Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events
Trey Lance and the cold business of business
My hometown 49ers traded away their former #1 pick, who cost three #1 picks, after a rocky and short-lived tenure with the team. A brutal finish to a once-promising union.
There are so many questions about whether Trey got a fair chance, whether he was done wrong, or whether the 49ers are “to blame.” Reading the pundits, there are so many lessons about business and our careers in the cauldron that is the NFL.
A few of my favorites from the mountain of coverage:
"Succeeding when life is unfair is what the money is for" - Bay Area sports writer Tim Kawakami.
10 months into our business we had the rug pulled on us. We had an investor who owned a good chunk of our company. (we told the story about rock-bottom back when I was still doing the videos - they take too much time now). It wasn't fair and we were set up to fail.
What happened to Lance isn't fair. He lost his senior season to Covid, got drafted in the first round, got hurt twice, and lost his job to Brock Purdy, the up and coming rookie.
But was what happened to Purdy fair? Did he really get a fair shake going into that fateful Dolphins game? Not really, no. He capitalized on his opportunity and succeeded when it was unfair.
As Papa Knopp says "fare is what you pay to ride the bus."
Purdy succeeded when it was unfair. Lance didn't. It sucks. But, as Don Draper said, "That’s what the money is for""The more time you spend behind the scenes of an industry, the more you realize that guys who didn't come through usually can't come through." - Former Warriors beat writer Ethan Strauss
There are so many people who interview so well. They seem like they have it all. Yet they just can't seem to catch a break. It's a lesson we've learned over and over. They seem to check all the boxes. But they just don't quite close business / hire the right team / build the best product.
Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power includes a hard one to swallow for anyone with human empathy: "Stay away from losers." Ouch.The 49ers were rooting for Trey Lance. Just like employers, in general, root for the success of the people they hire. They spent capital on him, as our investors and supervisors will spend money on us. It’s a bad look for everyone.
"Opportunity is fleeting and it's your responsibility to be of use to somebody. You don’t have a "timeline." You have a job." - Ethan Strauss
When I left AEG, I was replaced in seconds. I was an arrogant kid who thought I was the man. #1 in all sales categories. Boy, I'll show them. When I leave, it'll change things.
Nobody cared. And they shouldn't have. Plenty of people would slide into that job.
Strauss' line is a cold reminder of our responsibility to constantly compete and make ourselves irreplaceable. The outcomes matter most. As my boy Pete Carroll said "Give me all the pressure and give me all the problems. That's why I'm here."
The NFL is a microcosm of the business world. It can be cold, lonely, and unfair. When we lost our investor, nobody cared. If we'd had blown the opportunity at Centerpoint Energy, the deal that kept us alive in the earliest days, the company wouldn't be here.
Deliver when it matters. Or someone else will get the chance. And if they do, well...Trey got his chance. Now Brock gets his.
Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders said it bluntly: “In this business, you’re elevated or executed.”That’s how all growth businesses operate.
In the words of Brian Flanagan at the end of "Cocktail": “It’s the only way I want it”