The "Master Mind" Brain Trust Approach

1. Introduction to the "Master Mind Group" Concept
2. Recommended Themes
3. Summary of Key approaches for campaign success
4. Recommended Action Steps
5. Business Development and Community Relations Approach Summary
6. Revenue Streams
7. Communication Models
8. Conflict Resolution Models
9. Financing Stadiums, Operating Teams

 

Introduction to the "Mastermind Group" Concept

"I not only use all of the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow."
Woodrow Wilson,
Former President of Princeton University and the
28th President of the United States

 
The “Master Mind” group…the two characteristics of the Master Mind Principle…economic and psychic. Economic advantages may be crated by any person who surrounds himself with the advice, counsel, and personal cooperation of a group…who are willing to lend … wholehearted aid, in a spirit of perfect harmony... The psychic phase: No two minds ever come together without, thereby, creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to a third mind.

The “Master Mind” may be defined as: “Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” Power may be defined as “organized and intelligently directed knowledge.” Power, as the term is here used, refers to organized effort, sufficient to enable an individual to transmute desire into its monetary equivalent. Organized effort is produced through the coordination of effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite end, in a spirit of harmony.

Napoleon Hill, "Think and Grow Rich"

Napoleon Hill learned of the “Master Mind Group” concept in 1908 from Andrew Carnegie, then the richest man, a steel maker, philosopher and philanthropist. He had Hill spend 20 years researching what makes people successful. At the heart was Carnegie’s “Master Mind Group” concept. He had a staff of 50 in his Master Ming Group. Their job was to do research, gather information, do interviews, analyze what they found out, and think up new ways of doing things. This is not “group think” nor “decision by committee,” but rather the gathering of information to help in the making of key decisions to ensure the success of any enterprise.

Beacon on the Hill Sports Marketing provides just such a service to its clients, developing a Master Mind consisting of consultant(s) and client (and/or key personnel of client). It is a way to engage as outside advisors (along with inside advisors) to provide insights and ideas for the decision makers to mix into his or her thinking. Individuals need groups to turn to for advice and counsel. Indeed, the development of Presidents cubs and similar informal groupings is precisely to give senior executives a sounding board for ideas being considered. Beacon on the Hill Sports Marketing provides a formal and confidential sounding board for this purpose and, as requested, draws up resulting action plans for specific goals.

Recommended Themes

1. The team is the People’s Team.
   
2. A shift is taking place between where private spending is spent. This means that local governments have to come up with legitimate projects that will keep the private sector and private sector jobs going as well. The stadium is a perfect candidate.
   
3. Stadium issues address all of the tough economic times ahead for most cities in the future, promising jobs, revenue, and economic growth. Handled correctly, the stadium issue can help drive an economy, create jobs, and help maintain what is important to the quality of life of the team, its fans, and citizens as a whole.
   
4. Both teams, cities, and stadium complexes (private-public partnership) can be profitable (from both a profit and not for profit standpoint), by engaging as many as possible of 40 Revenue Streams in 26 Categories.

Summary of Key approaches for campaign success

1. Openness with the press and regular press conferences.
   
2. Use these proven communicationbeacs models for the campaign
   
3. Hold backgrounders for media representatives who are straight with the facts and information. Don’t let rumors or suspicions build.
   
4. Foster as many Email responses from fans to legislators, officials, business, etc., to show support to the Mayor and the City Council.
   
5. Establish regular Email messages delivered through Email to the fans and legislators, etc.
    

Beacon on the Hill Sports Marketing’s Recommended Action Steps

1. Have a once a week "Knights of the Round Table Discussion" with principal campaign advisors and with different selected key people from around the city.
   
2. Develop Email lists of all reporters, print, broadcast and cable, and key ones nation wide, especially those known to the inner circle, and Email updates to them regularly.
   
3. Demonstrate how a large construction project like a stadium has a wide range of positives: jobs (covering the private sector unions), a wider tax base that would help contribute more dollars for education (covering the public sector unions), construction and the financing that goes with all of this (covering the business community), additional spending regarding hotels, restaurants, shops (covering many of the small business community), set in motion advance planning by for tourists and game day people (covering the travel and hospitality sectors), etc.
   
4. Cast stadium building as a jobs creation project with nearby moderate-income housing, expanding the benefits even further.
   
5. Cast construction as opportunity while simultaneously helping more people by creating more jobs for all economic levels.
   
6. Cast construction as job training partnerships between the city and the private sector.
   
7. Adjust to the new reality that professional sports are now both big business and big entertainment.
   
8. With all feedback revise Q&A and FAQ sections of the team web page.
   
9. Follow the Three Js of good fan communications: Jobs (which contributes mightily to the economy), Juice (which the money involved to finance, build, and pay workers), and the Joy (which is the reaction of fans to this special group known as their team).
   
10. Utilize a Rapid Response Process to maintain good communications:
    1. Use the "rapid response" policy (and criteria for when to use it and when to leave it in the drawer) to combat the attacks and hostilities from both print and broadcast media, in order to give the Coliseum campaign a chance to influence the desired outcomes (all falsehoods must be responded to, but only to the falsehood).
    2. Provide "Damage Control Rapid Responses" to events, controlled and uncontrolled, meeting lies or innuendoes with facts, and, where errors have been committed, acknowledgment coupled with steps taken to correct and steps to take to prevent repetition.
       1. Lies can't be allowed to go unchallenged. Any time a falsehood is made a response with the fact is then added to wherever you keep them: web site, press releases, etc.
       2. Yet you don't want to get defensive.
       3. Stick strictly to the falsehood countered by fact response and don’t dwell into any other area. No defense of the traditional kind, either in terms of position, party, race, religion, et
          
11. Respond to the reality that most organizations have crises
    
12. Successful Vision Approaches for Better Communication That Are Recommended by Beacon on the Hill Sports Marketing and taken from the 47 Communications Models:
    
    1. Ronald Reagan's vision strategy: have one message at a time; stay on message; don’t get distracted.
    2. Bill Clinton was able to defeat a sitting president, because he related to how people felt. So too, this campaign must relate to how people feel about the Team and the joy that will be theirs to bring them and the anger they will vent on politicians, local businessman, and the NFL, if the Team are allowed to slip away.
    3. Roger Ailes, author of "You Are The Message," coached George Bush in his first successful presidential run, and also coached Ronald Reagan in his successful debate with Walter Mondale. Ailes understands public role-playing very well. Ailes’ book title sums it up: You are the message. His key emphasis is on "how to handle the press while they're trying to hang you." Thus, Beacon on the Hill Sports Marketing can outline how to establish a strategy for working with the press.
    4. Keep the vision of helping the local and regional economy.
    5. Beacon on the Hill Sports Marketing provides the win-win philosophy and positive actions steps for successful economic stimulus.
       

Business Development and Community Relations Approach Summary

1. Our approach is applicable to any major coliseum/stadium/arena project: professional football, professional baseball, professional basketball, professional hockey, etc., as well as for major universities. Most examples used are from professional football and baseball.
   
2. This is a multi- or mixed use facility Sports, Entertainment, Real Estate, Communications, Investment, Public Space Plan, with minimal or no public funding (only for infrastructure improvements (site preparation, streets, sewers, hookup, etc.), normal to any large-scale development. For public-private partnership areas public financing may be a part but we recommend such be done with the understanding of repaying from revenues.
   
3. The estimated local revenues of this approach are projected to be over $100 million/year, to start, through synergies for generating ongoing revenues/profits/fan support, utilizing 40 ways to generate revenue in 26 revenue generating categories, including private and public space. This $100 million is seen as being on top of the stadium specific local revenues of $100 million.
   
4. Any stadium/arena/coliseum complex would be
   1. a destination and a gathering place for fans, visitors, tourists, consumers, and sports/entertainment/real estate/business people, as well as
   2. a business, real estate and communications hub. These two together will generate profits in the near term and long term, year around, because Los Angeles weather encourages year-round use.
      
5. This is a "Big Picture" Vision. It takes elements of various traditional financing plans and combines them into a new financing configuration for a multiple use sports-entertainment property that relate to all types of stadiums/arenas/coliseums, even if they are in the same city or region.
   
6. The Team, the city, and the business community, can forge a great private-public business partnership to give all an opportunity to participate in this economic pie that can become a key jewel in the regional crown. Professional sports have become a major part of four major, emerging and enormous growth industries (as reported by the award winning Hoffman Development Group, September 1999):
   
   • $625 Billion in discovery learning/edutainment (source: Lehman Bros. 1997)
   • $1.000 Trillion in high-tech business solutions (source: IBM)
   • $120 Billion in space exploration spin-off business (source: KMPG Peat Marwick, 1997
   • $1.500 Trillion in tourism (by the year 2010; source: US Department of Commerce)
   • $3.245 Trillion Total

Revenue Streams
See our section on Marketing through 40 revenue streams in 26 categories.

Communication Models
See our section on 47 communication models

Conflict Resolution
See our section on 18 conflict resolution models

Financing Stadiums, Operating Teams
See our sections on Generic Stadium Model and Financing and Revenue Yields.