How Are the Red Sox Like a Shoe Company?
November 2004 STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS—What are the similarities between running a shoe company and the Boston Red Sox? According to George Foster, the professor behind sports business management classes at the Graduate School of Business and founder of the school’s executive business program for the National Football League, there are plenty. Most critical are the common needs for good strategy, effective leadership, and a solid business model. Just take a look at the NFL and the National Hockey League, Foster, the Paul L. and Phyllis Wattis Professor of Management, told an Alumni Weekend audience Oct. 23. Twenty out of 30 NHL teams are losing money, and thanks to bad leadership at both the league and player association level, the NHL is on strike this year. “It’s like a train wreck,” said Foster. “This is a league that has devastating problems—lack of strategy and lack of leadership.” Compare that to the NFL, which hasn’t had a strike since the late 1980s and has teams br
