Yesterday I left you with information pertaining to the growing speculation that a potential sale of the Vikings to Arizona businessman Reggie Fowler could be imminent according to various local media outlets. It looks like everyone is in full reverse mode as of this morning. You know what that means....yeah, a sale is right around the corner. When people start denying things you can be certain that very serious negotiations are underway.

Now, I have nothing against Fowler. Very little is even known about the man. But I would be against the sale if Fowler has to put together a team of investors in order to close the deal. Been there, done that.

From 1991 until 1998, the Vikings were owned by a 10-headed hydra that ran the ship. These people couldn't even agree on meeting times, let alone run the team. The President and Chief Executive Officer was Roger Headrick.

Headrick was a business man. He had spent a 30-year career in business (Exxon and Pillsbury) before coming to the Vikings. His principal expertise was in the area of finance and strategic planning. It was not football.

That's why I sat down on February 7, 1998 to conduct a review on Headrick and rate him in terms of running a business. I thought that if Headrick wanted to be viewed as being the ideal candidate to purchase the Vikings (remember Tom Clancy?) in 1998 based on his strong business acumen, then he should have his feet held to the fire and review his previous years as head Viking Grand Poohbah.

Much to my surprise, within days of posting the Headrick review on the old Viking Underground site, I was called into Winter Park by then marketing director Stew Widdess. What took place during the face-to-face meeting at Winter Park on a cold Saturday morning will remain private. But I posted a retraction shortly afterwards. A retraction that cost me the respect of many Vikings fans across the country.

Jump to present day. Here we are staring at another possible group of investors to again own the beloved Vikings. Do we really want to go down this road again?

To help you decide, I have gone into my vault and retrived the original Headrick review as posted back in 1998. I hope I don't get another call from Winter Park again. Send out the search party if you don't hear from me later this week.

“The Successful Owner’s Handbook”

February 7, 1998

by Brian K. Maas (Mr. Cheer Or Die)

So successful businessman Roger Headrick wants to fight for ownership of the Minnesota Vikings. Fair enough, but let’s look at the keys to successful ownership and see how the Pillsbury Doughboy rates:

Administrative Skills:
1. Establish Plans: Already Roger ranks low here as he could not even plan correctly in the event that his bid for the team was exceeded, in this case by Tom Clancy. Now Roger is just bitter. Good long-range planning, Roger. And besides, if you had the right of first refusal, why didn’t you just put in a bid for $1 since it appears you were just going to raise the bid anyway?

2. Structure and Staff: Let’s see, Roger, your football organization runs on a structure that includes no GM, a public relations director who was fired in October but worked the rest of the season, and a board of ten directors with no clear responsibilities. When staffing, you should have been building a team whose members had complementary strengths. But with a lack of understanding of your organization’s future challenges, you chose instead to mix people with missing skill sets and perspectives. Football minds do not mesh with business minds, a la Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson.

3. Develop Systems and Processes: First was the need to improve efficiency through the use of technology, like actually getting computers into Winter Park. Heck, Roger, through connections with the Southern California Viking Fan Club, state-of-the-art computer systems were sent to you at Winter Park and you, gulp, sent them back unopened! Then there was the need to increase ticket sales by asking yourself, “Does this current system support, block or create obstacles to achieve the mission?” Instead we had blackouts, long ticket lines on game day and a head coach challenging ownership halfway through the year.

4. Manage Expectations: By conveying clear expectations for assignments, a good owner can eliminate time wasted by employees who don’t have clear direction. The staff at Winter Park has worked under the NFL’s thumb the last two years while they waited for you to resolve the 30% ownership issue with the other owners. That has to have been as frustrating for your employees as it was for the fans.

5. Work Efficiently: Maybe a course in time management should be thought about. Again, it really took two years to finally meet the NFL’s demand for 30% ownership? Maybe an adjustment of priorities and schedule to ensure your daily work aligned with this major job responsibility should have taken place.

Grade: D-

Communication Skills:
1. Speak Effectively: By communicating in a succinct and concise manner, the nine other board members would have had a clear understanding of the Viking’s bylaws, and this upcoming nasty battle could have been avoided.

2. Foster Open Communication: By interacting with your fellow owners openly and directly, you could have made sure there would have been no “surprises,” such as Denny’s book, this past year.

3. Listen To Others: Roger, the WCCO poll shows that 98% of Minnesotans prefer Tom Clancy over you as Viking owner. What more clarification do you require?

Grade: F

Interpersonal Skills:
1. Build Relationships: An owner should relate to his fans in an open, friendly and accepting manner while showing sincere interest. Tom Clancy has done that in 48 hours. You tried by hiring Jonathan Winters to do some ticket sales promos two years ago.

2. Display Organizational Savvy: One skill necessary in this category is to recognize which battles are worth fighting and when it is time to compromise. “The right message at the wrong time is the wrong message.” Now you tell Viking fans that you were going to place a competitive team on the field when it appears you will be losing the team. Um, Roger, why weren’t you doing that before?

3. Leverage Networks: Yeah, right. Let’s see, you lost the ownership vote 9-0. You must have been working overtime on this skill!

4. Manage Disagreements: This past season we had a head coach take on the ownership committee, the owners splintered and assistant coaches who quit to come back later in frustration. Way to minimize that conflict, Roger!

Grade: F

Leadership Skills:
1. Provide Direction: This fosters the development of a common vision. Instead, under your direction, we had owners wanting Green fired while others wanted to retain him, owners wanting to sell, some owners wanting to spend money on free agents and others wanting to remain at status quo. There has been no direction at Winter Park since you took over, and it has shown on the field and off.

2. Lead Courageously: An owner should step forward to address difficult issues and put himself on the line to deal with important problems. A quote from Clancy, “ If things go wrong, there will be only one person to answer to, me.”

3. Influence Others: This skill helps to mobilize people to take action. Your skillful leadership over the last several years has mobilized thousands of Viking cyber-fans to complain via fax and e-mail to the NFL Commissioner’s office, local media and web sites.

4. Foster Teamwork: If the organization was a “team,” would Brian Billick have resigned in disgust with your leadership?

5. Motivate Others: A desire to excel comes from the leader. Instead we have owners and coaches who want out faster than they can open the door.

Grade: D

Organizational Skills:
1. Know the Business: Instead of hiring a GM with a strong football background, you chose, instead, to appear at a scouting event with sun visor, stopwatch and clipboard. Next time, maybe bring a starter pistol for those 40-yard dash timings.

2. Use Technical/Functional Expertise: Your plan to renovate the Metrodome by lowering the field and adding 6,000 new seats was meet with laughs by Minneapolis engineers. The punch line? Seems a river runs under the Dome. Your response? “We can always divert the river.” Uh-huh.

3. Manage Profitability: Well, everyone can excel in at least one area. By not spending big-time money on those exceptional free agents the last several years, you have saved Viking fans from having to deal with lengthy playoff runs and having to dip into our pocket books for those playoff tickets. Thank you, sir.

4. Focus On Fan Needs: An owner should ask his fans what their needs are. You make lists which detail the needs you believe the fans have. Note the difference.

Grade: D-

Self-Management Skills:
1. Act With Integrity: "What appears to have happened is that Mr. Headrick low-balled his opening bid, not knowing that somebody wanted to pay what the team was really worth," said Clancy. "And now he's going to his partners and saying 'OK, well . . . I tried to shaft you before, but this time I'm trying to do something better.' I guess the board wasn't overly pleased with that approach, and in any case it doesn't matter, 'cause I've already been approved." ‘Nuff said.

2. Demonstrate Adaptability: Adaptability is a skill in which an owner shows resilience in the face of constraints, frustrations or adversity. "The issue we have to deal with is, 'What do you do now with a guy that has turned adversarial like this?' " co-owner Jaye Dyer said. "To me this is just as dumb as [coach] Dennis Green's book deal.’

3. Develop Oneself: Learn from experience. Even in the heat of a bitter takeover battle at Pillsbury Co. in 1989, you reportedly remained cool and professional. The reputation that preceded your 1991 appointment as president and chief executive officer of the Vikings was that of a level-headed, intelligent, buttoned-down numbers cruncher who didn't meddle in sales, marketing, personnel matters, communications or corporate goal-setting. Again, Roger, learn from experience.

Grade: F

Overall Grade: F

To summarize, competitive pressure and fundamental changes will remain the hallmark of the NFL environment. The organizations have found that they are successful only when their staff, coaches, and players have the skills necessary to meet both current and future needs.

To ensure that the Viking organization keeps pace with the competition and continues to evolve and grow, we need a leader who will place a high priority on developing people and pleasing his fans.

And by reviewing the aforementioned skills, Roger, that’s not going to be you.

Got your own suggestion for ownership? Just leave a comment by using the Comments link at the end of this entry.

Stadium Updates

Lots and lots of stadium stories out there today. The STrib even provides a possible timeline to get all three (Gophers, Twins, Vikings) stadiums built. I'll return back to this topic later this month as things become more crystallized but you can always keep up-to-date with the latest and greatest stadium news by visiting the Greet Machine blog.

Posted by maasx003 at January 19, 2005 07:48 AM | TrackBack