Bagworthblue Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 This post is sure to set me up for considerable ridicule but it's time to post it. I am a successful chap with a history of building up areas within business by looking for opportunities and building long term growth strategies. The most challenging aspect is winning the hearts and minds of those in and around the organisation that growth can be achieved. Many are sceptical, negative, defeatist and this mentality can hold you back.Many of your customers will fear and object to the change in the early days and fear of losing them will hold you back Here are 2 statements about one company (the italian reference is coincidental and irrelevant) Italian immigrant brothers Bruno and Sergio Costa founded a coffee roastery in Lambeth, London, in 1971, supplying local caterers. Costa branched out to selling coffee in 1978, when its first store opened inVauxhall Bridge Road, London.Costa Coffee operates 1,755 outlets in the United Kingdom as of May 2014. Internationally, it operates 1,106 stores throughout the world in 30 countries ok - so here are 2 more statements Leicester Fosse was formed in 1884 by a group of old boys of Wyggeston School and played at victoria park Leicester moved into the new 32,500-seat Walkers Stadium at the start of the 2002–03 season ok pedantically , the rise of LCFC I have quoted took over 100 years whereas Costa circa half a century. Costa is coffee / LCFC is football - come on Baggers!! LCFC has enjoyed growth since the first ball was kicked on Victoria park all those years ago. Football has become an industry and it is highly competitive and like Costa was, is very much a local business. But Costa is no longer a local business, it is a global business, It has emerged in some parts of the world as bigger than Starbucks. For 100 years+ LCFC has shared it's time circa 50/50 between the top 2 leagues. For the last few years, finally we have financial backing to challenge more strongly with our competition. We have owners with money and ambition who want to transform LCFC from a locally based yoyo club into a multinational organisation, famous across the globe. So how do you grow your club? Well firstly, you have to have a strategic plan and invest to transform. Start with the basics - Set your goal, your timescales, and plan strategically to achieve it get your training and player development facilities into the best shape possible to compete ensure you can accommodate as you grow and make room to grow get the right staff from top down - experienced staff with a proven track record of success - board, management and players all experts in their own fields target your audience locally initially, then widen this as far as you can take it advertise your product - get it the most airtime possible - such as get to the premier league, remember your target audience and look at ways you can appeal to the wider audience grow your revenue as a result and re-invest to grow until you reach your goal. set new goals........ So our owners have set these goals that they have at some stage been on record stating get to the prem promote the club in Asia achieve a top 10 finish plan long term to be a top 6 club Ok so how many of your are starting to think - yeah right - we are Leicester City, not Manchester Friggin United ffs. who is this tw@t? Remember the challenge I presented at the beginning of this war and peace post? This is the key problem!!!!! I will remind you..... The most challenging aspect is winning the hearts and minds of those in and around the organisation that growth can be achieved. Most are sceptical, negative, defeatist and this mentality can hold you back.Many of your customers will fear and object to the change in the early days and fear of losing them will hold you back The year is 2015. We are in the premier league, the owners have revamped the training facilities and invested heavily in the playing staff. There are plans afoot to expand the KP to accommodate the growth plan. Changes have taken place to structure the club ready for growth with a separation of the footballing and commercial aspects of the club. An experienced proven leader has been installed to improve the chances of success on the pitch. We are aiming to catch our rivals and setting plans to grow bigger than them over a period of time - 5 years? 10 years? Ok so how much could you grow in 5 years? How much could you grow in 10 years? To be honest, yes it is possible to become a top 6 club from the current base we have but there are plenty of other clubs aiming to be in that 6. There are also plenty around us that don't have goals set that high and who don't have the ambition to grow as much as we do - they will fail to become any bigger than they are. To become that top 6 club, the owners have to achieve all their strategic targets listed above but the one that will be the hardest to achieve will be........ winning the hearts and minds of those in and around the organisation that growth can be achieved. So chaps - open your minds, don't settle for 'being the LCFC we have always been'. Embrace the ambition of our owners, forgive their mistakes along the way if they take steps to correct and learn from them over time and believe that we can be something bigger than we have ever been before. When you hear about us trying to sign a player that is 'too big for us' or a manager that is 'out of our league' have an open mind for a change although still maintain some sense of realism as growing the club is a brick by brick process. Whack up a prefab and it will soon get knocked down. We may fall short, but if those 2 brothers had no ambition, Costa would remain that single shop in London it has always been and nobody will have been surprised, shocked, amazed at how it went from such humble beginnings to the multi-national conglomerate it is today. stop assuming 'we are LCFC' means the LCFC we have always been - Be open to the fact that it may well become a much bigger power than it has ever been before if we all play our part in embracing the possibility for change rather than simply believing we are what we are and what we have always been and aren't worthy of anything bigger. right - better get some work done!!
eye666 Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Champions League winners in 3 seasons or the Thai's can GTFO.
Bagworthblue Posted 14 July 2015 Author Posted 14 July 2015 Champions League winners in 3 seasons or the Thai's can GTFO. note the short bit about realism but hey why not (just to avoid being hypocritical)
artursteppe Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Excellant post Baggy. Easier to get the hearts and minds of people with imagination than it is with defeatists who have no aspiration. This is usually down to fear of success, rather than fear of failure.
Blanesta Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Very good post, we need to keep supporting the club as much as possible, that means management, players and owners! People make mistakes but we're all fighting for the same cause!
Fez of Mahrez Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 I don't think anyone's suggesting that we can't progress. It's the way you go about achieving it. It's going to take something of more substance than a reference to Costa Coffee to ensure we don't become the next Hull City. They were looking to kick on last summer when they spent £40m on new players.
Bob Weasel Fox Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Great post Baggers Big thing for me is short term stability and to stay up for the forseeable future plus expanding the stadium Onwards and upwards
johnny the fox Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 I remember the old days when this used to be a sport and a pass time.... you got 18 pints and fish supper and a whore.. and still have change to get in the executive boxes..all out of 5 bob..
artursteppe Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Football is not ran like other businesses though Yes it is. BBC even did a documentary series on the similarities, at our club when Frank O'Farrell was manager. One of the very first 'inside' documentaries of any football club.
davieG Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Nothing wrong with the fundamental premise but your example is a world apart from lcfc. The Coffee shop market barely existed whereas the top six of the PL Is virtually a closed shop and even the top six is well established. Top ten is achievable we've managed that before I can't really see beyond that. Treading water in the lower part of the top ten although a creditable achievement could well become a grind and de motivational. Sadly the PL Is a mess.
Al-aLondon-Foxile Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 I usually get bored reading the long posts but that was really good, and i agree entirely. Lets support and enjoy the ride with confidence.
nnfox Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Football is not ran like other businesses though It never used to be but they are becoming more and more like businesses. Football clubs are extremely complex organisations to run. There is an element that is very very expensive (playing staff) so to make that part of the business sustainable clubs have to do more and more off the pitch. Clubs can make money from advertising, hospitality, merchandise, sponsorship, TV etc etc. The better they do this, the more money they can spend on players. The team gets better and the business becomes more marketable. And so on. Another lucrative revenue stream is the development of young players that can get sold on at a profit, and not just the initial sale - look at the Raheem Sterling/QPR situation. This needs investment and is a long term strategy but it can really work wonders - look at Southampton. LCFC is at a bit of a cross roads, we are almost at a point of no return now. The next two seasons will be crucial to our long term development. I firmly believe that CR is more capable of taking us to the next level than NP. 5 years or so from now, I can't see why we can't be putting ourselves in a position to win trophies here and have a good run in the Europa League. Win that and its Champions League baby. Positive. Mental. Attitude.
Wilson_6 Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Brilliant post. Makes for good reading especially in comparison to the small group of plebs on here.
Ollie93 Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 I can see this turning into a expansion vs. non-expansion thread.
Guest MattP Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Nothing wrong with the fundamental premise but your example is a world apart from lcfc. The Coffee shop market barely existed whereas the top six of the PL Is virtually a closed shop and even the top six is well established. Pretty much nailed it there. Bagworth Blue could have a decent career in motivational speeches though by the look of that post!
zante Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Football is full of emotion and cannot be compared to any other business.......( I wish ) Alas we are a 'Project' The OP is right up its own arse but unfortunately thats modern football...
Wilson_6 Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 and comments like the recent ones from Lineker is bad people like him have such a voice and fans will go along with what he says so why be negative?
zante Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 and comments like the recent ones from Lineker is bad people like him have such a voice and fans will go along with what he says so why be negative? Why shouldnt he express his opinion ?
Kent Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Why shouldnt he express his opinion ? It's dangerous because someone that influential to fans can sway opinion negatively before a ball's even been kicked, which is never beneficial.
davieG Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Why shouldnt he express his opinion ? No reason really but it's easy to be negative and moan without stating who he feels would have been inspiring.
BirminghamFox Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 the biggest reason why businesses fail is the fear of failure! We are taught from a young age at school that we either PASS or FAIL. This is what holds us back through fear of failing. It's about setting big goals and defining success as the JOURNEY and not the destination. Aim for the moon and if we hit the stars is that failure? We are still heading in the right direction! Come on Leicester, I'm loving this new journey we are on... can't wait to take my seat on August 8th and sing my heart out!
jamesmilner Posted 14 July 2015 Posted 14 July 2015 Yes it is. BBC even did a documentary series on the similarities, at our club when Frank O'Farrell was manager. One of the very first 'inside' documentaries of any football club. No it's not !! Pearson proves that !! He would've been sacked in most, if not all businesses with his behaviour , other than FOOTBALL !! Football is also a non profitable business in some clubs , some clubs in fact lose money knowing they'll lose it !! That's not a normal business , you're completely wrong !!
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