I was recently asked how I am going to come up with enough ideas to be able to write a post everyday, my new goal for this blog. One post everyday. How is it possible to come up with something new everyday? Well, the answer is this: inspiration and engagement.

Inspiration can be found anywhere – at home, on TV, online, at work, on a billboard, by attending an event, listening to a conversation anything. A healthy curiosity is part of my inspiration for being able to write a post everyday. Just the other day I realized that Heineken changed the shape of their bottles. I bought a 12-pack and took one out to just look at the new shape – very regular looking, much like a Bud Light or Coors Light bottle. That inspired me to look at how the shape might affect the taste of the beer – no different. I didn’t really notice the beer being colder than normal, though it might actually warm up faster than with the older style bottles – the old ones seemed thicker and more insulating than the new cheaper feeling bottles.

To be honest, I don’t really like the new Heineken bottles. I liked Heineken because it was different, not just in taste, but in the way it was presented – green glass, unique shape, bottle opener required. Now it’s much more like many other beers on the shelf, at least in shape anyway. Before the change, Heineken at least seemed like it was something different, now it’s sort of in the same class as other domestics, at least in my mind it is.

So that is one way I plan on finding the inspiration to write – to critically examine the world around me with a limitless curiosity. The other way I plan on being able to write everyday is to do my best at staying engaged with what is going on around me. I will do my best to stay on top of the sports business news from all angles. I subscribe to numerous mailing lists for too many organizations to count – news, business, sports – in addition to following the feeds from all the social media channels for which I have an account. By doing my best to stay on top of trends while they are happening, I’m confident I’ll be able to come up with something of value to share with you, my readers.

In addition to all of that, I will strive to always provide something of value that is easily digestible and as implementable (nice word choice, I know) as possible. As a sport administrator, especially as it relates to marketing, you should be doing everything you can to not just look at what others are doing around you, but to critically examine the 5 W’s as to what you’re seeing. Who, what, when, where, how? Apply these questions to everything you are doing and never settle for “that’s just how it’s been done.” When you resolve to just giving up and giving in, you’ve lost. Your teams aren’t doing that. You should be working as hard as they are, if not harder, trying to create wins for your “customers,” whoever those people are for you. Customers are fans, employees, sponsors, donors, on-campus colleagues, and everyone else who is in some way connected to your mission.

So those are the ways in which I plan on being able to write something of value everyday – inspiration from curiosity and thoughtful engagement of the world in the best way I know how. I hope you will continue to take this journey with me and subscribe by entering your email address in the box to the right.

Go Forth!