user gathering an experience to remember:

1.  Invite your employees to participate.  While larger companies cannot include their whole staff, many organizations limit the who attends events.  When your enthusiastic team is present, it sets the tone for the event.

2.  Educate your employees on how to be the "hosts" and "hostesses" of the meeting.  Do not assume that all your people understand how to engage in conversations in networking situations.

3.  Do not make it a commercial for your company.  Put the focus on the attendees.  Keep your CEO's remarks opening remarks short and focused on the audience... and avoid breakouts sessions designed to highlight your own triumphs.

4.  Get the audience involved.  Find ways to get active participation. Pass out small video cameras to audience volunteers and get them to record short interviews with other attendees.  Let them keep the cameras in exchange for their efforts (but after you download the videos).

5.  Select speakers and panelists who will openly share information. Too often speakers hold back on the useful information, but when people receive deep information, they appreciate the whole conference experience.

6.  Keep the coffee service available in a Networking Lounge.  Not everyone wants to sit in every breakout session, so give them an alternative place to go for conversation and connections.

7.  Hold speakers and panelists to the designated agenda timing.  When sessions run over you steal time for people to process information and share ideas with each other.  Get a countdown clock and make it clear to everyone that there is not room for overages.

8.  Use social media to expand the reach.  Make sure that those who follow your industry have constant access to what is happening at the conference via a variety of social media channels.

Understand in the planning stages that there is power human interaction. In a world crazy with technology everyone longs for personal connections and the creation of real friendships and ongoing business relationships.  People want more than a data dump.  Expectations for events to create a community experience are growing. 

Information alone will not create buzz.   It is the engagement of the audience that charges up the high levels of excitement and takes the experience beyond the average conference.  

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

Thom Singer is known as "The Conference Catalyst". He works with meeting planners and conference organizers to set the tone for a meeting. His presentations educate, inspire and motivate attendees to engage deeper in the event and make meaningful connections.  http://www.conferencecatalyst.com 

www.ConferenceCatalyst.com

Return of cheering speech

Two items on the cheering speech front:

First, I am quoted in today's New York Times on the subject, staking out my favored position that it's all First-Amendment protected and at least state-run facilities cannot do much. This subject seems to be back in the news of late, helped by some high-profile incidents, such as the eviction of former NC State basketball stars Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani from an NC Stage game last month. The Times interview was pretty interesting, because the reporter seemed dubious and so, apparently, were the other people he had spoken to.

Second, here's an example of when cheering speech can be pretty clever: Fans of a lower-division German soccer team that had not scored in several game brought a sign reading "We'll show you where the goal is," then another group stood behind the visitors' goal holding yellow and green arrows and pointing them at the net (click to enlarge). Deadspin has video of the fans in motion. Now should the team, upset by the fans' "negativity," be able to stop this quite clever (and non-disruptive, since there aren't many people at the game) expression of dissatisfaction with the team's performance? And if the answer is no, then we need some way to draw a line between this and booing and yelling that the players stink--and no one has ever successfully drawn that line.

Sports Law at the Final Four: Tulane Law on Friday

If you are in town for the Final Four or have the good fortune to live in NOLA, please come by Tulane Law School for a panel discussion apropos to March Madness. The Tulane Sports Law Society presents: "Hot Topics in NCAA Athletics: Time for a Change?"

The panel discussion will take place this Friday, March 30th, beginning at 1pm, running until about 2:15pm. Immediately following the panel discussion will be an informal reception until 3pm. Potential topics include: multi-year scholarships, scholarship enhancements, conference realignment, player safety, social media, transfer issues, and the BCS. The panelists follow:

Renee Gomila, Associate Director of Enforcement, NCAA
Timothy Liam Epstein, Partner/Chair Sports Law Practice Group, SmithAmundsen, LLC

Greg Byrne, Director of Athletics, University of Arizona

Mike Alden, Director of Athletics, University of Missouri

John Long, Director of Compliance, Southeastern Louisiana University

The panel will take place at Tulane Law School. Room 257 Weinmann Hall, 6329 Freret Street, New Orleans, LA 70118. The panel is open to the public.

Sports Law Blog gets attention

Marc's post on the Gregg Williams suspension got some pub from reporter Stefan Fatsis on this week's Hang Up and Listen podcast on Slate. Fatsis seems to be a regular reader of the blog; he interviewed me for an NPR speech on fan speech a few years ago.

New Sports Illustrated column: What Hurdles Remain for Dodgers Sale?

I have a new column for SI on a group that includes Magic Johnson wining the bidding process for the Dodgers and what issues remain.  They include factors that will be considered by a bankruptcy judge on April 13 and how debt financing plays a role in Major League Baseball's evaluation of the winning bid. 

Hope you have a chance to check out the column.

Odds

Tassos Kaburakis and I recently had the chance to collaborate on a research project looking at gambling in the EU. Our findings were just published in the new issue of Business Law International. The abstract is below. Our follow-up piece focuses on the US exclusively and is slated for publication later this year. Among other things, our US-specific article looks at PASPA on the statute's 20th anniversary.

Using law and policy as a sustainable competitive advantage source is a recent research stream. This paper illustrates how legal and policy research contributes to firms’ strategy in the regulated gambling industry, defined by legislation and jurisprudence. The gambling sector has been a microcosm of European integration and harmonisation challenges, as well as promising opportunities. Research on European Court of Justice case law in the period 1990-2010 and on recent policy developments yields significant findings for firms wishing to compete in the gambling industry, in which entry barriers have traditionally been high due to restrictive regulation. Following the latest European Court of Justice decisions in September 2010 and the ensuing policy impact across Europe, gambling operators are prudent to invest in litigation, lobbying, continuous legal and policy monitoring, and establishment of regional gambling sites in jurisdictions they would have been preempted from pursuing heretofore.

Football Agents: Back on Campus

After almost five years, the NFLPA decided to rescind the “Junior Rule” yesterday. This rule, enacted and enforced by the NFLPA, specified that agents were not allowed to contact a college player until after their junior year—specifically, either after their last regular season or conference championship game or December 1st, whichever came later. Since the NFL’s CBA requires that three regular seasons have completed before a player may be drafted, the intent was to reduce unnecessary contact between draft ineligible student-athletes and agents.

In theory, this rule made sense; in practice it became an unbridled disaster for the industry. The competition to sign student-athletes is fierce and this rule became a wedge between agents who completely ignored it and those who tried to follow the law. Unfortunately for the NFLPA and their agents, since contact with a student-athlete is not prohibited by the NCAA, by and large student-athletes and institutions neither cared about nor enforced this rule.

The result was that agents were forced to decide between abiding by this rule or losing potential clients to their competitors who largely ignored this prohibition. Furthermore, even if agents themselves decided to follow the law, they skirted its intent by hiring runners or representatives to recruit for them. Since the NFLPA has no jurisdiction over anyone not certified by the union, the industry saw an explosion of runners who descended on college campuses across the country.

Yesterday, the NFLPA, by a vote of the player representatives, rescinded the “Junior Rule.” What this means is that schools across the country must be even more prepared to educate their student-athletes. The good news is that the game has changed from enforcement to education. The bad news, how many schools take educating student-athletes in this transition process seriously?

Purposeful Business Conversations - Cut The Cord On The Elevator Pitch

If you were dying -- would you make sure that you chose your words carefully the final time spoke to your children or would you recite an elevator pitch?  Would the purpose of your last conversation with your husband or wife be the same as the one you had with a co-worker?

Who you are speaking with has an influence on your purpose.

In the business world there is a lot of attention placed on crafting an elevator statement.  While I am not arguing the importance of being able to clearly and concisely tell your story, the problem here is that people often learn only one description of themselves and then lead with that in each encounter.

When you meet a client you should have a different purpose than when you meet a prospect.  Another purpose entirely when you meet a vendor or a referral sources.  In each situation you need to have different conversation.  No two people are the same and to recite memorized lines makes your interaction with others less than genuine.

It is best to set aside your elevator pitch and learn to ask questions of others so that you can make decisions about what information is necessary for their needs once it is your turn to share information.

*********************

I was one of the speakers at the 2012 RISE Austin event.  My talk was about knowing your purpose and telling your story.  The audience asked a lot of smart questions about how to embrace the serendipity of conversations and not being tied down to pre-learned statements.  This talk was fun for me as the small audience and intimate setting made for a unique learning environment for the audience and the speaker.

RISE has become one of the most anticipated conferences of the year for local entrepreneurs and others who want to learn.  There were people in my session who were attending over 20 presentations over the five day period (That is a lot of information).  It was fun to hear from the group about each person's "purpose" for participating in RISE.

What was your purpose for reading this blog post?

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

The NFL's Next Legal Challenge Comes From Within

The NFL continues to push the boundaries of antitrust and labor law. The latest incident has to do with an ongoing debate between two teams--the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins--and the league itself. Charges of collusion abound. Here is a summary of the events that triggered this conflict.

1. March 8, 2006: With CBA expiring, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue asks the owners to extend the agreement through the 2012 season. Every owner except Mike Brown of Cincinnati and Ralph Wilson of Buffalo votes to do so. However, a stipulation is put in the CBA extension is that owners can opt out in ’08 and cut the CBA’s length by two years. A provision is put in the CBA that means if the owners opt out, the last year of the agreement (2010) will not include a salary cap.
2. An uncapped year was intended to act as a “poison pill” for both the NFL and NFLPA. The NFLPA was in favor of an uncapped year because they anticipated teams would spend over this artificial ceiling if there are no restrictions. The NFL was in favor of this provision because there were clear limits on free agency that the NFLPA opposed.
3. May 20, 2008: The NFL owners vote unanimously to opt out of their collective bargaining agreement. Without action, CBA will expire March 3, 2011.
4. March 5, 2010: The 2010 league year begins with no salary cap, again, a provision originally meant to motivate sides to extend CBA.
5. 2010 NFL Season: played, but no salary cap.
6. During this season, two teams go over what would have been the artificial salary cap—the Washington Redskins & the Dallas Cowboys. This is done partly by front-loading salaries from long contracts into 2010 season.
7. Important note: All contracts were approved by NFL Management Committee.
8. Winter/Spring 2011: NFL Lockout
9. July, 2011: Owners ratify new CBA.
10. NFL, via the NFL Management Council, comes down on Redskins & Cowboys by punishing them for going over cap in 2010. Both teams were penalized for overloading contracts in the 2010 uncapped season despite league warnings to restrict doing so. Washington has been given a $36 million reduction over two years, while Dallas loses $10 million. Each must take at least half the reduction this year.
11. Why is the league upset over this overspending? Teams had been warned by the league not to structure contracts in such a way, because it could negatively affect competitive balance in 2011 and beyond, when a new collective bargaining agreement was expected to kick in. By dumping large financial guarantees into the uncapped year, Washington and Dallas not only were able to retain or sign potential impact players, the league contends, but also have greater salary-cap flexibility under the new CBA.
12. Finding by NFL that this action "created an unacceptable risk to future competitive balance".
13. No dispute from the NFLPA since they agreed to allow the NFL to take this cap space from the Cowboys and from the Redskins and redistribute the money to other teams. Why? NFL offered to help pump up the 2012 team-by-team salary cap in exchange for the union’s agreement. Also NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith up for reelection.
14. Redskins and Cowboys contest this decision for two main reasons: one, the Management Council approved the contracts; and two, how could they be at fault when there was nothing in writing that prohibited them from structuring contracts as they did? Also, the NLFPA could file charges that the owners colluded to try to suppress wages.
15. The NFL Management Council is Co-Chaired by New York Giants owner John Mara, whose team happens to compete in the NFL East against the Redskins and Cowboys.
16. Statements made by each party include:

a. The Redskins statement:
“The Washington Redskins have received no written documentation from the NFL concerning adjustments to the team salary cap in 2012 as reported in various media outlets. Every contract entered into by the club during the applicable periods complied with the 2010 and 2011 collective bargaining agreements and, in fact, were approved by the NFL commissioner's office. We look forward to free agency, the draft and the coming football season.”

The Cowboys statement:
“The Dallas Cowboys were in compliance with all league salary cap rules during the uncapped year. We look forward to the start of the free agency period, where our commitment to improving our team remains unchanged.”

The NFL statement:
"The Management Council Executive Committee determined that the contract practices of a small number of clubs during the 2010 league year created an unacceptable risk to future competitive balance, particularly in light of the relatively modest salary cap growth projected for the new agreement's early years. To remedy these effects and preserve competitive balance throughout the league, the parties to the CBA agreed to adjustments to team salary for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. These agreed-upon adjustments were structured in a manner that will not affect the salary cap or player spending on a league-wide basis."

17. As indicated in CBA, teams suing NFL go to arbitration, which in this case is Special Master Prof. Stephen Burbank at Wharton.

Purpose

In every situation we should know our purpose.  

Then we have to remember that others may have different motivation.  They too have a purpose.

Too often people people just go through the motions and do not think about the intent of their actions. 

Other times they roll over others to achieve their purpose without thinking of the others involved.

Life is harder to figure out than anyone told us.  Was that on purpose?

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

"Tar Heel Tear Down": UNC Sanctions and Implications for the U

The long anticipated sanctions handed down to the University of North Carolina on March 12^th were yet another blow to a major college program in what has been a decade replete with NCAA sanctions. In the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) alone, thirty-seven programs have been sanctioned to some degree over the past ten years. Of those thirty-seven programs, four were banned from postseason play, eighteen were stripped of scholarships, fourteen faced recruiting restrictions, and all were given probation. Accompanying these sanctions, six show-cause orders have been issued, preventing the inculpated coach from working at the college level without NCAA approval.

The UNC case follows the well-documented sanctions delivered to the University of Southern California (USC) in 2010 and the Ohio State University (OSU) in 2011. USC was stripped of its 2004 National Championship, forced to vacate its 2005 season, and given a two-year postseason ban. OSU was saddled with probation, a one-year postseason ban, and a reduction in football scholarships. In both the USC and OSU cases, part of the violations stemmed from coaches who had knowledge of violations and either fostered continued non-compliance, or did not take proper preventative measures. As UNC recently learned, staff transgressions prompt stiff punishment.

As described by the NCAA’s Public Infractions Report, UNC’s violations stemmed from three separate circumstances: (1) a former tutor committing academic fraud with student-athletes and providing impermissible benefits to student-athletes; (2) the provision of impermissible benefits to student-athletes by various individuals, including sports agents and their associates; and (3) unethical conduct by a former assistant coach. The report links at least eleven former student-athletes to a variety of improprieties occurring while members of the UNC football team. John Blake, the implicated Assistant Coach, had a working relationship with now deceased sports agent Gary Wichard, and reportedly steered players toward his agency.

For these indiscretions, UNC was given a one-year postseason ban, prohibiting the team from playing in the 2012 ACC championship game and any subsequent bowl game. The program was also placed on probation for three years, and stripped of five scholarships for each of the next three years. Blake was issued a three-year show cause order. The University had already placed its football program on a two-year probation, cut three scholarships per year for three years, and vacated wins from the 2008 and 2009 seasons, but the NCAA viewed these self-imposed sanctions as insufficient and issued the dreaded postseason ban.

Interestingly, what is absent from this Infractions Report, is punishment for UNC directly tied to a failure to monitor social media, which was a charge in the Notice of Allegations. It is clear that at least one violation (receipt of impermissible benefits by Marvin Austin) would have been discovered by even a cursory review of his Twitter account. The Infractions Committee, however, declined to impose a blanket duty on institutions to monitor social media. Instead, the Committee held that a duty to monitor social media may arise if an institution has a reasonable suspicion of rules violations by an individual student-athlete. The Committee concluded its comments relative to social media monitoring by punting to schools and conferences: “[i]f the membership desires that the duty to monitor social networking sites extend further than we state here, the matter is best dealt with through NCAA legislation.” For a more detailed discussion of monitoring social media, see my recent law review article published by the University of Mississippi School of Law: “ ‘Student-Athlete.O’ Regulation of Student-Athletes’ Social Media Use: a Guide to Avoiding NCAA Sanctions and Related Litigation.”

The sanctions that were leveled against UNC are generally consistent with those imposed upon USC, OSU and others, and may provide a glimpse into future punitive action by the NCAA. The investigation that bears monitoring in the coming months is the well-documented allegations against the University of Miami. In the shocking account detailed in a Yahoo! Sports August report, Nevin Shapiro, a former University booster, claims that from 2002 to 2010 he provided impressible benefits to seventy-two players including: prostitutes, jewelry, travel, and even funds for an abortion after a player allegedly impregnated a stripper. According to the report, at least seven Miami staff members knew about the benefits being conferred, and some even steered athletes toward Shapiro.

If these allegations prove true, penalties against Miami will assuredly exceed those levied against UNC because if these precedential cases prove anything, it’s that complicit knowledge amongst coaching staff members is reprehensible in the eyes of the Association. Misdeeds by authority figures entrusted with the care of student-athletes implicate an institution far more than the exploits of teenagers and rogue outsiders. If even a fraction of the egregious acts alleged in the Miami case are substantiated, a multiple-year post season ban is likely, and numerous coaches may find themselves strapped with a show-cause penalty. Presently, much attention is paid to providing proper compliance education to student-athletes, but in light of these cases, institutions may need to start devoting more resources for compliance education of coaches and support staff, and not just the athletes working under their tutelage.

Hat tip to law clerks Brian Konkel and Gabriela Schultz for their work on this piece.

Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort

This weekend my family visited the Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort.  I was speaking at a business event and we decided this was a good opportunity for the family to get away for the weekend.  Horseshoe Bay is a short one-hour drive from Austin, and the Bluebonnets (Texas State Flower) are in bloom along the highways.

The event I spoke at was GREAT (I met lots of cool people)... and the hotel was AMAZING (perfect for business and families!).

Sara and the kid's explored the resort while I was working, and then Sara joined me for a hands-on cooking class that was hosted for the participants at the meeting.  It was fun to work with the hotel's chef's to learn and cook with about 15 other folks.  The Marriott staff was wonderful and the food was unique and tasted better because we helped prepare the meal!  The mustard, brie and apple quesadillas are something we will make at home very soon!

The rest of the weekend was spent at the pool, the beach, on the put-put course, a boat cruise, kicking the soccer ball, playing ping-pong, reading, and relaxing.  There was much more to do, and next time we are at this hotel we plan on playing tennis and renting paddleboards.

While my career as a professional speaker brings me to many hotels, the Marriott Horseshoe Bay was a perfect place to bring the family.  We could have happily stayed the whole week.  Two days was not nearly enough.

This is a great destination for any company or association who is hosting an event in Texas.  Easy to get to and you will be pleasantly surprised by all the amenities!!!!

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

Reconnect With An Old Friend

We have all had people in our professional and personal lives who were at one time important contacts.... but over time we have drifted apart.  It happens, there does not need to be a "falling out", but time goes by and we move in different directions.

(Granted, this happened more often before LinkedIn and Facebook showed up).

Think for a minute.  Who was an important person in your life five yeas ago with whom you have not had any contact with in over a year?  Think....   Think.... Think.....

There, someone came to mind.

Now, pick up the phone and call them.  Or send them an email.  Just say "Hello, I was thinking of you today" (you do not have to say "Some guy wrote something on his blog that triggered me to call you" - that might be creepy).

The call might not have any impact going forward.  But maybe it will reconnect you with a person who matters to you.

It is much easier to rekindle a relationship than to build a new one.

Let me know if you have success (or failure) with this little exercise.

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

The Gregg Williams' NFL Suspension: Logical Yet Perhaps Illegal

Most NFL fans were appalled to learn about former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' bounty system that paid his players for injuring opponents. In light of growing concern about retired NFL players' health, Commissioner Roger Goodell swiftly suspended Williams indefinitely from the league.

Thus far, Goodell's suspension of Williams has received overall positive press. However, even if fans are happy to see Williams go, their feelings beg an entirely different question: did Roger Goodell have the legal authority as a governing figure on behalf of the 32 teams to ban Williams from practicing his profession as a pro football coach?

If challenged under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, Goodell's attempt to indefinitely suspend Williams serves as an interesting test case to the modern view of antitrust law's Rule of Reason. As the NFL will most likely note, back in 1961 the U.S. District Court for the District of New York ruled in the case Molinas v. Nat'l Basketball League that a league commissioner may indefinitely suspend a player on moral grounds. However, since the Molinas case was decided (which, of course, only came from a single district court), courts' interpretation of antitrust law's Rule of Reason has changed significantly.

Most notably, in the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States, the high court explained that antitrust law's Rule of Reason should not turn "on a court's intuitive judgment of whether a particular practice seems sensible and equitable, but rather on economic analysis." In other words, unlike in past decisions such as Molinas, public policy grounds no longer serve a clear place in a proper antitrust analysis.

In light of the Supreme Court's holding in both Professional Engineers and its progeny, I have repeatedly argued that indefinite commissioner suspensions in professional sports leagues are generally no different from illegal group boycotts. This argument is especially powerful where the suspended party is an NFL coach because NFL coaches are not unionized and thus their suspensions lie outside of antitrust law's non-statutory labor exemption.

Interestingly, a rarely discussed footnote in Professional Engineers (footnote 22) leaves open a small gray area if the main purpose for a restraint of trade is to protect a collective entity from "product liability." Given the bona fide liability concerns that would flow to NFL teams by allowing continued employment of a coach that has encouraged physical harm to players, Goodell's suspension may fall firmly within the spirit of this Footnote 22 caveat.

Nevertheless, footnote 22 of Professional Engineers is vague, and its successful application has been rare. In addition, footnote 22 relates specifically to product markets and not to labor markets, where upholding such a restraint would entirely prevent one from practicing his chosen avocation.

In this vein, courts have been frequent to uphold the general position that no matter how laudable one's intentions, separate businesses are forbidden from coming together to form an extra-governmental entity that provides rules for the regulation and restraint of interstate commerce. According to most courts, the power to regulate such trade is a power reserved for the government and not trade associations, even where a trade association's leader has honorable intentions.

The Efficient Conference Experience

This article originally ran as a guest blog post on the Trade Show Network News (TSNN) Blog on March 18, 2012

David Allen’s 2001 bestselling book, “Getting Things Done” launched a time management movement around the world. His tips on living in stress-free productivity have engrossed millions of people to embrace his system (or dozens of others) and get focused on efficiency. Most of us are easily distracted by all the stuff in our lives and it is hard to be focused on the tasks we are working on in the moment.  
 
When we attend a conference, trade show, convention or other business gathering our lack of efficiency can become a double-sized problem. In addition to all the choices on the conference agenda, we are still bombarded by our daily life responsibilities, as we are in constant contact via our smart phones. 
 
Years ago, when we attended a meeting we were cut off from the outside pressures while at the event and were wrapped in the cocoon of the hotel ballroom or convention center. We were there to learn, network and discover the latest products or services in our industry. 
 
The days of a trade show allowing for a getaway from our daily lives are long gone. We now have to balance the constant e-mails, phone calls, texts, and other communications with the schedule of the event. Any meeting venue that has spotty wi-fi is a nightmare for the organizers and the attendees, as everyone now expects to have constant connectivity with their office, family, etc.
 
These added pressures keep some people from going to conferences in the first place, as it is just too much to juggle more stuff. Meanwhile, those who are present are constantly distracted. The distractions can harm the attendees overall experience at the event, and thus make them take pause when considering returning for future years. It also hampers the networking opportunities, as people make themselves unapproachable when they have their face buried in their phones.
 
But conference attendance should not make life more difficult.  With a little planning the conference experience can be more productive while staying connected with regular responsibilities.
 
Five tips for having an efficient conference experience:
 
1.  Let people know you are out of the office. Too many people try to pretend they are still at their desk when they are out of town.  They think they will be poorly judged if co-workers or clients think they are at a conference, but most understand that professionals attend industry events, thus there is not any negative stigma with being at a conference. Inform key people in advance of your plans and then put an “out of office” message on your voice mail and email auto-reply.  When you manage the expectations of others as to when you will get back to them you will not feel the pressure to instantly answer every buzz of your phone.
 
2.   Set aside time to review incoming correspondence. Two or three times a day you should check your messages and check in with the office. When you are constantly checking you are not mentally present at the conference. Yes, things do happen that will require your attention, but most of your incoming messages do not need instant attention. Skim your inbox and listen to voicemails a couple of times a day, but do not respond to everything. Knowing that you have a time for checking in will give you peace, and satisfy your worry that the world is crumbling without you being in the office.
 
3.   Be organized about what to attend. Conference agendas can be overwhelming.  Review the schedule of keynotes, breakout sessions, meals, happy hours, etc.  Some events have so many choices as to where you can spend your time that leaving it to a last minute decision can lead to going to any session instead of the best ones for you. Decide in advance which sessions are “must attend” and “nice to attend”. Thus, if something does come up that you have to attend to during the conference, you will already know the best time to schedule the time to get it done. 
 
4.   Pay attention to the education. When listening to a speaker or panel, pay attention to what is being said from the stage. Do not multi-task by surfing the internet, replying to emails, or checking Facebook. Take notes, Tweet interesting nuggets of information, and contemplate how the information can impact your career or company.  If the speaker is not interesting, walk out and attend another session. Do not waste your time, but when there is valuable information being shared, do not be tuned out.
 
5.   Meet other people. Not having your phone in your hand at all times means you can talk to other attendees. A main reason people say they attend business events is for the “networking opportunities”, and yet they often fail to take the steps necessary to begin conversations. Be serious about talking with others, as in addition to the basic connections, the discussions in the hallways at conventions can be some of the best learning opportunities. Ask people what they thought of specific speakers or about the best thing they have learned at the event. 
 
A conscious commitment to being involved at the conference will lead to a more successful experience.  But people will not make this leap on their own. Organizers must show people how to get it all done while at events, as leaving it to chance means people will stress out and fail to have an efficient conference experience.      

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

Thom Singer is known as "The Conference Catalyst". He works with meeting planners and conference organizers to set the tone for a meeting. His presentations educate, inspire and motivate attendees to engage deeper in the event and make meaningful connections. http://www.conferencecatalyst.com 

Two tales of cheering speech

I was interviewed yesterday by a reporter for The New York Times on the subject of cheering speech; he seemed resistant to many of my arguments and suggested that others would be, as well (he might be right about that last point). Anyway, here are two new examples of cheering speech for the record books:

Last night in Oakland, Golden State Warriors fans loudly and continuously booed team owner Joe Lacob during the ceremony to retire the jersey of Warrior great Chris Mullin. The boos continued despite repeated requests from Mullin and from Rick Barry, who also was on hand. Also yesterday, Southern Mississippi kicked five members out of the pep band and withdrew their scholarships after they chanted "Where's green card" at Kansas State's Angel Rodriguez during an NCAA tourney game last weekend.

Both incidents show fans being utterly obnoxious, to be sure. But it is hard to see why any of this does not and should not enjoy free-speech protection under current principles. Certainly the Warriors fans should be able to make their feelings heard about an owner who, in their view, is mismanaging the team.

The Southern Miss situation could get interesting, because the sanction was meted out by a state institution, so a First Amendment lawsuit is not out of the question. My best guess is that any lawsuit will fail, because a court would conclude that the band members speak "as the school" and the school can control who speaks (or cheers) on its behalf. The Fifth Circuit last year rejected a claim by a high school cheerleader who was kicked off the team for refusing to cheer for the basketball team member who, she alleged, sexually assaulted her. It's hard to imagine the band members having any better luck.

Update: A reader emails to say he reached out to the Southern Miss. administration and a spokesperson said there is no First Amendment violation because the students were punished only in their capacity as band members. Sloppily stated, but it does sound like they are setting up a "we get to choose who speaks as our official representative" argument.

New Sports Illustrated column: Mets owners settle claims brought by Madoff victims

Big news in Mets land today, as the team's owners settle what was originally a $1 billion lawsuit brought by victims of Bernard Madoff.  While the settlement is for $162 million, they will likely end up paying much, much less.  Here's my take for SI.

Jim Thorpe and Civil Procedure

Here is an interesting story from yesterday's Washington Post on the ongoing over the remains of Jim Thorpe, the great Native American athlete of the early 20th century. In 1953, Thorpe's third wife gave his body to two neighboring towns in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania--Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk--in exchange for their merging and adopting the name "Jim Thorpe." But in 2010, John "Jack" Thorpe, one of Thorpe's sons, sued in federal court against the Borough of Jim Thorpe, seeking the return of his father's remains under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (“NAGPRA"), as well as damages under § 1983.

As always, there is a lot of interesting procedure floating around here. In February 2011, the district court granted in part and denied in part the Borough's 12(b)(6); it held that the damages claims were legally barred, but that the NAGPRA did govern the plaintiff's claim. The court also suggested that Richard and William Thorpe, Jack's brothers, and the Sac and Fox Nation, the Oklahoma-based tribe to which Jim Thorpe belonged, had to be joined as defendants under FRCP 19. Jack Thorpe initially sought an ordering that Jim's remains be turned over to Jack; to the extent William, Richard, or the Sac and Fox might also have a claim to the remains, they needed to be heard in this case. The court left open the question under FRCP 19(b) whether Richard, William, or the Nation would be subject to personal jurisdiction in Pennsylvania and, if not, whether the case could proceed without them.

Shortly after the district court's decision, Jack Thorpe died, triggering application of FRCP 25 for substitution of parties. But then Richard and William and the Sac and Fox Nation joined Jack (now represented by his estate) as plaintiffs, filing an Amended Complaint that now seeks the return of Jim's remains to the tribe. The Amended Complaint recently denied a second 12(b)(6) motion, holding that the new plaintiffs are proper parties and reiterating its view that the NAGPRA claim is not legally defective and can proceed.

Vermont Law School Panel on Emerging Issues in Ski, Snowboarding and Resort Law

The Sports Law Institute at Vermont Law School is thrilled to announce our upcoming panel on emerging issues in ski, snowboarding and resort law.  Here are the details:

The Sports Law Institute at Vermont Law School presents

A Panel Discussion on Emerging Legal Issues

in Ski, Snowboarding and Resort Law

Thursday, March 29, 2012

12:45 to 2:00 pm

Chase Community Center

We are excited to announce a dynamic panel of leading attorneys in ski, snowboarding and resort law.  The event will be open to the public and 1.25 Vermont CLE credit hours will be available.     Topics will include:

• tort implications of participating in ski and snowboarding;

• role of assumption of risk in personal injury litigation involving ski and snowboarding;

• new state laws that promote safety, such as requiring skiers and snowboarders under 18 to wear helmets; 

• the structuring of licensing and related ski and snowboarding contracts;

• impact of international law on multi-national ski, snowboarding and resort transactions;

• impact of controversial new regulations promulgated by the International Ski Federation;

• ways the law can improve underprivileged persons' access to ski and snowboarding; and

• how changes to the law might address the expected impact of climate change on the ski, snowboarding and resort industries.

Introduction

Professor Michael McCann will introduce the event and the speakers.  He will also comment on the Sports Law Institute's exciting plans for 2012-13.

Panel

Brian Porto (moderator)

Professor Porto is Deputy Director of the Sports Law Institute and an Associate Professor of Law at Vermont Law School.  He has been writing about legal issues in sports for more than two decades.  Professor Porto's writings focus on the effects of Title IX on college sports and on the relationship between those sports and higher education.  His most recent book, The Supreme Court and the NCAA, examines the antitrust and due process consequences for college football and basketball of the United States Supreme Court's decisions in NCAA v. Board of Regents (1984) and NCAA v. Tarkanian (1988), respectively.  Professor Porto holds a JD from Indiana University-Bloomington and a PhD. in political science from Miami University (Ohio). Before coming to VLS, he taught political science at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and practiced law in Vermont.

Evan Banker

Mr. Banker is the senior associate at Chalat Hatten & Koupal PC in Denver, Colorado.  His practice is focused on ski, snowboard, and other recreation related injuries, as well as professional malpractice. Mr. Banker’s ski and recreation law practice regularly includes questions of law regarding the enforceability of liability waivers, inherent risks and dangers of skiing, resort liability, and skier responsibility. He holds degrees from the University of Denver College of Law and the University of Michigan.

Jaimesen Heins

Mr. Heins is Associate General Counsel at Burton Snowboards in Burlington, VT.  He manages transactional legal matters for Burton and its global family of surf, skate and snow brands.  This including drafting, review and negotiation of professional athlete, sponsorship, manufacturing, licensing and related commercial agreements.  In addition, Mr. Heins provides advice and strategic counsel to Burton with respect to mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, employment, real estate and litigation matters.. Previously, Mr. Heins served as a Project Manager for Toll Brothers, Inc., a publicly traded real estate development company.  Mr. Heins also held associate positions with Hughes Hubbard & Reed, LLP in New York and Eggleston & Cramer, Ltd. in Burlington, Vermont.  Mr. Heins holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Tulane University.

Andrew Maass  

Mr. Maass is an attorney at Ryan Smith & Carbine in Rutland, VT.  A past officer and President of the Board of Directors of the Association of Ski Defense Attorneys, Mr. Maass is active in ski defense and professional liability litigation and has successfully tried numerous cases to jury verdict.  He has presented before the National Ski Areas Association, the Vermont Ski Areas Association and the Ski Areas of New York Association and has been involved in ski industry litigation throughout the East Coast.  A substantial portion of Mr. Maass’s practice also consists of counseling employers on employment issues. Mr. Maass is an approved trainer for equal employment/discrimination matters by the Civil Rights Division of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.  He holds degrees from New England School of Law and St. Lawrence University.

Parker Riehle (VLS' 92)

Mr. Riehle is president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association, which represents the state’s alpine and Nordic ski areas in governmental affairs, marketing and public affairs.  Before first joining the association as the Director of Governmental Affairs in 1998, Riehle was in private practice with a primary focus on insurance defense litigation. In 2003, he was appointed to Governor Douglas’ senior staff as Special Assistant to the Governor and Secretary of Civil & Military Affairs, where he served as legal counsel, legislative liaison and policy advisor.  After the Governor’s first term, he returned to VSAA and has been president since 2006, where he oversees all aspects of the association and serves as the ski industry's lobbyist with the Vermont legislature and regulatory agencies.  He holds degrees from Vermont Law School and Hamilton College.

Serendipity and the Meetings Industry

I recently saw the authors of Get Lucky: How to Put Planned Serendipity to Work for You and Your Business (a new book available April 17. 2012) speak at the SXSW Interactive conference.  They talked about how business rewards things that repeat, and there is too much focus on planning. The importance of plans, ROI, and pre-determined outcomes will eliminate the opportunities for serendipity, yet most people will tell you that the most pivotal points of their career were never planned. This creates a disconnect for success.

They defined serendipity as the intersection of chance, recognition and action.

Authors Thor Muller and Lane Becker were not there to talk about the meetings industry, but I kept thinking about how their concepts ring loud for those who curate events.  As a professional speaker I attend conferences, trade shows, conventions and other meetings almost every week. Too many gatherings look just like they did the year before (or look too much like every other event).  They change the keynote speakers and the breakout topics, but the rest of the agenda is often the same.  Repeat attendees are not often "wowed" by their experience from year to year.  Success guru Randy Gage has a great saying: "Variety Thrills, Sameness Kills", and this is true in the meetings industry!!!

To properly "thrill" we need serendipity.

Can meeting professionals plan for what is not plannable?  The Un-Conference movement gained some attention a few years ago, but  does not work for all meetings (an "un-conference" is a participant driven conference often without pre-set agenda or speakers).  It especially does not fit for events that involve high dollar sponsorship, as those who invest in underwriting an event want to know what they will be getting on the other side.  There is too much unknown in bringing large groups of business professionals together in a field without an agenda.  But does this mean there is no room for serendipity?

Conferences are a great place for a spark of chance, as they bring together a variety of people and in theory encourage people to meet each other.  But this opportunity for people to connect is often stomped out by the people not being sure how to have conversations. Chance without recognition and action is nothing.  People claim that "networking opportunities" is why they attend events, but once they arrive they sit with co-workers and hide their face in their phones.

Planners often separate the learning from the social and have very structured outcomes for the keynotes and breakout sessions, but have no plans for how to get people to make connections beyond serving drinks at happy hour.  But when I talk to attendees at events of all sizes they often site the "hallway conversations" and chance meetings in line at Starbucks as the most productive parts of their experience.

Can we plan for serendipity?  Muller and Becker would say "yes".  I have not read their book, but my own experiences lead me to believe we can plan for those chance meetings that lead to future success.  One of my biggest client relationships came from a chance meeting at a conference.  I did not realize his company planned multiple meetings, but I enjoyed our conversation and recognized that he understood my career as a speaker (not everyone instantly gets what I do for a living).  I took action and followed up, which lead him to introducing me to decision makers in his business, and then to my speaking at several events.

With 400 people at that event I may have never met this one person, but I did.  Was it luck? Maybe. The key to being lucky is putting yourself in the path of luck.  Meetings need to work harder to make sure that their audiences embrace the opportunity of making those powerful connections while present.  The new normal is for people to multi-task on their phones.  This is another roadblock for serendipity to occur.  Telling people to put their phones away does not work, as it creates animosity (and nobody does it).

Assuming people will take the necessary actions on their own will not lead to anything different than what has happened in the past.  Creating an atmosphere for people to engage and connect with others is paramount to the success.  Plan for the serendipity and  it will show up.  But make sure people can recognize it when it arrives!

Have A Great Day

thom singer

Thom Singer is known as "The Conference Catalyst". He works with meeting planners and conference organizers to set the tone for a meeting. His presentations educate, inspire and motivate attendees to engage deeper in the event and make meaningful connections.  http://www.conferencecatalyst.com 

www.ConferenceCatalyst.com