So you're the AD...

[Army of Dad]

20 minutes ago, mad dog said:

First thing for me is to meet with my bosses (Board and President) and get a sense of what their vision for the athletic department is.  Have them paint a picture of what kind of athletic department they want to have.  There's no doubt they want the department to be successful, but success can look like different things to different people.

Simultaneously, I'd be moving along parallel processes with current students and current and lapsed fans (include lettermen).  Get a couple of focus groups together, pull from various sources and points of view; the only criteria is that they have opinions and be comfortable sharing them.  They need to be ready to bring their own ideas for how to solve the problems they see.  Keep each group to five or six individuals if possible, and make sure I had representatives from marketing, operations, and finance there to field questions and provide their input.  The guiding principle for staff would be to determine how ideas can get done, rather than why they can't.  Nothing is off the table at this point - whittling down happens later.

Drawing on feedback from administration, fans, and students, create a summary of objectives, goals, and possible avenues of approach.  Include comments from staff on costs, action plans, and lay out all the options.  Take this draft plan back to each of these focus groups and get their thoughts.  Refine as necessary.  Once the plan has a reasonable degree of consensus among all three groups, take a final draft back to the administration.  Have them pass a non-binding resolution to accept and approve the plan of action.

To my eye, most of the problem with the department's administration is that it is far too insular.  Decisions made in a box without input from stakeholders have considerably less momentum than those made with it.  Closed practices, ninja recruiting, media lockdowns... these are all symptoms of a silo-ed organization that believes that they (and only they) have the right answers.  For my part, I don't particularly care WHO has the idea if it is a viable strategy.  I have felt like the department sometimes talks AT fans, AT students, and AT the BOR, trying like hell to sell them on an idea without ever considering what they all might be feeling.

This is a partnership, not an autocracy.  It is a conversation, not a hard sell.  It is a story, not an obligation.   The AD cannot do their job without buy-in from decision makers and current and future customers.  Yes, there are procedural, legal, and financial hurdles, but it's better to open your doors and explain them to people instead of barring the doors and complaining about their ignorance.  And who knows, maybe several dozen minds may be able to craft a better solution than one or two.  Go figure.  :)

^^^^^^^^^

This.

I like this.

I like this a lot.