Soul Management

No, not that kind of soul. 

Many people have a lot of things they think the new ND Athletic Director needs to have.  MQ thinks it’s BCS experience, among other things.  Some say that he/she has to be an alum.  Has to have AD experience.  Has to have some kind of management experience.  Etc. etc. etc.

The qualified applicant pool – those that actually get a look – will have certain things on their resumes.  The basics.  The person will have to be smart, experienced in management, etc.  But I don’t think about those parts of the interview process as much.  Because anyone in consideration will have these things in spades.  It won’t set anyone apart.  

Think about college or grad school applications -  at top institutions, the potential students that are seriously considered ALL have good grades, leadership positions, and things like Key Club and “Who’s Who in Whatever Whatever” on their application.  But that’s not what sets them apart, gets them in.  It’s the other things, the differentiators, that really tell the story – the essays, those experiences and projects that really jump off the page, and those things that bring the ‘whole story’ together for that individual. 

In the AD search, I think the top differentiator should be Soul Management.  Well, the ability to Soul Manage.  Because Notre Dame, which is often most publicly personified by ND Football, does have a soul.  And that soul must be managed – for the benefit of the school’s students, student-athletes, the school itself, and its countless alums and fans. 

I work in Brand Management for a big brand.  I get this kind of stuff.  And it’s my belief that a strong brand is paramount to making any big business work in the long run.  Your brand is what brings things together.  Mistreat it, and I don’t care how great your product is, or your marketing, or your operations team, blah blah blah – in the long run, you’ll lose.  And that holds in education (I would argue as much or moreso than in for-profit business), and especially at a place like Notre Dame that is built so much on history, tradition and values.

But, in ND’s case, it’s not really brand management in the traditional sense.  Notre Dame is much more than a product.  I would never compare Notre Dame to Coke, McDonald’s, Disney or Apple.  Because Notre Dame has a Soul.  It’s not a profit-making venture owned by shareholders.  It’s a place, an idea, and a spirituality that transcends product.  It’s the Dome, St. Mary’s Lake, The Grotto, Touchdown Jesus, Knute Rockne, God Quad and Stonehenge.  It’s Science and Theology and English and Business.  It’s Bookstore Basketball, Rally in the Alley, An Tostal and countless other traditions.  It’s education, social justice, inspiration, spirituality, and the idea that we can make the world a bit better through any number of individual and group pursuits.  That’s not a product, that’s an ideal.  Notre Dame is a living, breathing, ever-changing entity, and it should be managed like one.

So for me, the number 1 skill needed in an Athletic Director is Soul Management.  Make sure this person ‘gets’ ND.  Make sure that he or she knows how to best manage that Soul from an athletics standpoint.  Every decision made should reflect the history, prestige and unique character that is Notre Dame athletics. This means a few things: 

1)  Top Quality everything – Facilities, coaches, administrators, etc.   This means a new JACC asap, a critical eye toward where improvement is needed and a clear-cut plan on how to get there.   This means hiring the best in the business available to coach, teach and mold student-athletes.   More than just success on the field of play (which is absolutely required), it means doing it the right way.  By the book.   Not just because those are the rules, but because that’s what we believe in.

2)  Honor Tradition – While this is broad, it means we do things the Notre Dame way, and continue to do so, even at the expense of deals that might benefit the University monetarily, or some other way in the short run.  This is where we think about what ND means, and decide that a jumbotron inside ND stadium is a nightmare scenario that should be permanently off the table.   It also means looking back and honoring the real barnstorming tradition in scheduling college football games.  And finally, scheduling a strong, respectable football schedule that does not do either of the following:  A) make it impossible for a NC run (see 2007)  or B) make it look like we’re playing scrubs all season long (see everything KW did for our future schedules).   Folks, there is a happy medium.  We’ve just always seen the extremes.

3)  Bargain from a Position of Strength – Notre Dame is strong.  Academically.  Athletically.  In the football world, this is especially true.  And the new AD needs to bargain from this position of strength.  How many times do people say it?  College Football is better off when Notre Dame is good.  This is true, and that means that the guy across the table WANTS Notre Dame involved.   Bargain that way.

I would argue that our administration hasn’t paid enough attention to Soul Management in general.  I know that Kevin White had no idea what it could even mean.   This kind of thinking will have implications for every aspect of the AD position, and there are countless examples of where Kevin White (and Monk Malloy) went wrong during their tenures.  The new AD needs to get this right, as does Father Jenkins and the BOT.

In the long run, staying true to what ND means in athletics (and everywhere else), will bring more success.  And with success will come revenue.   The new AD needs to do what’s right for Notre Dame athletics, and the rest will fall into place.  I’m hoping that in this hire, we find someone that knows what ’right’ is, and how to implement it in a meaningful way.

Here’s to hoping that the ‘new guy’ got Soul.