What startups can learn from dysfunctional NFL franchises
Ask these questions before you invest in your next bright, shiny object
The worst NFL franchises have one thing in common—they don’t know who they are.
That’s what Michael Lombardi, the famous former NFL exec, talked about on his podcast, in response to The Washington Commanders, the laughing stock of football.
Last week they fired their GM.
They fired their coach.
And they hired a “committee” (of like 10 non-football people?) to fix their problems.
What’s interesting is that they’ve put in requests to speak to the “hot coordinators” - folks like Aaron Glen and Ben Johnson in Detroit.
But here’s the thing—they skipped an important step.
You can’t make the right hire until you have an identity.
Until you answer the fundamental questions like:
Who are we?
What do we want to be?
How do we want to build our organization?
And what’s actually wrong with our team?
You can’t make the right hire.
Going after the “hot coordinator” is a bandaid, when what you really need is stitches.
Startups can learn a lot from these franchises.
You can hire a really talented designer or even a world-famous branding studio to give you a new look & feel.
But until you figure out why you exist, what makes you relevant, & why anyone should care, throwing resources at design is simply hiding the problem.