The Summer is the best time to be creative as you start working on your marketing plan, which is why we started the WBB Advancement Program earlier as we head into the second year. Whether or not your school was selected for the Advancement Program, you can benefit if you are proactive in taking advantage of the content that is shared, as well as from those who share it. This year’s three consultants, Trip Durham, Tori Alston and me will continue to use the Facebook group, email database and in-person events to share the content. The passion in the room during the WBB Advancement Workshop at the 2018 NACMA Convention last week is how we know that this season is going to be truly incredible. 

For the workshop, we brought in some of the best in the sports industry to provide guidance on hot topics as we prepare for the season. Below is quick recap from our special guests. Plus, you can check out the live feed from the presentation and/or ask questions in the Facebook group to post. If your question is directed to someone in particular, tag them so they can answer in a timely manner. Note: since Dan Migala isn’t on Facebook, please tag me and we will get back to you ASAP.

Dan Migala

- Know your why. What is at the core of everything you’re doing? Does your marketing plan reflect it?

- It’s easier to say no to an idea than it is to say no to a process. If everyone has signed off on the strategy and you stick to that core, it’s easy to keep moving forward.

- A new idea should make you feel uncomfortable, but working through the process sets you up for success.

- When evaluating last year’s plan, you have three choices: Start, Stop, Continue. Make sure what you’ve been doing is still in line with your strategy, as well as if you start something new. To get buy in from the group it’s showing that it’s not a change, it’s an evolution.

- Keep things simple. Don’t create a promotion or ticket offer that is too complicated for fans. For example, if the rules of your Flex Plans are targeted at families, but the explanation is more than a few sentences you should consider changing it to something easier, like Kids Eat Free. Instead of discounting the tickets through the Flex Plan add value using something that families are already familiar with from other organizations.

Kristi Dosh

- Find your stories. Why is your team unique? Why is this season different/exciting/interesting? How can you tell the story through your games? What storylines will get your fans invested game after game?

- To get earned media, your story needs to have value to the readers. Instead of pitching a series that gives every players’ bio, pitch 2-3 of the most interesting players to follow their stories across multiple weeks.

- Don’t forget about the value of the student newspaper. What content can you pitch that could be a blurb each week or every gameday?

- Use your own channels to tell the story. If your team is out in the community, make sure you amplify those efforts in the media, social media, email, etc. 

Aaron Villalobos

- Ask why. Why would a student come to your games? Why wouldn’t a student come to your games? 

- Ask them why. Have a connection to the students to make sure you understand what will get them to the games. When Grand Canyon University earned the national label of the craziest students in basketball, it was because of how involved these students were in the planning conversations.

- Do more of what’s working. Once GCU earned this reputation, the students felt an obligation to not only keep it alive in basketball, but to step it up to be the biggest party in all sports. 

Mary Pink

- If your marketing plan isn’t at least 20 pages long, you don’t have a marketing plan. Watch Mary’s 15-minute presentation in the WBB Facebook Group for more details and best practices that launched Iowa State Women’s Basketball into the top five in attendance every year. You can also hear from Trip and me recapping the 2017-18 WBB Advancement Program findings in the video.

- Mary has also graciously offered to share Iowa State’s marketing plan, so we will be sending along a collaborative marketing plan template that can be adapted for any school. The template will include coming together for national initiatives (e.g. National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Play4Kay and/or Pink Games, Education Days), student engagement, email campaigns, digital advertising, research and more.

Kurt Esser

- Communicate. As an athletic director, Kurt’s biggest piece of advice is to make sure that everyone is involved in the creation of the plan and signs off on the direction and deadlines. Once the plan is in place, consistently update everyone on the progress. Celebrate your marketing wins, but also solicit feedback from staff, fans and coaches in real time to make adjustments to the plan during the season. Waiting until the end of the season to hear about what people wish you would’ve done is a wasted opportunity to grow.

Speaking of feedback, thanks for all of the positive feedback we received about the Workshop. It solidified that we need to CONTINUE providing opportunities to brainstorm, educate and share best practices, so we will be doing that even more this year in the WBB Facebook Group. If there are topics you would like us to cover, please post them in the group so we can bring in experts in as many fields as possible. Tori, Trip and I will also be sharing hot topics from the WBB Advancement Program consistently in the group and via email, so we look forward to hearing from all of you this year!

Research to create a strategy is what got me through my marketing days at Northwestern. There is never enough time, money or staff to do everything on campus, so taking a step back to prioritize and plan was key to being a good manager. There was always something popping up, but having our strategic plan clearly laid out and communicated to the coaches and administration allowed us to react appropriately.

As I read The Pause Principle, the biggest ah-ha moment was this technique is what “transformed me from management to leadership” in my career. I was fortunate to have amazing bosses who put me into situations I wasn’t fully ready for so I could develop the skills necessary to run a Big Ten marketing department, which I did before I even turned 30. When I was given the reigns, I was able to be successful at Northwestern because of the team I assembled, who I also put into aggressive situations so they could grow beyond their years. The author, Kevin Cashman, calls this “Fostering Generativity”. I watched one young woman in particular “surpass” me in certain areas, and I was so happy to see it happen. She made me look smarter! It also helped me transform from just a manager to an actual leader. Cashman’s three factors in leadership are 1) growing yourself, 2) growing others and 3) growing an innovative culture.

In addition, Cashman provides the seven key shifts from management effectiveness to leadership excellence:

1.      Moving from self-centeredness to self-awareness and service

2.      Moving from people dominance and control to people development and liberation

3.      Moving from complexity and confusion to clarity and hope

4.      Moving from a presumption of knowing and expertise to listening and learning

5.      Moving from heroic, unchallenged ideas to collaborative, constructive engagement

6.      Moving from the status quo to curiosity, exploration, synthesis and innovation

7.      Moving from accuracy and efficiency to purpose and transformation

Self-awareness. That’s a big one for me. Knowing my strengths and weaknesses, and knowing that they change throughout the years. Building character is how people decide whether or not they are going to trust you, so being a leader with character means you are a leader who serves. This all goes along with the emotional intelligence categories I blogged about in last month’s #PDBookClub post after reading Emotional Intelligence 2.0. Constant self reflection helps to build genuine relationships, which is at the core of The Pause Principle. Which of those seven key shifts is the most important to you?

This book is all about finding new ways of doing things and getting to a new level of thinking, which if you look back at your career, I’m sure you will find plenty of examples of how you are already doing this. Hopefully, by reading this book, or this Hitz Notes #PDBookClub blog post, you will consciously live these pause principles. There were a lot of case studies and research, so the book does gets repetitive, but that’s always a good way to drive the point home. Being able to see these words in action in different scenarios makes it easier to take more away from all of the people the author interviewed for this book.

The Pause Points encourage you to think about the situation to identify what is important before you react. This includes boosting your creativity. Think about when you go for a run to clear your mind and all of the sudden the ideas coming rushing into your head. Cashman quotes Jonah Lehrer, author of one of my favorite books, Imagine: How Creativity Works when he wrote that your creativity and imagination both need discipline and sense of freedom. Lehrer quotes Einstein in his book, “creativity is the residue of time wasted.” What techniques work for you to be creative? When you think about it, does it involve pausing before moving forward?

Some people think that pausing before making a decision is a sign of weakness, but Cashman says taking this time is “the art of seeking new possibilities” and provides a “new level of thinking”. He uses Steve Jobs and Google as examples of how innovation plays into leadership. I love learning about Jobs, and often wonder what Jobs would do in the sports industry? One of my favorite #PDBookClub discussions was What Would Google Do?, so if you haven’t read that book, I highly recommend it for being strategically innovative. It helps you feel comfortable taking calculated risks, which is when the big ideas can come alive. Or fall asleep … Cashman said that Google, Nike and other companies have nap rooms to help “restore brainpower” during the work day. Would you ever consider putting nap room in your office? Maybe George Costanza was on to something!

These companies invest in people, and I’m glad the NCAA supports professional development as well. The Pause Principles below are good to keep on hand to make sure growth is always top of mind.

Pause Practice 1: Be On-Purpose – purpose gives us context, drive and meaning to personal growth, talent growth and growth of innovation.

Pause Practice: 2: Question and Listen – asking powerful questions so employees provide authentic answers and then the leaders truly listen to their answers.

Pause Practice 3: Risk Experimentation – take calculated risks to be innovative.

Pause Practice 4: Reflect and Synthesize – more strategic, forward-thinking solutions, authenticity, transformation and innovation.

Pause Practice 5: Consider Inside-Out and Outside-In Dynamics – good leaders look outside themselves for strategic solutions; great leaders look inside themselves and outside themselves for enduring transformation.

Pause Practice 6: Foster Generativity – pause to prepare the next generation more than he or she pauses for personal success. Generativity is the energy and enthusiasm we get by helping people to surpass us. It is the jo of giving, coaching, mentoring and stretching people to go beyond us.

Pause Practice 7: Be authentic – be the change you wish to see in your organization. Authenticity gives substance, realness, and value to everything it touches.

If it’s a practice it’s fairly obvious that we then need to practice it. How much time do you spend trying to make things better at work, for yourself, your team and your organization? Do you encourage your team to take calculate risks?

How do you innovate at your organization? Do you do staff retreats? Do you have an innovation meeting room? Do you pause?

The example from executives at General Mills included their three types of pauses.

Backwards Pause: stepping back when things aren’t working to analyze how to take a new path

Mission Pause: step back when we have lost our way and need to restore a sense of purpose

Forward Pause: stepping back to envision aspirational dreams for imagining a big or new possibility

As you think about how these pauses can help you move forward, Cashman leaves the reader with two final thoughts.

Pause it Now: are you doing everything possible to grow yourself, grow others and grow innovation?

Pause it Forward: what more could you also do to “play a bigger game” to more positively influence the broader systems and human needs in our local communities and the world?

Now in its fourth year, the #PDBookClub is getting a makeover. Instead of asking questions related to the book throughout the day on the last Wednesday of every month, I’m going to provide the Hitz Notes on the first Wednesday of every month. Hitz Notes are similar to that guy Cliff, but hopefully more relevant to your professional development. I will provide an overview of the book along with relevant stories and advice I’ve learned along the way as I continue to navigate through my career. Once those notes are posted, members of the #PDBookClub are encouraged to share their own stories, hopefully sparked by the content in the book each month, but really, let’s just chat about life. Isn’t that what other book clubbers do?

This month’s book is “Emotional Intelligence 2.0”, which I heard about during a leadership cohort the NCAA hosted last year, and I was intrigued. The author says, “the communication between your emotional and rational brains is the physical source of emotional intelligence.”  And it turns out “people with the highest levels of intelligence (IQ) outperform those with average IQs just 20% of the time, while people with average IQs outperform those with high IQs 70% of the time.” So how do we strengthen our emotional intelligence? It starts with being aware of our emotions, as well as others and then adapting our approach based on what they are feeling at that moment to better manage these relationships.

There are four categories of emotional intelligence. Which ones are you doing well? Which ones do you need to work on?

Personal competence: When you have a reaction to something, do you take a minute to figure out where it came from? I know that I hate to waste time, so I have to be conscious of how I handle the situation when people set up meetings or conference calls that easily could’ve been figured out in an email. 

Self management: When you are aware of your emotions, how do you then keep them in check in each situation? The author suggests being positive and staying flexible, which are two of my strengths. Problem solving is what I do, so my emotions rarely come into the equation. However, I don’t always have patience for others who bring emotion into the workplace. Whether it’s crying or an angry outburst, I hope that people will keep that all behind closed doors so we can stay focused on the task at hand. 

Social awareness: If you aren’t consumed by just your feelings and opinions, do you find that you have a better understanding of what’s going on? Listening and observing are critical with social awareness. How much do you truly listen when people are talking?

Relationship Management: How are you strengthening connections so you can build relationships over time? With strong relationships, you can accomplish your goals more efficiently. I’ve found that having direct conversations to get past conflict allows me to get things out in the open so things don’t eventually blow up, but knowing how and when to have these conversations is the key to being effective. Most people don’t like confrontation, so being aware of how others are receiving the information allows you to change your delivery so they receive the message the way it was intended. It’s not personal, but if you see that someone is taking it that way, you need to adjust. Plasticity is the the brain’s ability to change, which is necessary to manage our emotions when we face conflict or difficult situations.

This book provides strategies to implement so you can improve your emotional intelligence. The author says to pick one EQ skill (Self Awareness, Social Awareness, Self Management, Relationship Management) to work on to start and then three strategies to implement. He also suggests finding an EQ mentor who excels at that skill so you can evaluate your progress.

I picked Social Awareness because even though I’m not afraid to have difficult conversations, other people are, so I want to improve my approach. I am always disappointed when I see or hear about someone crying at work so I want to be better at understanding what people are bringing to the situation before having these conversations. With that, below are the three strategies I picked to work on this month.

1) Watch Body Language: Concentrate on the eyes, check for a genuine smile and then constantly watch the rest of the body language.

2) Timing is Everything: Being aware of what’s going on with someone so I can pick the right time to have those difficult conversations.

3) Seek the Whole Picture: This involves asking people what their perceptions are of me. If they don’t match what I want my brand to be, I need to make some changes.

What is the first EQ skill you are going to work on? What strategies did you pick? What are some past situations that led you to pick this skill to improve on? Let’s chat! Comment below!

In the Summer, I spend a lot of time reading. I usually have at least two books going at a time with one always focused on professional development. However, I know that most people in the sports industry are crazed right now with football season starting, so my plan was to skip reading a book for the #PDBookClub this month and instead, write a blog about some of the best books we’ve read over the last 3.5 years. 

Then, it happened. Last night, I was finishing up my workout in downtown Indianapolis when I found myself walking behind, gasp, author (and my idol) Seth Godin. 

I wasn’t prepared for this encounter, so I gushed like a school girl, “You’re Seth Godin. I’m Tracie. You emailed me once.” The awkwardness was like Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing.

Let this be a reminder to always have your elevator pitch ready because you never know who you will meet just walking down the street. I tried to recover after such an awkward start to the conversation, and I left there feeling even more inspired to finish writing my book that is centered around Seth Godin’s marketing advice that I’ve been applying in my dating life over the last seven years.

So for today’s #PDBookClub, I’m going to share some of my favorite quotes from Godin’s books in hope that you will be as inspired as I was last night by this remarkable man.

For more inspiring words from Godin, be sure to check out his blog. What other authors or quotes inspire you? Comment below!

I love to win. At anything. Everything. Even if I’m not good at it, I want to win. Reading “Serial Winner” in February was a great choice for me, so I’m sharing some of my favorite comments from the #PDBookClub chat. 

I also love Google. We read “What Would Google Do?” a while back, so I was excited to see “Work Rules” on my friend’s desk when I was at the National Sports Forum last month because it promises insights from inside Google. We’ll share these insights with you on Wednesday, March 30 from 11 am - 4 pm EST. You don’t even need to read the book to join in!

It’s not often I take away professional development advice from a shampoo commercial, but watching Pantene’s “Not Sorry” video definitely impacted the way I carry myself.

I was apologizing when I didn’t do anything wrong. And even worse, I would apologize when I was right. What in the world is that about? Some situations I see quite often are women apologizing:

- at the beginning of a presentation because they are going to be talking for a long time

- for following up with someone who is past due on an item

- for sending an email to request information that was omitted from the original email

- for sending emails or leaving voicemails because you’re working over the weekend  

- asking questions about a presentation that was done poorly

When I’m wrong, I’m the first one to admit it. I’m definitely not saying that I’m perfect. If I implement a new idea that fails, I own that. But I no longer apologize for something that wasn’t wrong. It seems like an obvious statement, but I didn’t even know I was doing it until I started paying attention. Some say it’s because women are so polite and we shouldn’t be encouraging them to be rude, but that’s not really the issue. Sometimes it’s as easy as just omitting the apology from the conversation.

For example, instead of starting an email with “I’m sorry I didn’t understand the presentation you gave today” simply begin with “As a follow up to your presentation, I have some additional questions”. 

I’m curious to see if others catch themselves apologizing when there’s nothing to be sorry about. Similar to speech class when they taught us to stop saying “um” as a filler, I hope more women will do the same with the “I’m sorry” filler that seems to come out so naturally. Comment below!

Our first #PDBookClub discussion of the year was a book written by one of my all-time favorite people, Joan Cronan. Her book “Sport is Life” was a great mix of sports and business stories that will inspire people in and out of the sports industry. To provide a recap of the book, I’ve picked some of my favorite tweets from our discussion last month. Be sure to share any insight by commenting below.

I laugh a lot. But I’ve never laughed as much as when I moderated the marketing and communications panel at the NCAA’s Emerging Leaders Seminar yesterday. I’ve been part of several fun panels with interesting stories, but this one was just all around entertaining.  Among all of the great advice, Karina (Pepperdine), Dawn Ellerbe Crawford (C-SUN) and Clark T (North Central College) gave, they shared stories that had amazing lessons because they were completely transparent. They are also extremely creative, which means they try new things. And with all new ideas, comes the unexpected, which can be good and not as good, but it all played a part in who they have become.

In addition to Karina sharing a hilarious story about the “Drake Effect” (the rapper Drake came to the Pepperdine men’s basketball game) and Dawn matched that with one equally entertaining about the Floyd Mayweather Celebrity Basketball game with Suge Knight, pro athletes and other notable artists. The underlying lesson for both was being able to think on their feet logistically, as well as recognize the marketing opportunities that came with the attention celebrities bring to their events. Are you going to Google both of these events to see what happened? Boom.

Some of my other favorite tidbits of advice, include:

-       Research the school/organization you’re interviewing before you get on the phone. You need to show that you truly want to work there, not that you sent out 100 resumes in hopes that one will lead to a job.

-       Be willing to do anything at anytime, but also do it with a smile. Those who take pride in blowing up 1,000 balloon noodles make an impression.

-       Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, especially your friends outside of the sports industry. Do what’s best for you.

-       Volunteer and/or be an intern as long as it takes to land a full-time job. Don’t get caught up on how many internships you’ve already done because the industry just continues to get more competitive. Those who persevere will find success.

-       Create a great support system to achieve work-life balance, as well as master your time management skills.

-       There is no typical day in college athletics, and that’s what makes it fun. If you’re looking for a job that has structure, the sports industry might not be for you.

-       Creativity can make up for the lack of staff, budget and time.  Don’t get hung up on what you don’t have, but figure out what you do have.

-       If you can market the sports that are harder to sell, that’s usually more impressive to sports executives than success selling tickets to the events that are expected to draw a crowd.

-       Hone your design and video skills, especially to create content for social media.

What advice do you share with young sports professionals? What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Last year, was the third year of the #PDBookClub which chats on the last Wednesday of every month from 11 am - 4 pm EST. Having friends who like to read professional development books and share their insight has been the best way to make sure I read at least one book every month. You don’t have to read the book to join in the conversation … the chat is compilation book summary. For more information, request to join my #PDBookClub LinkedIn group.

Below are some of my favorite tweets from 2015.

“Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek

“Quiet: The Power of Introverts” by Susan Cain

“Brands Win Championships” by Jeremy Darlow

“Give and Take” by Adam Grant

“Winning the Story Wars” by Jonah Sachs

“Creative Boot Camp” by Stefan Mumaw

“The Hard Hat” by Jon Gordon

“Yes, And” by Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton

“A Curious Mind” by Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman

“The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown

“Manage Your Day-to-Day” by Jocelyn Glei

What were the best books you read in 2015?

As I started juggling multiple blogs in 2013 (managing up to four at one time!), this blog fell to the bottom of the list because I took a new job that year at the NCAA that gave me the chance to chat with a lot of young professionals everyday. But as with every new year, I reprioritize everything in my life and a phone call with a young pro I’d never met before made me realize that this blog is what I love doing.

He applied for a position I had open, but didn’t make it into the candidate pool. He reached out asking if I had time to chat about what he could do for next time, which I like to see. As we talked, he was referencing blog posts on this site that were more than a year old. He reminded me that while everything he was citing was still relevant, I have learned more things that I would like to share. So I’m baaaaaack!

As we were wrapping up the conversation, he thanked me for taking the time to talk with him, but then also told me the two biggest takeaways from our conversation. Loved that. The one that resonated the most with this young man was my answer to the interview questions, “What is your dream job?” and “ Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”.

While I like to see that people have goals, it’s impossible to predict where your career will take you. If you told me that I would be at my first job for 13 years, I would’ve told you that you were crazy. I didn’t even want to be in marketing. I was going to be a writer for Sports Illustrated. Along the way, we have experiences, good and bad, that get us closer to figuring out what TYPE of job we want, not the actual TITLE of the job.

Every job I’ve had, as been my dream job for that time in my life, including the path that led me to the NCAA two years ago. When I heard about the job, I knew it was for me because the type of job I want involves 1) college athletics, 2) only working one sport, 3) a sport that needs me, 4) strategic planning and 5) opportunities to interact with as many schools as possible. Dream job, again.

What parts of the job(s) do you enjoy the most? Are these guiding your career decisions? Are you saying yes to opportunities that take you out of your comfort zone?

As I head into the new academic year, I’m putting together my strategic plans.  Once I have the basics set, I brainstorm a few ways that I can be “bold and different” this year.  Of course, the ideas need to relate back to the strategy.  Doing something crazy only works if it was calculated.

At the end of every year, I want to look back and have several proud moments.  The stuff resume bullet points are made of.  That’s why I suggest having one resume that lists all of those great accomplishments.  People say that your resume should only be one page when you’re a young professional, but you can have a master resume that you edit based on whatever job you’re applying for at the time.  

By having this document that chronicles your accomplishments, it’s way easier to cater your resume.  You look at the job description to find the right combination of achievements that will make the best sales pitch to the potential employer.  They are telling you exactly what they need, so make sure you show them that you have it.  Sometimes it seems like they should be able to see how great you are just by giving them a generic resume, but it will benefit you to make it as clear as possible that you can slide into their position.

What are you doing this year that is bold and different?  Will you have some great bullet points to add to your resume at the end of the academic year?

One of my favorite movies is “Office Space”.  The quote I use the most is, “What exactly would you say you do here?  I’m a people person.”  I like these lines because in every interview, I want people to give real examples of what they actually do.  Instead of saying they work hard, I want to hear a story of how they stayed up for 24 hours chaperoning the camp out with the volleyball team.  Rather than saying you’re creative, tell me about a crazy promotion that yielded results.

Then, we read “Cubed” for the #PDBookClub last week and I saw something different in that movie.  I noticed the set up of the office.  All cubicles.  The book tells the history of office spaces, which was interesting, and during the chat we talked about the pros and cons of the cubicle.

At my first job at Northwestern, I was out in the open with the interns and secretaries.  People were always buzzing in and out of our office because we shared the space with the Media Relations Department so I met so many coaches, student-athletes and staff members in a short amount of time.  It made the transition into my first full-time job so much easier.

When I was promoted a few years later, I settled into my new office.  With a door.  It was pretty awesome.  There was just something regal about having an office. But I always kept my door open so people knew they could come in any time, which was something not everyone else did.  Sure, I got interrupted more than they did, but that was the time that I got to catch up with student-athletes, coaches and co-workers.  The more I knew what was going on with them, the better I was at my job.

After starting a Sports Marketing Club to find free help marketing our sports, we housed all of our student workers back in the “bullpen”, which is where I always went when I wanted to have a brainstorming session.

That seemed to be the consensus from the group.  Cubicles are great for team building and idea sharing, but having an office allows you to buckle down to crush out your tasks for the day.  What office set up do you prefer?

While I’m not a fan of KISS, my friend Brad Wurthman and I agree that you can learn a lot about putting on a show from musical artists.  You can actually learn a lot from musicians in general.  While Gavin DeGraw’s concert isn’t anywhere near the caliber of KISS, and has way less facepaint, I walked away feeling inspired. 

Most singers say a few words in between songs to build the rapport with the audience.  They tell a little story about why they wrote the song in hopes that you will develop a connection to the song as well.  They introduce you to their band, and the guy who happens to be from that city gets the biggest applause.  They bring fans on stage. They take selfies with the crowd and tweet it out.

But only the things that seem genuine stand a chance at resonating.  And that’s what DeGraw was doing with his banter with the crowd, but the thing that stuck with me was the story about his dream of getting a record deal.  He told a close friend that he was going to do whatever he needed to in order to land a record deal.  That friend essentially told him that he was crazy.  That he would never be able to do it.  

We all have people in our lives who care about us so much that they are afraid that we will take a risk and fail.  What looks to be someone being unsupportive is usually someone who doesn’t want to see us get hurt. In that situation, you do what Gavin DeGraw did … shake it off, work your butt off and make it happen.  

It’s because so many people are afraid to fail that us risk takers have a shot at our dreams.  If it was easy, everyone would do it.

I’ve always had a hard time turning the work off when I’m on vacation. In fact, most trips I’ve taken involved hanging out with friends in the sports industry, which is fun but also makes it difficult to disengage.

This week, I went on my first real vacation, well, ever. An 11-day trip, or as the Aussies say, holiday. Some people questioned why I chose to go to Australia during their Winter. In addition to being busy during their prime visiting time, there was a sports convention being held in Melbourne that I thought about attending. Ultimately I decided that it wouldn’t be a true holiday if I spent three days attending sessions. Of course, I met up with everyone after the sessions to grab dinner and/or drinks, but I made an effort to keep the conversation from being dominated by work so I still learned a few things that I can apply when I get back home.

It also helps to travel with someone who doesn’t work in the industry because nothing turns a day at the beach into a brainstorming session faster than someone else who is obsessed with work.

While I am checking my email once a day, my co-workers are doing everything they can to keep me from doing work, and that’s ultimately what is making this possible. To have people who genuinely want you to take a break from work is the key. So as we continue to find that work-life balance, surround yourself with people who can help you to make this happen because you know if it was left up to you, you’d be snorkeling with your waterproof iPhone so you can send emails. Who helps you disengage so you can come back reenergized to produce your best work to date?

The NACDA Convention is one of my favorite trips of the year, which people outside of sports think I’m weird to love a work trip so much, but for those of you in college athletics I’m sure you agree. In addition to the programming, it’s a chance to catch up with friends and colleagues from across the country. And over the last few years, it’s been meeting people who follow me on Twitter and/or want career advice.

It’s cool to see how things have changed and how I’ve grown since the first time I attended the NACMA Convention 14 years. I went from a girl nervous to be a presenter to being on the Board of Directors dedicated to serving the entire membership. As I look back at the different ways I’ve attended convention (administrator, vendor, board member, career coach), including this year as an employee of the NCAA, one piece of advice stays the same: take advantage of every second. Even if you want a break out at the pool, take people with you.  You don’t have to talk about work or brainstorm new marketing ideas. Just chat about life. Build relationships.

14 Tips From 14 Years of Attending NACDA/NACMA:

Dress appropriately - You’re away from campus, but you never know when you’re going to run into an athletic director so always look sharp.

Hang out at the lobby bar - This is a great place to meet and catch up with people because it’s a relaxed environment, but make sure you keep your drinks in check so you don’t become “that guy” or “that girl”.

Go to the luncheons - this is a great chance to sit by people you don’t know while hearing about the great things going on in our industry.

Attend the NACMA awards ceremony - take this opportunity to see who has done it well over the last year.

Go to the exhibit hall - each year more exhibitors are added to the hall and they are experts in their fields. You may roll your eyes or try to avoid eye contact all together, but these folks spend their days creating solutions to problems in the sports biz so it’s worth a listen to see if they have something that might help you be better this year.

Be a presenter - if you don’t feel like you’re an expert in something, become one.

Go to the joint sessions - Any time you can cross over to another association you are exposing yourself to something different that could inspire you to apply something different to your normal plans. Different is rarely bad.

Ask questions - sometimes it’s hard to see how a particular session applies to you so don’t be afraid to ask the presenters to provide a piece of advice that could be applied to your situation. Big schools can learn from smaller schools and vice versa. Don’t cross a session off your list because you don’t know if you’ll learn anything from it. If you’re trying, you will always learn something.

Sit with strangers - it’s easier to hang with your pack of friends, but when you attend a session sit next to someone you don’t know and then introduce yourself. Chances are you have something in common I you’re are attending the same session.

Take advantage of the extras - the NACMA Board has added or updated the programming each year including Basic Training, Veteran’s Workshop, Cover Letter/Résumé/Mock Interviews and more.

Wait for the right moment - if you see someone you’ve been wanting to meet, assess the situation to make sure you’re not interrupting. A first impression can be affected by starting a conversation with someone who is talking with someone else, is talking on the phone or is rushing down the hallway. Picking your moment is almost as important as what you say once you have their attention.

Have a plan - grab your highlighter to map out the sessions you want to attend, but also stay flexible. Since each presenter does multiple sessions, ask people what sessions were good during that time slot and make adjustments if necessary.

Be positive - if you’re looking for solutions to your challenges on campus don’t be a downer about your problems. Every challenge is an opportunity to make a change that will produce positive results so don’t waste your time being negative.

Attend every year - even though I’ve gone to the convention for 14 straight years, I always find value in attending. If there aren’t sessions that I’m interested in one afternoon then I set up meetings with people to talk one-on-one or in smaller groups.

What advice do you have for those attending the NACDA Convention?