The United States Olympic Sailing Program
In October 2004, I was honored to be named Chairman of the United States Olympic
Sailing Committee (OSC). In my role as Chairman, I am responsible for leading the
Olympic Program and supporting all the athletes who are training for the 2008 Olympic
and Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.
I willingly accepted this position, for several reasons - it is a significant honor,
a significant challenge, and I believe what the Olympic Program needs most from its
leadership are the same skills I provide to clients of The Latimer Group.
Why am I sharing this with you? Because the Olympic Sailing Program is facing some
classic business problems - declining revenue, stiff international competition, and
an audience of potential clients who want and need a vision of the future. As an
organization we will succeed if, if, we are able to do the things that I
coach clients of The Latimer Group on every day. We need the correct message and
we need to deliver it in an articulate and persuasive way.
The US has been historically the most successful sailing nation in the Olympics.
As recently as the Barcelona Games in 1992, we won medals in nine of the 10 Olympic
Classes. Since then, our medal output has plummeted - eight medals in the last three
Olympics combined. We still have the deepest pool of talented sailors in the world,
but other nations have fully funded their top athletes so that they can focus solely
on training. Our athletes must become the best athletes in the world, and pursue
funding to augment the limited amount the OSC can provide.
There is only one way to change this reality and put our athletes on equal footing
with their competition. Government support is not an option. Corporate sponsor- ship
is important, but is not the entire solution. The one and only permanent solution
is to build a national effort to endow the Olympic Sailing Program.
This solution requires changing minds and shaping opinion. There are many people
and organizations that currently provide generous support for athletes training for
the Olympics. But for the most part, support is overwhelmingly given locally and
regionally by family, friends and fellow members of the sailor’s yacht club.
This type of support, while generous and helpful, is not nearly enough.
Even the athletes who receive significant support from family and friends, still
must spend too much time pursuing their funds. I am speaking from experience. I trained
for the 2000 Olympic Sailing Team for six years. My teammates and I raised significant
funds and we were very successful on and off the water. We spent several thousand
hours on fundraising over the course of our campaign. Those hours would have been
much better spent on training.
How will the OSC achieve its goal? First, we must have a crystal clear vision and
plan for Olympic Sailing. We have drafted a 20-year vision to give our supporters
an idea of where we are going and what they will be investing in.
Second, we must directly address the reservations a potential donor will have. “I
already support the sailors from my club. Why should I support sailors I don’t
know?” Why? Because, that model is not working, all our sailors need
your help, and if we all do a little bit of the lifting, we can raise our Olympic
Program to unprecedented heights.
And finally, we must clearly articulate the message broadly and passionately. We
must sell this plan and this vision as we pursue investors in the US Olympic Sailing
Program.
This is a classic business problem, but one that also has a classic solution. The
OSC needs to communicate articulately and persuasively. And our ultimate leverage
with our audience may be to tap a sense of nationalism and pride in once again putting
the best-trained, best-funded team on the water.
 Beacon Issue -
January 2005
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