Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group, LLC Blog

If rules were meant to be broken, why do we even bother with them? We set policies for our student-athletes to help us maintain control over the things we are responsible for. So when Star Athlete says, ‘Mind giving me the security code to the weight room door so I can get in a lift after hours?’, no big deal right.

Except that Star Athlete might share that code with a roommate, and he/she might pass it along to two friends. All of the sudden, everyone has the code and even though the weight room is officially closed, it’s more open than ever. Now you have liability issues, and equipment will start to slowly disappear. All because you made an exception.

The hardest thing to do with masses of people is to implement a new policy. It is human nature to resist change. So when our job dictates we change the way something is done, we have to stand by that policy with no exceptions, even if it means being the bad guy every now and then. Once people realize that no actually means no, they will start to respect and follow your policy and your policy will be effective.

But then don’t start making exceptions!

Mark Harris is the Assistant Director of Athletic Development at Northeastern University.

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.

When meetings boil down to people’s opinions, I usually have to leave. I know that we are each entitled to our own opinion.  I get that.

But don’t confuse your opinion with facts.

“Well, I feel this would be the best solution…”

Did you look at the distributor? Is there a cheaper way to get the same product? What about the warranty? How does it fit into our business model or fit our core principles? Is there evidence based literature that supports its use and price tag? Will it serve a large group or can it only be used by one individual at a time?

Facts take time to investigate.  They take energy and a “superdisciplined” approach. Opinions are like talk at the barbershop.

I’ll take an order of more facts please.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

The initial part of investing is tough. 

Whether its withdrawing a thousand dollars from your checking account to be placed in a high interest bond you can’t touch for 4 years, or the time you spend filling out your salary withholdings for your 401K retirement plan.  Putting “money in the bank” is tough.

It’s a whole lot easier to buy that extra pair of shoes you don’t need, or dine out at the restaurant down the street (again) instead of making dinner at home.

The same can be said at work.

Whether it’s investing time in a project to unify the language and exercise descriptions between the sports med and the strength staff, working with student-athlete welfare to design, manage and implement a comprehensive sports nutrition strategy or designing and tracking an injury assessment and prevention protocol for all athletes.  Putting “money in the bank” is tough.

It’s a whole lot easier to just let the weight room do their thing then complain about it , tell your athletes not to eat fast food (then sneak a McDeal Meal to your desk without them seeing), and just take vitals as your normal incoming screening process (I mean, that’s all the NCAA asks you to do)

What makes investing so difficult is that the investor, rarely ever sees a tangible return on investment within any “reasonable” amount of time.  That’s what makes investing in mutual funds so successful though. If you invest in them, they almost always pay off long term.  The same can be said for your investments at work; your return on investment is rarely within site, even though you know it will pay off eventually. 

Will you ever see the lack of arteriosclerosis that your nutrition plan and cooking classes had on your athletes? What about the injury you may or may not have prevented from your screening and intervention strategies?

The answer is you probably won’t. Your athletes and patients are only yours for four years. And like any good mutual fund, these investments take time to mature.  But just because you can't see the end result next week doesn't mean you stop investing.

The only return you’ll see now is a smile and a thank you.  But just like mutual funds, the investments you make at work today will always pay off in the future just as long as you keep putting money in the bank.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

Every fall, we host a team-building/appreciation event for our student staff at the beginning of the school year.  It is a mixture of games, team activities, and learning in a fun environment.  I find that it's an important event for a few reasons.  First off, it is a chance for a large chunk of the 400+ students that work for our facility to get to know each other when otherwise they might not have an opportunity to.  Secondly, it is an opportunity for us to teach them a number of things about the facility and what we do in general and impart some basic departmental philosophies in them.  Finally, it is a way to give back to them for the excellent job that most of them do and for us to say that we encourage them to enjoy what they do, who they work with, and where they work.  It takes some work to pull off during a busy time of year, but it is something that the students have really enjoyed participating in and we feel that it is not an opportunity to be missed.

Recreation centers, athletic and other university departments all over the country are staffed by large numbers of the very students that their university has been built to service.  While their contributions can range from simple office tasks to critical on-the-job training and internships, they are a crucial cog in making any department run smoothly.  Let me ask you this question though; how often do you take time out to recognize them for their contributions?  I know some departments where students are just employees paid to do a task, no different than a Walmart.  They fill out their timesheets, they receive their check and they are told when they do things well/poorly.  Shouldn't that be enough?  Well, if you expect the bare minimum of effort from your student staff, then yes, the bare minimum of attention is what you should provide.  If however, you are trying to cultivate an environment where your students are enjoying where they work and giving out a maximum effort as a result, then I would encourage you to try a little harder to recognize them.  It doesn't take a lot of effort on our part, but the results can be phenomenal. 

When is the last time that you thanked your students?  What are you doing tomorrow?

Shaun Bossio is the Assistant Business Manager and ProShop Manager at Boston University FitRec.
He can be reached at sbossio@bu.edu
 

Whose toes were you going to step on?

If you translate “I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes” from its ancient Latin roots you will find that it means, “I really didn’t want to perform job/task “x”, so this is my way out.”  When we use this “excuse” we are missing an opportunity to do the right thing. Yes, it takes a little extra effort and yes it may require you to work through your coffee break, and yes it will require you to become exceptionally unordinary at work.

But who wants to do ordinary work?

For arguments sake, let’s say you are sincere, (I’ll say it again for emphasis) and I mean really concerned that you’ll be stepping on someone’s toes.  Do it anyways.  Because when it comes to doing the right thing, it’s better to act now and apologize later. 

You’ll often find that there is never any apologizing and instead simply a thank you from the mouth of the toes you stepped on.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

If you show up 10 minutes late for work, but stay an extra 20 minutes at the end of the day, that’s a net of +10 minutes extra that you put into your day. You should be applauded for working overtime, right?
 
Maybe, but that probably won’t happen. Because at 8:30 a.m., when all the workers are at their desks ready to start the day, yours is noticeably empty. And trust me, people notice.
 
The simple act of getting to the office and being ready to work when the day starts shows your office that you are a team player. At the very least, being on time will help you avoid the devastating perceptions that come with habitual tardiness. In the age of Blackberries and iPhones, we can all send emails from bed at 11 p.m. But true commitment starts with being ready to work when it’s time to work.
 
Think about it: If you were the manager of a gym that opened at 6 a.m., do you think your customers will give you a pass when you open at 6:05? Do you think the prospective clients in California will enjoy listening to the background music while you are five minutes late for your conference call?
 
It’s no different in whatever job you have. Be on time. It’s an easy way to start your day right.

Mark Harris is the Assistant Director of Athletic Development at Northeastern University.

You ever walk into a old school barbershop? 

You know the place, one or two barbers cutting the same high and tight crew cut they’ve been performing for the past 30 years, and just behind them a row of guys sitting and yuking it up.

Everyone talking about what they’re going to do, what they did do, and how good they were when they were your age.  Everyone has a suggestion on how things should be run and how to do it better.

Just ask them.

They’ll tell you what they’d do if they were president, the pope and even God. But then ask them to tell you what exactly they would do differently from what is currently being done; exactly, and in no uncertain terms and they often go silent.

Staff meetings are a lot like Barbershops. One guy who has been there forever, doing the same things the exact same way that they have always done it, trying to convince you that you need that high and tight fade, even though you just asked for a little bit off the top.  And around the meeting table, just like the barbershop, a whole lot of people making suggestions on how to make improvements but no one offering to own their suggestion and see it through.

“Who wants to research, develop and implement plan B that was suggested?”

Silence.

If you can’t tell me exactly what you would like to see done differently compared to what is currently being done then you’re simply complaining.  Or as I like to say, you’re just talking Barbershop.

And no, I don't need that fade.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

I’m amazed at the thought process employed by some people when a desirable job opens up within their organization.  It doesn’t matter what the job is.  It could be the leader of a special interest group, a Graduate Assistant Position for an unemployed graduating senior student, or even the head of your special unit.  It’s as if some people just wait their whole life for the moment that these positions magically open, and then suddenly now, as if a giant obstacle has been removed from their path, they are suddenly ready to take on this new position and all the responsibilities that come with it.

Forget that last week they wandered into work an hour late, shirt unchecked, 5 o’clock shadow at 10 am and that the TPS reports that they still haven’t completed, were suppose to be handed in with the new cover sheet last week.

“I’m still waiting on Jimbo down in printing to get me the green stock paper to print it on boss.  As soon as I get that green paper I’ll be right on it.”

All of a sudden, now that more pay and a title change are available, a better effort is now worth putting forward. That now, getting to work early or at least on time is the right thing to do and that now tasks will be accomplished on time and with vigor. That now, customer service comes with a smile.  The trouble with now is, well now is simply just too late.

Because right now, you’ve already been interviewed for the past three years.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

Remember when you were in college? It was great wasn’t it?  Not a worry in the world, house gatherings every weekend, Jell-O shots and streaking through the quad! Ok, maybe not the streaking through the quad but you get my drift.

Remember also the time you were assigned a 10 page paper at the beginning of the semester and all of a sudden it’s 9pm on a Sunday night and its due the next morning by 8am.  As impossible as it seemed at first, you got it done didn’t you? And I’d even bet that you did better than average on it? 

When we remove ourselves from all distractions, from all the things that inevitably sabotage us from shipping, we are capable of wonderful and remarkable feats.  Yet, when we allow others, as well as ourselves, to constantly get in the way, we find that each workday is an ongoing struggle.  That each eight hour day wears on and on and yet at the end of it all; the day, the week, or the month we have little or nothing to show for the massive amount of time that we sat at our desk.

I know that phone call was important and that you had to reply to a customer inquiry, but that’s not what really kept you from shipping was it?

What amazing piece of work could you ship (Seth Godin calls in Art – “an original creation”) if you weren’t so busy updating your status on Facebook, tweeting that you just spilled your coffee on your new dress shirt, or checking the latest email chain about the office photocopier being broken again?

Don’t have Facebook? What about the clerical, custodial, and catering that you’ve continued to do?  The challenge now is to identify all the distracters that are preventing you from shipping after of course you’ve eliminated the 3-C’s from your work place.  So what in your day stops you from shipping?

Hold that thought, someone just tagged me on Facebook, I’ll be right back…

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

It's summer and those of us in the collegiate realm realize that this is the time when the vast majority of the staff take their allotted vacation.  The Executive Director of our department walks into my office this week and tells me that both he and the Associate Director will be out of the office for a few days and that as we have discussed, everyone will be reporting to me during that time.  "Sure," I say, "I will write up a full report of the changes I make while you're gone and be sure to appraise you when you get back so we don't miss a beat."  We share a quick laugh and go about our business, but it also gets me thinking; what would I do if I were in charge?  I take some time to ponder things like the areas I would keep a closer eye on and the tasks I would delegate to members of my staff.  I wonder about areas for potential growth that I've seen and how I would take advantage of it.  I think about all these things and more for a while, then go about the reality of my position.

The question is, do you really have to be the director of your area in order to enact positive change?  Sure, you will need approvals to set some changes in motion, but this is why you were hired.  You were brought on board to improve the function of your workplace, not be a bookmark for its current state.  Some people look at a problem within their area and say things like, "Well, I'm not in charge" or "I don't get paid for that".  These people are either ill equipped to evaluate the situation around them or just too lazy to care.  The reality is that we are all empowered to bring about a positive change to our workplace, some of us just aren't motivated to do so.  Get motivated.  Sure, you are not in charge now, but keep this up and maybe someday soon you will be.

Shaun Bossio is the Assistant Business Manager and ProShop Manager at Boston University FitRec.
He can be reached at sbossio@bu.edu