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Aim for the Stars


Buffy's Speech to young students at a Robert Morris University sponsored conference



I met him at a friend's condominum. We sat in the lobby. I think I actually sat on the heating vent in the lobby it was so cold. I asked him to describe one of his days. He sold radio ads for Katz Sports. He said he got to work early and read all the newspapers. He made about 20 calls in the morning trying to reach businesses or set up appointments the following day. He spent the afternoon writing up and sending off at least a handful of proposals. He was about 26. I was taken aback by his energy, passion and enthusiasm.

Brett Yormark at about 38 years of age is the CEO of the New Jersey Nets's business operations.

I met Tim Leiweke in an airport in Kansas City. I was recruiting for the Minnesota Timberwolves, a new NBA start up franchise. Tim had started up a number of indoor soccer teams. He was adept at taking over a community, meeting with the mayor, city council, chamber of commerce and senior executives in town. He had a style of a politician. Wherever he was going you wanted to be with him. He was enthusiastic about teams hosting birthday parties. He liked laser light shows and meet and greets with the players. He had everything written out meticulously on thousands of sheets of paper. He knew his budget without looking at it.

Tim Leiweke is the CEO of AEG, that the sports enterprise owned by one of America's wealthiest men, Philip Anschutz.

I could tell she was an organizer from the moment I met her. She was hosting a sports conference for members of the American Marketing Association. I'd never heard of her, but the agency with whom she worked managed the sponsorships of a number of NBA clients. She introduced me to the head of marketing at the White Sox, the head of sponsorships at Gatorade, and many more.

Sue Rodin founded the Women In Sports and Events networking organization for women sports executives. They have about 8 chapters in New York, New England, Washington, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit and now Los Angeles. She started her own company and has represented some of the gold medalists in the Olympic Games.

I had organized a state games event for Ohio and we hosted it in Cleveland. A staff was hired to run it. We were announcing the first event when a young intern walked in. He was over 6 feet, All-American looking guy. There appeared to be some kind of glow to him. I asked about him later when I was looking for an intern. He met with me in my house, in my basement in fact, and he said, "how could a woman, working out of her basement in Shaker Heights have any influence in the sports business?" He was curious and when someone called for me, he stole a few moments to interview them. He kept looking through resumes and trying to read everyone's background. He would flip through the computer and try to figure out all the functionality of a Macintosh system. He worked for the Cleveland Indians in the afternoon selling tickets by phone and kept insisting he wanted to go out and meet the people. He said he could sell better face to face.

When Jon Spoelstra, the president of the New Jersey Nets, called and asked me for suggestions of ticket sales people who could sell tickets face to face, I had to give him Steve. Steve Delay is now in charge of team services for all of Mandalay's baseball teams. Jon Spoelstra is the President.

A young woman met me at a conference. We both were named to a newly forming board of the Women's Sports Foundation. She was excited. She had been with Pepsi and then took a position as head of Synchronized Swimming's National Governing Body. She had developed an organizational chart of how to build a volunteer board of directors for all the many facets of women's sports. She showed me boxes and how each person would be selected an interact. You could tell she knew non-profits and volunteers.

Paula Oyer Berezin went on to become Executive Director of US Rowing, then headed corporate consulting for IEG before starting her own business called Social Capital Partners.

Chad Estis came to work for me after graduating from Ohio University and serving as a ticket sales representative for a 3 month span with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He made recruiting calls for me in trying to identify the best candidates for given positions. Often I would make him call someone back again to find out more information. That bothered him. But he was fascinated with people. He wanted to know as much as he could about them and how they were successful. He would get excited when he learned new ways to sell tickets, sponsorships or run events. He would communicate his fears of his future. He had lots of friends.

Chad Estis heads ticket sales for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He prides himself on identifying and selecting great talent that then goes on and becomes managers for other teams.

What makes these people leaders? Daniel Goleman, a Cleveland author who published "Primal Leadership" explain that leaders have HIGH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. He has proven that we need other people for our own emotional stability, and these people connect with us best. "Emotional leaders, he writes, have the ability to put into words what the group is feeling. The leader acts as the group's emotional guide."

A now Pulitzer prize winning columnist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer once asked me my opinion of the Viet Nam War. We're both about the same age. We were in high school around that time. I stood silent. She asked again what is my opinion of the Viet Nam War, and I confessed I didn't have an opinion. She said she'd wait. I responded that we might be sitting there for years. At 21, 22, 25, what was my passion?

Much like many of you, I was pretty passionate on the athletic fields. I wanted to win. I wanted our team to win. I was team captain; I even founded a unicyle club at my high school.

People interested me. I moved around a lot when I was young. I moved after 4th grade, 9th grade and in the middle of my senior year. Of course I wanted to figure out how to get along. It was how I learned to survive.

There is a moment in time, though, or perhaps several moments in time that tug at you, and push you to the brink, where finally you have to do something. Mine was in college when my coach dismissed me from the tennis team because I spent time with a boy at a tennis tournament. I was the team representative on the intercollegiate council. I had not violated any rule. The athletic director defended the coach's decision. That was my impetus that from a career standpoint, I had to figure out a way to move above those individuals. But that didn't kick the passion into gear the way my father's death when I was 33 did. He was too young to die, and my mother was too young to be a widow. Many businesses are started to try to assuage the grief - "mothers against drunk driving...." And mine was the birth of my own executive search practice in sports.

College degrees give you credentials, and so should the planning of your career. I hope you don't see this as a job.....rather, this is your life. This can be the vehicle to "making a difference." It's not always thought out, but those of us who have served the industry more than 25 years, we find a theme our lives. It's supposed to be fun in the beginning, and then we need to find meaning.

How do you find your passion? You start first by continuing to build upon this educational foundation and work for the best organizations or people you can. Like a college degree, that gives you credibility. That person is your reference, your degree. This is a critical step because each person is a piece to the foundation of your success in the industry.

You have had many great leaders here from Pittsburgh - Len Komoroski, Steve Swetoha, Dr. Bill Sutton, Chris Wright, Vic Gregovits, Mike Levy. Many of them worked for or with each other. They fed off each other.

You support that with your competitive instinct. You want to do the job better than anyone has ever done the job before. Ask about someone in the job before. Ask how you can get better. Listen to your bosses, your coaches. Come in early, stay late, read, continue to develop your skills.

You can't find your way alone. Find your mentors/your guides/your helpers. And ask for help. Brett Yormark and Tim Leiweke both looked to the people they were selling to and asked for assistance. They pleaded with CEO's to buy something, and then turned around and asked how they could get better. The CEO's took them under their wings, as sons they didn't have, and then these CEOs helped launch them.

Always do more. Help your office mates. Be a good teammate. Volunteer to help out in other activities. Be the reliable, responsible one.

Take an interest in others. I was told by a college professor that the students today are tough. They described them as "What's in it for me?"

Sports as an activity or as a spectator experience brings people together. Many feel it has become THE community gathering place. Some say sporting events have replaced our need to congregate in a place of worship. It's not an individual experience. It's not only yours.

Let's review, though, once again, all the areas that sport entails:


How do I stand out? What made these young people stand out to me and become leaders? Exuding passion and enthusiasm for what they like to do, what they like to learn and making an emotional connection with me....with others.

If you are vying for a ticket sales job, put together a ticket sales idea and strategy on how the team could sell more tickets. It doesn't have to be right, just show some initiative.

If you are going for a corporate sales job, write a corporate sponsorship proposal.

Internships - do them right here in your own backyard. One of your former students worked here at Robert Morris and sold tickets. She was the hottest candidate for an NBA team job.

There are tons of internships in the fall. If you want your pick of the best, organize your schedule to be open in the fall.

You have your best chance locally - or where you have family.

You want to be a leader? Find your passion. Find what drives you. Build your emotional intelligence. Build your connections and passions with people. Be the group's emotional guide. Express the group's emotional feelings. Reach.

I'm inspired by Whitney Houston's song, "One Moment in Time".

I want one moment in time, when I'm more than I thought I could be
Give me one moment in time, when I'm racing with destiny...
Give me that one moment in time, and I will feel eternity.


[read more Buffy speeches...]

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ask Buffy

Buffy Filippell has recruited over 350 executives in the sports industry. She has appeared as a featured speaker at Harvard Business School. Ask her any questions about employment issues by pressing Ask Buffy. No names, nor email addresses will be made public.