" Woody Rules " ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

The business acumen and brilliant (yes, brilliant) management style of Jets owner Woody Johnson teaches America (and the world) how to survive, persevere, prosper (and eventually triumph) when dealt with a really bad hand. It is truly a shame that the man was never offered a job to deal with the Great Recession.

But wait! How can one say that the billionaire scion of one of America's leading families was given a bad hand? Well, if your football team is located in a city with the apparently historically designated role of playing little brother to the much older and storied Giants franchise and Tom Brady is the QB of your major divisional rivals who are coached by none other than Bill Bellichik, then yes, you have been dealt the absolute worst of football cards; and yet, Woody Johnson has refused to quit. He will simply never give up. The Jets have reached in recent years twice the AFC championship game, have a knack in dominating headlines, employ one of the most interesting and inspiring coaches around (most recently see: running the bulls) and are, indisputably, a financially successful team (sixth wealthiest in the NFL).

So what can we learn from Woody Johnson that can help America and possibly other countries in trouble? Here are what appear to be his five fundamental rules of leadership:

1) Invest in Infrastructure.

Great players come and go but stadiums tend to be far more durable centers of pride and gathering--not to mention that they help generate the funds that bring great members to an organization. Under Woody's leadership, the Jets seized being mere "guests" to GIANTS stadium. They are now co-owners on an equal footing of a billion dollar stadium; and Florham Park has state of the art facilities--something that is extremely important to players.

2) Take Risks and Shake Things Up.

Everyone condemns the Jets for signing (and failing to utilize) Tim Tebow. True, no one can argue that this was a wise trade. Still, it is indicative of a Woody Johnson tendency that is responsible for far more successes than failures. Rex Ryan is a case in point. Not conventional in any sense of the word (indeed, Webster's should put his face in lieu of an antonym) he has brought both success and excitement at a consistent basis. Woody did take a major risk, shook up more than the Jets (the NFL really) and was mostly vindicated.

But doesn't the fact that this is supposed to be the season of Rexodus negate all of the above? The answer is a resounding no, which brings us to the next of Woody's rules.

3) Reward Success, Fire Failure.

By all accounts, Woody really, really likes Rex Ryan; and by all accounts, Woody was also very fond of Mike Tanennbaum, the former Jets GM; when his CAP planning and trades failed to deliver, he was unceremoniously fired. It is a tough world out there folks, and there is no room to play favorites or let sympathies cloud judgment. Everyone ought to be simply judged by their performance. Rough but fair and just to its very core. Rex has received his notice.

4) Be Very Patient and Play the Long Game.

Fans want their team to win every week and certainly desire the experience of going to the Super Bowl. Long-suffering Jets fan want a SB now, thank you very much. But success cannot (and should not) be achieved overnight; and it is certainly not about dominating the next news cycle or even just the next season. Apparently, Woody truly understands this. He realizes that the Brady/Bellichick team rule the AFC East but this will not last forever (and probably not even for very long--Tom is 35, Bill 61). So he has shrewdly began the process of rebuilding the Jets now, complaints and losses in the short term be damned.

5) Instill Hope and Boost Morale.

Long-term, cold blooded, rational planning will eventually bring results but people have feelings and Jets fans have unusually passionate ones. They need hope, they need a boost in morale, they need a reason to keep on following Gang Green. Well, Woody has always given them something to live for (and of equal importance: argue in sports bars). The list is long and includes Favre, Sanchez, Tebow, Ryan, Geno Smith (and perhaps Johnny Manziel in the future). Before every season begins, hope reigns supreme by design.

So there you have it. Instead of accepting an ignominious fate in the depths of NFL Hell, Woody is fighting back hard. He has built great infrastructure, is not afraid to take risks, judges people fairly based on performance, unfailingly provides a reason for hope and never seizes patiently planning for the future. By doing so, he is setting up the Jets for success, regardless of whether this season proves dismal.

If the leadership lessons of Woody Johnson can help fix them same ol' Jets, one can only imagine what they could have done for the economy.

Dr Aristotle Tziampiris will be this Fall Visiting Fellow at New York University's Remarque Institute and a full-time follower of the Jets.

 

> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aristotle-tziampiris/woody-rules_b_3685367.html?utm_hp_ref=sports

[Bugg]

This is sarcasm?

[SayNoToDMC]

This is sarcasm?

or the apocalypse

[Integrity28]

So what can we learn from Woody Johnson that can help America and possibly other countries in trouble? 

 

 

That a government can profit while not serving the best interests of its citizens.

[Bob]

What a giant load of crap. The only kernel of truth is that Woody is making money. He's doing it by putting sh*t on the field and knowing we'll take it.

[Panzer Division Marduk]

Dr Aristotle Tziampiris will be this Fall Visiting Fellow at New York University's Remarque Institute and a full-time follower of the Jets.

Isn't that the guy who hosts Ancient Aliens?

[Larz]

I thought he was broke ?

[faba]

I grade this visting fellow a F

[Maxman]

I couldnt make it through the whole article

[SayNoToDMC]

I couldnt make it through the whole article

I got thru the first few sentences, that seemed like enough to sum it up

[TechJet]

 

Thats very interesting because I thought he was broke.

[kelly]

1. Life of a billionaire: ESPNNewYork.com has obtained excerpts of Jerry Oppenheimer's soon-to-be-released book on Jets owner Woody Johnson, entitled, "Crazy Rich: Power, Scandal and Tragedy Inside the Johnson & Johnson Dynasty." Salacious aspects of his personal life already have been leaked to newspapers. We'll stick mostly to the football-related stuff, although I have to say there are no bombshells with regard to the Jets. A few nuggets, though:

a. Oppenheimer writes that Johnson didn't fire Rex Ryan after last season "because when he was in his teens he had witnessed his father being unceremoniously fired as president of Johnson & Johnson by Woody's grandfather. Besides recalling how hurtful it was, Woody had much affection for Ryan, whose earthy personality and physical type reminded him of his late father."

b. Oppenheimer reports on the controversial Tim Tebow acquisition, writing: "Woody, the businessman, and his team executives, felt it was absolute brilliance to have acquired him. As they saw it, Tebow would sell everything from tickets to T-shirts to lucrative TV advertising, and the Jets would be closely watched from coast to coast."

c. Johnson second-guessed himself before making his winning $635 million bid for the team in 2000. His ex-wife, Sale Johnson, is quoted in the book: "We were sitting on the beach using my cell phone because his had run out of juice and he was making his final offer. And he said, 'I don't know what to do. I don't know what to bid, it's already so high.'" At that moment, Johnson increased his bid by $10 million.

d. Oppenheimer writes that Johnson "spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on practice fields [in Florham Park], but when Ryan discovered the turf wasn't level, Woody 'was pissed' and had the fields torn up and new sod put in." Ryan is quoted as saying, "We had a helicopter hovering all night trying to dry the field off before we could finally start using it."

e. When he was in his 20s, Johnson lost "a serious bid" to buy the expansion Bucs.

f. Johnson wore a wig on a cross-country motorcycle trip, New York to San Francisco, so he could resemble a long-haired biker. This is trivial, but amusing.

 

> http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/24870/sunday-notes-the-book-on-woody

[NJ]

I made it to (yes, brilliant) ... I'm just assuming the rest of it was akin to eCurb talking about Pennington ....