Yesterday morning, like much of the state of Wisconsin, I eagerly tuned in for the press conference introducing Glenn “Doc” Rivers as the Milwaukee Bucks’ new head coach. When I was a 7th grader (and before my arrival at the University of Wisconsin permanently changed my allegiances), Doc was one of my favorites on the Marquette Warriors, which was just a few years removed from its NCAA title. I can still vividly recall #31’s game-winner at the buzzer to give the Warriors a big win vs. archrival DePaul. 

Following his 13-year NBA career, he put a whistle around his neck and coached Orlando, Boston (NBA Champions), Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia. In 2022, he was voted as one of the 15 best coaches in NBA history.

During Saturday’s news conference, Rivers said that the Bucks squad, anchored by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, possesses rare talent. But, he says, the team lost its identity with a major trade and a rookie coach. “We need to know who we are and what we stand for,” Rivers says. And if “Fear the Deer” is to be true, Rivers says the team needs to understand exactly what it is that can cause fear and fits for its opponent.

That comment resonated with me as a truth that extends beyond the arena floor. That is, every business, and moreover, every leader, has ONE thing that it can hang the hat on; one thing that makes it unique and to be defended at all costs. Most failures arrive when one tries to be something it is not, pursues the wrong mission or attempts to “be all things to all people” vs. embracing what made it different to begin with.

Naturally, my Saturday-morning sports viewing had me thinking about our business, and its role in your business.

Another Story: Sports Illustrated

Just 10 days earlier, another intersection of sports and business captivated dialog everywhere. I’m talking about the financial woes of the 70-year-old Sports Illustrated (SI) and its mass layoffs and now, an existence very much in doubt.

On January 18, 2024, SI’s ownership group, Arena, announced a mass-layoff of key staff after it had missed a payment on an annual licensing agreement of $15 million. This followed an embarrassing discovery of the title using artificial intelligence-generated content disguised as coming from “real writers.”

A January 21 column by USA Today columnist Mike Freeman summarized my view on the mess. Freeman shared a conversation with the late writer Ralph Wiley, who’d written more than 200 articles and 28 cover stories in a decade at SI.

He asked Wiley what it was like to work at SI. Wiley responded that he got to work with the best and be part of a team who produced some of the greatest work in the business. “‘What's it like working there?’ Think of the best professional thing to happen in your life and multiply it by 100,” writes Freeman of his friend Wiley.

Freeman adds: “SI was more than a sports journalism gold standard; it was the gold standard for how to be good at anything you did. SI was IBM. It was Apple. It was a rocket ship. It was a poem. It was a good political leader. It was human and warm and bold.” Freeman went on to describe its “stunning levels of influence” and that “when SI called, players and coaches answered.”

As a J-School major in the late 1980s, I also saw the magazine as the gold standard for writing, photography and design, as well as creative insights and analyses from all-star writers. And if the dream of seeing my own SI byline didn’t pan out (it didn’t; this scribe got bit by the business-writing bug), I could still attempt to bring the notion of its professionalism to wherever I punched my timecard.

SI was as strong as any brand I could fathom in my 55 years; in the same conversation as the green-painted machinery of Moline, Ill. 

How does something this grand just fall apart? Ownership, leadership, culture, hubris, greed – take your pick. By the way, none of these causes can be easily guarded from the futures of yours, or my, business.

Rivers Runs Through Us

Since its 1981 founding, the identity at our company, Lessiter Media was built on operation-changing content. That was the “one thing” on which my dad, Frank, nailed his shingle. Other companies might’ve had something different to offer in sales programs, or with its customer base – but he was ready to compete with anyone on the “knowledge product” he put his name behind. 

I started my career covering manufacturing in Chicago. Once I got into management as a 24-year-old, I yearned to be part of, and lead, a team that could rival the best of the best in business/trade media. 

I did my best toward that goal in a challenging environment for 12 years, with mixed results. But the drive to be part of something special was what most attracted me to moving north to Wisconsin 20 years ago to join my dad. I knew he was one of the best, most “dialed-in” writers in the business, so if a “dream team” could be assembled, a big piece was already there. And maybe, with the right leadership and focus, we’d be able to get others to drink out of the cup of content excellence and even afford to grow the team.

I wanted us to be the SI of our select niches, fostering an environment where the best could attract the best. We had some great talent in the past across our farming, equine and machinery divisions, but our current staff is extra-special in its care for the audience, ingenuity and the ability to maximize good content across all our channels today — podcast, webinars, video series, broadcasts, and even a documentary. 

We’ve also attracted some great content contributors to the team, too, including Dan Crummett, Martha Mintz, the now-retired Dave Kanicki, and industry folks like Casey Seymour, George Russell and Tim Brannon. And a look a bit further in the rear-view mirror shows Charlie Glass and Jim Weber. They're working hard with us in pursuit of our promise of an entity defined by the words “Where Content Becomes Knowledge.”

Back to the words of Rivers (who’ll debut with the Bucks Monday night at Denver) on identity amidst the backdrop of SI. I presume that SI’s leaders and owners forgot the “one thing” that should’ve been their guiding North Star through thick and thin. What took place on January 18 was undeserving for their customers, employees and the profession it represented, something that I’m taking personally.

What’s your business’ “one thing” that makes you and your mission unique? What do you need to do right now to defend its survival for tomorrow?