New York University School of Law Sports Law Panel on College Athletics

Next Monday - November 14 - NYU Law will host a sports law panel on college athletics from 4 to 6 p.m. at 40 Washington Square South.

Sports Law Blog contributor Alan Milstein -- who I hear will have some provocative commentary about the NCAA and treatment of college athletes to share with the audience -- will be joined by other terrific panelists.

Here's the group:

* Craig Esherick - former head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team and head of the Sports Management program at George Mason (also a lawyer)

* Alan Milstein - nationally-recognized sports litigator (has represented Allen Iverson, Eddy Curry, Allen Houston, Richard Hamilton, Maurice Clarett and others in litigation matters) and co-managing shareholder of Sherman Silverstein Kohl Rose & Podolsky

* Dr. Constance Zotos, former Athletic's Director of Drew University

* Seth Wickersham, writer for ESPN The Magazine

* Professor Robert Boland from the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies will be moderating the discussion.

Thank You Leads To "Cooperative Significance"

Thanksgiving is coming.  This is about more than turkey and cranberry sauce.  

Who are you thankful for this year?  Put some thought into identifying the people who have helped you move closer to your goals.  There might be many people or just a few, but none of us live in a vacuum.  There are people who contribute to our lives.

Be sure to say "Thank You" to them.  Everyone wants to feel significant, but they will never know they made a difference if you do not tell them.

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

Two posts on Penn State

I have two posts on the Penn State mess over at Prawfs. I thought I'd link to them, rather than reposting.

Here, I question what the students were protesting about at Penn State last night and what they are thinking in objecting to Paterno's firing in this circumstance. Here, I question the use of the word "technicality" to describe a likely argument from the indicted Penn State officials that in 2002 they had no obligation to report a second-hand report of child molestation.

Feel free to post comments there or here.

University of Mississippi School of Law Sports Law Symposium (this Friday 11/11/11)

I will be speaking, presenting my latest law review piece dealing with Social Media and the NCAA, this Friday, November 11th at the law school at Ole Miss. I will have a draft up on my SSRN page soon, tentatively titled: Student-Athlete.O – Regulation of Student-Athletes’ Social Media Use: a Guide to Avoiding NCAA Sanctions and Related Litigation. See below for the official invite:

"The Mississippi Sports Law Review would like to invite you to its inaugural sports law symposium. The symposium will take place on Friday, November 11th at the University of Mississippi School of Law. Lunch will be served at Noon and the symposium will begin at 1 p.m. The symposium will address the issue of Social Media and Intercollegiate Athletics, and will be accompanied by an issue of the Review to be released later in the winter.

The following authors will present their articles at the symposium:

John T. Wendt & Peter C. Young – Reputational Risk and Social Media

Jerry Parkinson – Impact of Social Media on NCAA Infractions Cases

Mary Margaret “Meg” Penrose – Free Speech versus Free Education: First Amendment Considerations in Limiting Student Athletes’ Use of Social Media

Timothy Liam Epstein - Student-Athlete.O – Regulation of Student-Athletes’ Social Media Use: a Guide to Avoiding NCAA Sanctions and Related Litigation"

We hope you can make it.

Conferences are the Marketplace for Connecting

Business conferences, trade shows, conventions, and other meetings bring people together and allow them to discover opportunity.   While the educational content, venue, and agenda are important to a successful event, it would not exist without the people.  While digital online meetings are gaining in popularity, they are not replacing the need for to people to gather in a face-to-face environment.

An atmosphere for meaningful networking is the currency for the marketplace of connections.  Everyone has been to events that are bankrupt of the "choose people" message.  Attendees often sit alone, are hooked on SmartPhones, and do not take advantage of meeting the people all around them.  If the agenda is only focused on the data dump from experts, then opportunity is lost.  While nobody wants "fluffy", it can not just be about content.  People want to become engaged and involved while at an event.

Human to human inaction is hard to quantity, but when it all comes together the event is transformed into an "industry happening".  You can identify this power by the energy level at breaks, meals and happy hours.  Nobody wants to leave an "industry happening" early to beat the traffic out of the parking lot.

Companies that host client meetings and "users conferences" which are focused on the people in the audience over their commercial always find success.  The best trade associations crush the "power cliques" and know that their members want to be part of a greater community.  Trade shows that cultivate a "mini-society" that is welcoming are the ones that high numbers of people returning year after year.

It is not easy to create the event that everyone in your industry talks about when they get home.  Executives of companies and associations all desire their meeting to be an "industry happening", but wishing will never spur the culture of the event to transcend average.  There must be a vision and a plan.

If your organization has a meeting, do not allow it to be standard.  Cutting edge meeting planners are excited to try new things and seek new ideas.  They ask questions of those who attend and plan other events for the "best practices" that are working at other conferences.  They read the surveys filled out at previous programs and seek to identify the between the lines messages.  They take action.... Passive planning makes for dull events.

Planning a meeting is a hard job and not something that should be left to the last minute.  If a conference is a marketplace for connecting, then send your attendees in with the tools to succeed in a relationship economy.

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

Customer Service Rests With Every Employee -- Every Time

Twenty years ago I attended a conference at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington DC.  I was part of the program (although this was long before I was a Professional Speaker and Corporate Trainer).  My room was to be paid by the organization, but when I checked in, this was not reflected on my reservation.

The front desk clerk was very rude.  I was not about to commit to paying for six nights on my credit card and wanted to get the issue resolved.  There was a long line of guests waiting to check in, and she was clearly flustered with the situation.  I asked for a manager, or someone who could assist, and she essentially told me to pay up - or leave.  Then she looked over my shoulder and screamed "NEXT".... as if I had vanished into thin air.

I continued to try to get her attention and she ignored me.  I was invisible.

Eventually the event organizer took care of the situation, but I have never forgotten that experience.  Being a customer who does not matter is the worst feeling in business.

Last week I was the keynote speaker for a conference at the same hotel.  As I walked in the lobby my stomach turned as the memory of that horrible customer experience of more than two decades ago returned to my mind.

Happily, the front desk clerk who checked me in this time had a different attitude on how to treat guests in his hotel.  From the moment I approached the counter he was enthusiastic, helpful, and exemplified all that is wonderful about the hospitality industry.  His name is Evan... and the Omni Shoreham should be proud to have him at the front desk.  He offered me choices of rooms, talked to me about restaurant options in the area, and took an interest in making sure my experience at this grand hotel would be spectacular.

This reminds me that the experiences our customers have can be fully weighted on the actions of a single employee.  I am sure that my visit twenty years ago involved many other helpful employees, but they did not make enough of an impression to replace the one who ruined my impression of the whole hotel.

Flash forward two decades and Evan erased that first memory and showed me that the Omni Shoreham is a wonderful place to stay when visiting our nation's capital.  His actions, attitude and customer focus impacted everything.

Customer service rests in the hands of every employee every time.  One bad apple can spoil the whole batch... but just one "Evan" can make your reputation shine!

Have A Great Day.

thom singer

Sekou Andrews - Motivational Poet

I had the pleasure to meet Sekou Andrews when we were both speaking at the Trade Show Network News (TSNN) T- Awards (a program that honors the nation's top Trade Shows and Events) in Washington DC.

I am a professional speaker who studies all things oratory.  I call it "Speaker's College" when I can watch anyone address an audience.  For over 14 years I have examined and learned from hundreds of speakers, but Sekou is like nothing I have ever seen before.

He calls himself a "Motivational Poet", and he regularly speaks to corporate audiences weaving his combination of rhymes, rhythms, and realism.  He goes beyond motivation and stirs the soul of those who are listening.  The man is "The Wizard of Words" and he had us all captivated as he spoke.

He challenges an audience to "expect not to expect what you expect to come next".

The message followed my "Conference Catalyst Program" and while 180 degrees different, it skyrocketed the theme of choosing people and being engaged in the real world, not just a collector of digital links. He professed that ROE (Return on Engagement) is the new ROI, and reminded the audience that "liking" someone on Facebook does not make a cyber friend --- as they still exist in the next room.

I loved it when he said "Take me off your Rolodex and put me in your calendar".  Pins dropping at that moment would have echoed all over the nations capital.  Having contact information means nothing if you do not have contact.

If you ever have the opportunity to hear the words of Sekou Andrews... you will be touched in your heart.  He is not a conventional public speaker, but an experience unto himself.  No wonder he has presented in the backyard at Oprah's house!

I look forward to our paths crossing again on another stage.

Have A Great Day.

thom singer
www.conferencecatalyst.com