Free Advice From Me to Brenden Bottcher
Two caveats. Brenden, I really like you and have been a fan for a number of years. Up until now, you have been really easy to cheer for and I have counted myself as one of your #1 fans. So, my advice is sincere and well intentioned. My second caveat is that, although I have PR experience, my real credential is that I am a curling fanatic. I have earned this title honestly an by planning my life around curling events and curling broadcasts. Right now, you biggest challenge is getting back your curling fanatics and you didn't accomplish that with your media "availability" on Sunday. I really want to help.
Ordinarily, I would be sending my advice to Team Bottcher. But, you made it quite clear that you are the leader of Team Bottcher, the final decision maker, and the only spokesperson. I think that is your first mistake. You are right that you don't have a staff under you guiding you in business decisions. But, you do have a team. One of the critiques of Darren Moulding, and I am paraphrasing, was that it is your way or the highway. You can't effectively address that critique if you are the only one speaking or making the decisions. You should have had your whole team with you at the presser to show that you were united and each team member was part of the decision. Now, it is possible that it was only your decision to cut Darren and that is how it looks, frankly. If that was the case, you really need to change your leadership style and really make it more of a team decision model. Occasionally allow yourself to be out-voted. It will really help with morale and also show that you really are a team. To be honest, I have been watching your team for half a decade and I have no connection with the personalities of Brad and Karrick. I mean, I assume they are great guys. Brad is always smiling and he seems like a positive guy and Karrick obviously has a great work ethic and also seems positive. Karrick has a distinctive voice but despite that I don't know which one is talking to you while you are in the hack. You just need to give your team-mates a time to shine. It won't take away from your shine, it will actually increase it. It takes a strong leader to do this. Also, another member of your team is your team Coach. Moulding had some frank comments about his coaching and I think Don Bartlett needs a chance to defend himself. But, you are right, there is not any legal obligation for him to do so, but, again, you are trying to appeal to your fans. Speaking as a tried and true fan, I feel you have a moral obligation to do so.
It would be a chance to explain what Don brings to the table, which is something that I have been wondering for a while. Now, I know that Don is an outstanding individual, has a great personality and attitude, and is generous with his spirit, however, it is a little bit of a head scratcher what qualifies to be your coach. And I don't mean that he has taken the Curling Coach Certification or that kind of thing. He hasn't curled at the elite level for decades and in that time, the game has changed significantly. I am sure you had reasons for choosing him but right now it looks like you chose him just because you knew he would agree with you 100% and not challenge you. Well, you don't get better unless you are challenged. You want a coach who does that. You also said that Don has volunteered so much time for the team. That makes me wonder if you cheaped out on making a coaching decision. Yes, I hang on every word you say.
You also made a comment about social media and how you don't really understand it or pay attention to it. Well, that simply is not true. Your team is one of the biggest users of social media, if not the biggest user of all curling teams. All those #stillrolling train GIFs are really clever and funny and always bang on. They are crafted by someone who is very adept at using social media. Since you have made it clear that you are Team Bottcher, I am left to assume that you are the social media guru. So, I feel like I have caught you in a lie and that is troubling to your fanatics.
I feel like you addressed the question about revenue sharing and a public audit poorly. While you are right that you are not a publicly traded company and have no obligation to an audit, you handled that poorly. You doth protested too much when saying that all revenue was 100% shared equally. That was actually the most emotion you showed during the presser. That made me feel there was something behind Darren's articulation that this was false. A better answer would have been that all team revenue is shared equally, the reality is that some team members have access to personal opportunities and that would be theirs alone. You could have used, as an example, that since Darren is known as a great ice-maker, he has opportunities to consult on that, etc. Honestly, fans truly understand the business of curling so don't insult us by denying aspects of this.
Now, to the origin of the hullaballu. It really isn't because you cut Darren. Sports teams fire people all the time. We understand that. We may not like it but we understand this. The Philadelphia Flyers fired their head coach yesterday in the midst of an 8 game losing streak. They didn't say "cut", they said "fired". It was clear and concise. If you had honestly came out and said, after a disappointing week at the Trials, we have decided we need to make a change...... that would have been so much better. But, I agree with the majority of your fans said that the timing was awful. Your response that there is never a good time to make a change is a little tone deaf. The timing was unique to your team. Most curlers would give anything to wear the Maple Leaf on their backs during a Brier or a Scotties. Most fans will never forgive you for not allowing Darren to have this. Most of us will never feel that whoever you choose has the right to wear the Maple Leaf when they haven't earned it. And, also, there actually is a right time to make a change in a curling team. It is at the end of the season or at the end of a quadrennial. In your case, as Team Canada, the right time would have been after the Brier.
You said that you have no one in mind to replace Darren. I don't believe that. You have demonstrated that you are super analytical, strategic, and decisive. I simply that believe that you didn't have a replacement waiting. A better answer would have been the truth. I am not prepared to announce the replacement at this time but I will be making an announcement on January 20. Personally, I hope that announcement is earlier but just putting out a specific date answers the question and doesn't feel like you are being dishonest.
Your team chemistry defence hasn't earned you any points with me and makes Darren the scapegoat for your lack lustre season. You claim you didn't want to scapegoat Darren so a better response is the one that other teams make. "We wanted to be better and we feel we had to make a change to keep improving." And, another thing that you have never really said. You have never said that it was a difficult decision. That would have helped a lot with your fans. That you anguished over the decision. You said you want to be able to go for a drink or play golf with Darren and remember the good times. By not telling us how difficult the decision was, that likely won't happen. And, yes, it appears Darren has gotten over it after a few nights to reflect, your fans are not over it. It is not the media you need to appeal to, it is your fans. The news value of this story is over, but your fans aren't over it. You should really respond to the "respectful" comments fans have left you on twitter. This would show that you hear us and want us to continue as fans.
Now, the press release. Your mistakes there have been well communicated. You and Darren should have crafted a joint release. You might have been able to both agree to not making public comments until Sunday which would have given everyone a cooling off period. That would have been respectful. "Parting ways" was not accurate. You cut him or fired him, or whatever, but it was not a mutual decision at the time. Saying it was for Darren's "personal reasons" was obviously wrong and indicates your arrogance that you did not expect to be challenged. Yes, "personal reasons" usually is code for some mental health or addiction related concern. But, at your Sunday presser, you chastised people for making that leap. This was wrong on so many levels and mostly because none of us need a lecture on mental health. Many of your top fans are mental health professionals, mental health advocates, or both and your tone sounded condescending. Just apologise for making this statement. When you make a mistake, take responsibility, and move on. When you justify why you made the mistake, you likely will make more mistakes.
"Darren is stepping away from the game" was obviously unfair to Darren and not true. When you have dug yourself in a hole, stop shovelling. Unfortunately, when you have been caught in a lie, your credibility is questioned for a long time. Again, my advice is the same. Stop ignoring your fans. Respond to some of our comments on twitter. It will let us know that you truly hear us.
Finally, Brenden, you have to recognise that you play the game differently than most current teams. Part of that is because you are so good. Really. You are a great ice reader, you have an amazing strategic mind, and you are decisive. If you have noticed, other teams are typically in time trouble because they make most calls by committee. There are a lot of teams that over-do this (any team that Brent Laing is on) but for the most part, it is a valuable way to involve all four players and to get a good buy-in of the shot or call. It also keeps fans engaged. Most times the shot originally called is the one that the team goes with. If they don't agree, they always give the one making the shot the final say by saying, "whatever you're seeing", so there is little risk to a skip by going through the process of reviewing the options. Many curlers just like to say the rationale for a call out loud in order to hear it for themselves. Darren was the only one on your team who used to question your calls so I am sure it felt disrespectful to you when that likely wasn't the intention. I am advising you to adapt and seek more input into shots. If you are going to get an elite third to replace Darren, then, you have to realize that an elite third expects to be very involved in calling the game. So, you better get used to it.
But, let's move forward. Here are some more things you can do. Invite fans to a "webinar" where the whole team can interact with fans very up close and personal. Start doing more give-aways on social media. The train has derailed so I think you need a new theme. Ask your fans for advice. Go on twitter for 30 minutes at random times to answer any questions posed. Find more opportunities to interact with your fans on social media. Just make sure it is an interaction, not just one-way communication.
Your ability to attract and maintain sponsorship depends on two factors; success on the ice and the size and loyalty of your fan base. It just makes good business sense to try and repair the damage with your fans. Speaking as one of them, I truly was a fan and would like to be again. But, that isn't going to happen unless I feel valued and respected.
Peace out.
Comments
Post a Comment