{"id":5597,"date":"2014-09-10T15:54:06","date_gmt":"2014-09-10T15:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=5597"},"modified":"2014-12-20T19:12:13","modified_gmt":"2014-12-20T19:12:13","slug":"some-lessons-from-jerry-rice-for-all-marketers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/some-lessons-from-jerry-rice-for-all-marketers\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Lessons From Jerry Rice For All Marketers"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past January, not long before Super Bowl\u00a0XLVIII, I published an article entitled\u00a0What A CMO Can Learn From A Super Bowl Winning Quarterback.<\/em>\u00a0In that\u00a0article<\/a>\u00a0I shared some of the many things a CMO, or anyone in\u00a0marketing<\/a>\u00a0quite frankly, can learn from a certain Super Bowl winning QB.<\/p>\n

The QB in question just happened to be one half of the greatest quarterback\/wide receiver combinations in the history of the National Football League, in my not-so-humble opinion.<\/p>\n

I am referring of course to Joe Montana, he of the four Super Bowl rings. Yes,\u00a0that<\/em>\u00a0Joe Montana.<\/p>\n

As I wrote back then, there is a tremendous amount of similarity between the sports world and the world of marketing and advertising. There are many lessons that crossover between the two worlds for sure.<\/p>\n

It was why I was so excited to speak with Joe Montana and it is why I was equally excited to speak with the other half of greatest quarterback\/wide receiver combination in the history of the National Football League\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Jerry Rice<\/a>.\u00a0I knew, much like with Joe Cool, there would be many things a marketer could learn from this world-class athlete whose commitment to excellence and dedication to his craft were unparalleled.<\/p>\n

Related Resources from B2C<\/small>
\n\u00bb Free Webcast: Build Better Products by Identifying and Validating Your Riskiest Assumptions<\/a><\/p>\n

I caught up with Jerry a few weeks ago via phone and we had what I would term a \u2018highly engaging\u2019 and \u2018thought-provoking\u2019 discussion for a myriad of reasons on a wide array of topics.\"Marketers,<\/p>\n

Steve Olenski:\u00a0What are some of the lessons you learned playing football that you applied to life after the game re: the business world?<\/p>\n

Jerry Rice<\/strong>: I apply so many of the same principles from football to the business world every day. Some of the most important things are the values of professionalism, being on time, teamwork and work ethic.<\/p>\n

Olenski: How can those same lessons be applied to CMOs, CEOs, etc; the people in charge of running brands both large and small?<\/p>\n

Rice<\/strong>: It starts at the top. You have to set the example and outline expectations. At the 49ers, we had that with our owner \u2013 Eddie DeBartolo \u2013 whom I consider the greatest owner in professional sports. He set the standard, but he made sure to hire the best people and let them do their jobs. He treated the stars on the team the same way he treated the ball boy. These same principals apply throughout business. The keys to success, in whatever role you have are the same. Be professional, dress to impress, show up early, stay late and respect the members of your team regardless of their role. Everyone is working towards the same goal, so each person\u2019s contribution is important to succeed.<\/p>\n

Olenski: The chemistry between yourself and Joe Montana, then later Steve Young is legendary. Why is chemistry so important and how does that apply to the business world?<\/p>\n

Rice<\/strong>: Without chemistry, we couldn\u2019t have had the long-term success we did and won so many Super Bowls. But chemistry isn\u2019t something that comes naturally. For us, it took countless hours of practice and working together to develop it. Joe was right-handed, Steve threw with his left hand, so we had to put the time in to create the perfect chemistry. We eventually had a good understanding of each other and it became second nature, but you can\u2019t take short cuts to get there. The same can be said for business.<\/p>\n

As I said previously, teamwork and work ethic play a huge role in achievement. A business, for example, whether larger or small, can\u2019t succeed if the CEO is the only person focused on a specific outcome. The entire company has to be working hard towards the same goal.<\/p>\n

Olenski: When we spoke you told me of the constant battle you had with complacency; how you were never satisfied despite setting records, winning championships, etc. Why was it so important to always stay one step ahead of complacency and how would you say that relates to the business world?<\/p>\n

Rice<\/strong>: A major factor me, which I mentioned in my Hall of Fame speech, was how my fear of failure drove me to succeed. You can\u2019t let yourself get comfortable. There\u2019s always someone out there looking to out-work or out- perform you.\u00a0As soon as you let up, you open the door to fail and let your competition take advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Businesses have to constantly set new goals as they achieve the old goals to continue growing and out-performing the competition. You have to give 100% and put the work in so you\u2019re prepared for the next game\/challenge\/project.<\/p>\n

Olenski: We also spoke about the topic of \u201cpersonal branding \u201c and you told me of the importance of your personal brand during your playing days and how you represented the team you were playing for at that time. Why is maintaining one\u2019s personal brand so important as it relates to representing or serving as an ambassador of sorts for a given brand\/company\/organization? NOTE: Jerry is currently in a multi-year marketing contract with Van Heusen and part of his endorsement includes an\u00a0International<\/a>\u00a0Advertising campaign.<\/p>\n

Rice<\/strong>: I always wore my uniform with pride and tried to conduct myself with integrity and respect for myself, my family, my teammates, ownership and the fans. When it comes to endorsements, I work with brands that I feel align with my values. I accept ambassador roles with companies who have products I use or wear so that the relationship is authentic and not forced. You are agreeing to represent a certain company and you have a responsibility to represent them in the best possible way.<\/p>\n

Be sure to follow Jerry Rice on\u00a0Twitter\u00a0at\u00a0@JerryRice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Image source:\u00a0s70.photobucket.com<\/p>\n

Original source:\u00a0Forbes<\/a>
\nRead more at http:\/\/www.business2community.com\/digital-marketing\/marketers-kick-another-nfl-season-lessons-jerry-rice-01004011#oWAX1BAzHtT7H331.99<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past January, not long before Super Bowl\u00a0XLVIII, I published an article entitled\u00a0What A CMO Can Learn From A Super Bowl Winning Quarterback.\u00a0In that\u00a0article\u00a0I shared some of the many things a CMO, or anyone in\u00a0marketing\u00a0quite frankly, can learn from a certain Super Bowl winning QB. The QB in question just happened to be one half … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,1383],"tags":[1949,1944,1653],"class_list":["post-5597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-steveolenski","tag-jerry-rice","tag-oracle-marketing-cloud","tag-steve-olenski"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5597"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5599,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5597\/revisions\/5599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}