The informational interview. A well-intentioned idea that’s often poorly executed.

(TL;DR If you ask the same scripted questions as everyone else you're getting the same information as everyone else, not the most relevant information to YOU.)

It makes sense to talk someone who already works in an industry or position you’d like to be in. A conversation with someone who has ‘been there are done that’ can be helpful in planning your own success 

I know how valuable those conversations can be because I’ve counted on informational interviews throughout my career as a sports broadcaster and business owner.

These days I’m frequently asked to participate in informational interviews. As someone who’s benefited from them I want to help others and provide valuable information.  

But the information you get is only as good as the questions you ask.

I’m happy to answer a wide range of questions, but what I really want to do is provide helpful insight and perspective. I want you to feel mor...

Super Bowl prop bets are a favorite conversation starter for me leading up to the big game. For as much as I enjoy talking about the game itself, the prop bets take the conversation in an entirely different direction.

If you’re not familiar with a prop bet its side wager on parts of the game that have nothing to do with the final outcome. For example, you could place a bet on who will be the Super Bowl MVP, the first song performed at halftime, the length of the National Anthem or whether the coin toss will be heads or tails.

It’s the questions around the coin toss that can lead to interesting conversations with colleagues and reveal their approach to things like project management and productivity. 

I realize it might sound like a stretch, (after all, how much strategy comes into play when making a decision with 50-50 odds?) but the conversation is less about heads or tails and more about what happens next. 

On game day the team that wins the coin toss can choose to take the ba...

Sports fans once again made television history by watching Kansas City defeat Buffalo in the divisional playoff game.

More than 50 million people tuned into the game making it the most-watched divisional playoff game in NFL history and the first divisional playoff game to top 50 million viewers. 

Kansas City won the game and advanced to the AFC Championship game for a sixth straight year, but two of the biggest storylines and talking points among fans had nothing to do with stats from the game.

• Some sports fans just liked the drama. (The outcome was decided in the final two minutes of the game.)
• Many Buffalo fans commiserated in another heart-breaking playoff loss. (Google “Buffalo Bills wide right” and you’ll know what I mean.)
• Other fans were entertained by seeing Taylor Swift and Jason Kelce celebrating and cheering together in a suite. (I’m sure you’ve heard by now that T-Swift is dating Jason’s brother Travis.) 

There are absolutely football fans – like me - who lean tow...

You’ve set goals.

You’re targeting professional milestones.

You’ve crafted a plan for success.

Does it include ways to be more visible at work with your managers and even your colleagues?   

Your work and the effort you put in at work are only part of being successful. Increasing your visibility directly impacts your compensation and opportunities to advance your career. 

Letting your work speak for itself leaves a lot of room for interpretation and quite honestly results in a lot of missed opportunities every single day.

Standing out at work doesn’t require you to take on more work. It’s not about being the first one to the office and the last one to leave (or log off.) It doesn’t mean you have to brag about everything you’re working on.

Your visibility at work comes down to - being strategic and intentional in your interactions. Here are three tangible ways you can stand out every day: 

 1. Do what you say you’re going to do. It’s the simplest way to build trust. You can do...

MVP discussions in sports often turn into debates because there are different schools of thought on how those awards should be determined. The outcome depends on which criteria you use and which school of thought you follow. Which is also true when it comes to performance reviews and goal setting for 2024.

Make sure your team is on the same page and knows the criteria you're using. If you haven't been specific or need to have that conversation again this sports conversation can help you start the discussion. It's just one way to use sports to think outside the box score and improve business communication. 

You can encounter any number of tough conversations throughout the day in your professional and personal life. We all approach those interactions differently and often bring our own baggage into the exchange. It’s not intentional it just comes with the territory when you encounter real emotions from a real human being.

Or as I often think about it -when you see the real humanness in someone.

It’s something I think about every single time I walk into a locker room after a loss. I’m an NFL sideline reporter and I’ve worked in professional locker rooms for more than 20 years. It’s my job to get interviews after every single game win or lose which means some weeks I have up to six tough conversations in a 30-minute time frame immediately after a loss. 

There is a lot of emotion surrounding 53 pissed off, frustrated, disappointed and exhausted men.

None of them really want to see me walking toward them with a microphone. All of them understand it’s my job. But that doesn’t make the conv...

I resisted the urge to say what I really wanted to say after being confronted by a non-sports fan a few weeks ago. Not only was he not a sports fan, but was clearly and vocally irritated at those of us in the bar watching and cheering during a recent college football game.

“You know they can’t hear you, right? There’s no need to yell. Did you even go to that school that you’re cheering for?” 

Instead of pointing out he was in a bar with multiple TVs intended for sports viewing, I turned said, “Actually, our friend right there did go to Stanford and we’re cheering for his alma mater.” There was more muttering and passive aggressive comments about how dumb sports fans are, but few heard what he was saying because we were cheering too loud at the big comeback.

There are a couple things I want to point out from this exchange, starting with the fact it was a guy who was opposed to sports, sports fandom, cheering for sports and sports talk. (He probably could have chosen a better bar or a...

I am all for efficiency. If you’ve ever seen me carry groceries into the house you know the lengths I will go to maximize efficiency and ensure I make just one trip. 

My daily schedule is maximized for efficiency. I don’t like wasted time or the feeling that I’m bouncing around between tasks. I want things streamlined and straightforward.

If you can relate, I want to offer this reminder – your career development and success won’t be as streamlined and straightforward. The highlight of Seahawks rookie Devon Witherspoon and his pick-six during the Monday Night Football game against the NY Giants did a great job of highlighting what success actually looks like. It’s a not a straight line. It’s a zig zag.

Take it from someone who’s career path looks a lot like that interception return, there’s a benefit when things don’t go according to plan. There’s also a way to use football and sports talk in general to Think Outside the Box Scores.

Let’s start with the overall intrigue. The s...

It’s not how you start… it’s how you finish.

I’ve heard Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll use that phrase countless time over the last 13 seasons. It’s part of his philosophy. A fast start, scoring first, having the lead at halftime can make it easier to win the game, but ultimately it comes down to how the fourth quarter is played.

I couldn’t help but thinking of that phrase during the final week of the baseball regular season. Given the hype, the fast starts and the obvious dominance of a few teams, there’s no way it should have come down to the final two games of the season to determine playoff spots. But it did. Because it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

When we think outside the box scores, that phrase leads us toward Q4 goals and 2024 planning.

What do you need to finish strong?

Maybe it’s more resources, but it could also be more stamina. Or perhaps it’s fewer weekly meetings so you can create larger blocks of time to do the work.

How can you use where you’re a...

Did you see the game last night?

I know it seems forward and maybe a little out of place if you’re unsure the person you’re talking to is a sports fan. But trust me a yes/no sports question really is the best way to strike up a conversation.

It’s also the first step in using sports talk in networking and relationship building. Whether you’re growing your network, prospecting new clients or getting to know new colleagues the key to building relationships and establishing rapport is making consistent connections.

Sports talk can help you do that, and a Yes/No question like “Did you see the game last night?” narrow the focus and give you a starting point. I personally don’t care what the answer is, I just want a direction to take the conversation and craft my follow up interaction.

The next interaction might be about sports, or maybe the conversation branches out. That can happen if  you keep an open mind.

It’s not all about sports, or maybe it is. I’m all for a hard-core sports c...