On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From America's Sports Leaders [Hardcover]

David M. Carter (Author), Darren Rovell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 18, 2003

You can learn powerful lessons about leadership, strategy, management, and marketing from today's highest-profile sports industry leaders. In this book, leading sports management consultant David M. Carter and ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell have written the most fun business book of the year -- and quite possibly, the most valuable. You'll learn the art of strategic alliances from the New York Yankees; entrepreneurship from NASCAR; branding from Tiger Woods and Andre Agassi; and turnaround strategy from Jerry Jones. You'll discover Minor League Baseball's breakthrough customer service techniques, and new approaches to entering markets and managing crises from NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Courtesy of Major League Baseball, you'll even learn the do's and don'ts of effective employee relations. Carter and Rovell offer winning ideas for every business, plus an exclusive insider's look at the sports industry itself. Fast, timely, and fun, you won't be able to put this book down - and you'll never forget the business lessons it teaches.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Sports, like business, is a nonstop, flat-out competition where winners prosper and losers are sent packing. Think the multi-billion-dollar sports industry might have something to teach your business? You better believe it. With On the Ball, you will learn those lessons before your competitors do.

Get in the sports business game and learn about breakthrough techniques for building a business. Reaching customers. Delivering customer service. Branding yourself and your business. Handling employee relations. Alliance building. Crisis management. Entering new markets. Turning around a business. Leadership. All that, plus your own personal behind-the-scenes tour of the sports industry-courtesy of top sports business consultant David M. Carter and ESPN.com's Darren Rovell. Hop on. It'll be a fun ride. A very profitable fun ride.

* Branding, NBA style

Powerful branding lessons from David Stern, Michael Jordan & Co.

* Strategic alliances with the New York Yankees

Win-win partnerships with George Steinbrenner

* Building your business the way NASCAR did it

Fast lane from the backwoods to NBC Sports

* Terrorism to bribery: practical lessons in crisis management

Straight from sports, 10 steps for handling any business crisis

* Penetrate and dominate: Nike in new markets

How Tiger Woods helped Nike go global

* Know your fan, know your customer

Take a tour of the baseball minor leagues and see how to really please your customers

Today's most powerful business lessons...

...you could learn them from some boring business school text. But, hey, life's too short. With On the Ball, you can learn the same lessons from sports! Top sports business consultant David M. Carter and ESPN.com sports business journalist Darren Rovell serve up winning techniques straight out of the big leagues. Business is a sport, and sport's a business, right? So why not learn...

• * Entrepreneurship from NASCAR's Bill France Sr.
• * Target marketing the MasterCard way
• * Customer service from the late great Bill Veeck
• * Personal branding from cyclist Lance Armstrong and women's tennis player Anna Kournikova
• * Employee relations from Major League Baseball
• * Strategic alliances from New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner
• * Crisis Management from NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue
• * Penetrating new markets using Tiger Woods
• * Brand building from NBA Commissioner David Stern
• * Turnarounds from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
• * Leadership from Notre Dame head football coach Tyrone Willingham

Fast, furious, outrageous, and unforgettable, On the Ball is everything you expect from sports, and don't expect from a business book!

About the Author

DAVID M. CARTER founded The Sports Business Group in 1999 following more than 10 years of consulting for the sports and entertainment industries. As a sports business consultant specializing in strategic marketing, he consults for corporations, law firms, sports organizations, sports/entertainment venues, and individual athletes. He provides sports business commentary to national media organizations and teaches The Business of Sports Entertainment at the USC Graduate School of Business. He is author of Keeping $core, which provides companies and organizations with a framework for devising sports marketing strategies, and You Can't Play the Game if You Don't Know the Rules, for those seeking careers in the sports business.

DARREN ROVELL has been reporting on sports business since 1998. Since June 2000, he has served as ESPN.com's sports business reporter. He appears on numerous ESPN radio affiliate shows, analyzes the sports business world for ESPNEWS, and contributes to ESPN's flagship SportsCenter and its investigative show Outside the Lines, among others.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Financial Times Prentice Hall (February 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013100963X
• ISBN-13: 978-0131009639
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #772,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Read!, March 28, 2003

By 

Matthew Forti (New Rochelle, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From America's Sports Leaders (Hardcover)

I would highly recommend this book! I initially thought it was going to be a fun read about sports marketing. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the book was more about how to apply lessons from the sports world to the business world. As a strategy consultant, I found many of the examples given (especially on brand building, sponsorships, and customer needs) to be very relevant to the kind of work that I do with big consumer products companies. You can't afford to miss this one!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommend "On the Ball" - This was a great book.., March 5, 2003

By 

Benjamin M.Sturner (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From America's Sports Leaders (Hardcover)

I have been looking hard to find a book that covers sports business like this one did. This is a must read for anyone who is involved in the business of sports or just business itself.

Rovell and Carter do a great job with providing examples of every lesson you need in the business world and by using sports as an example. There are lots of inside scoops in this book that are behind the scenes of sports. Really good info on Jerry Jones, NASCAR and Brand Management among other topics. I really highly recommend this book to any sports or business executive or fan. You will enjoy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING- A Must Read For ALL, May 3, 2003

By 

Peter Straus (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From America's Sports Leaders (Hardcover)

Carter and Rovell do a masterful job of highlighting the fundamental truths of good business. There is a right way to play the game, and this is the rule book.
Please pay close attention to the anectodes about Minor League Baseball. Sometimes, the greatest success stories do not occur on the grandest of stages.

Congratulations, Mr. Carter and Mr. Rovell!!