ZogSports

Thanking my excellent Wharton MBA Professor Bob Chalfin (Entrepreneurship By Acquisition back in the day) for interviewing me on his Podcast recently. Bob asked great questions as he always does and I enjoyed sharing my back story and how things have grown and morphed at ZogSports and ZogCulture over time. Have a listen and let me know what you think (besides that I speak too quickly!) https://lnkd.in/eB2PpDJN #zogsports #zogculture #corporateteambuilding #companyfieldday #ceocoach

How many friends do you have at work now? How many friends did you used to have at work? Was it ever normal for you to connect with co-workers outside the office? This brilliant Korn Ferry Magazine article so articulately describes the troubling trend of lack of connection and friendship at work. While everyone knows that work has permanently changed in some ways, a casualty has been making friends, connection, teamwork and true caring about co-workers (and thus the company!). Please read the article and let me or our ZogCulture (www.zogculture.com) team know if you have any questions or want to discuss https://lnkd.in/eJ3mjVBX #kornferry; #friendsatwork; #teambuilding; #companyfieldday

Insightful analysis from McKinsey & Company on how consumers are opting for *accessibility* in their sports participation preferences. Here are 5 examples of *emerging sports* and *sports-adjacent* organizations innovating to meet consumers' demand for accessibility, plus how to follow this trend to build your career 👇 🏓 +159% growth in Pickleball. Volo Sports and ZogSports are some of the many adult leagues now introducing the sport in their offerings. ⛳️ +57% growth in Golf (off course). Topgolf, Blue Jeans Golf and Five Iron Golf are helping golf become a destination venue for corporate events and casual outings. 🎾 +33% for Tennis. WTA and ATP Tour events at tournaments such as the Miami Open and Hard Rock Stadium create all-day festivities that drive engagement in the game. 👟 +21% in Train Running. Growth of app networks such as AllTrails and Strava help to build community around an independent activity. 🚴 +11% growth in Bicycling. National Cycling League (NCL) is pioneering team-based cycling in the US to build cohesion with the local cycling communities across the US. __ 💡 *Accessibility* is a theme that I expect to grow in prominence across all sports organizations (both emerging sports such as 🏓 Pickleball and established sports such as 🏀 Basketball) and functions (Group Sales, Digital Marketing, Sponsorship Activation). Seeking roles at highly-accessible *emerging sports* or *sports-adjacent* organizations that are building accessibility can unlock opportunities for innovation and growth. Or, discovering ways that your function can drive *accessibility* for fans, sponsors, or community participants can help you achieve successes in your current work. __ 🔗 Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/eq4VeWAe ⭐️ If you're in Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Denver, NYC/NJ, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, or Washington, DC, check out both Full Time and Part Time roles at Volo Sports to help drive *accessibility* first hand: https://lnkd.in/erbsW2e8 What sport(s) do you believe will see the greatest participation growth in the next 3 years? ⬇️ 💬

Does Gen Z want to engage and make friends at work? What can companies do to help the newest members of the workplace feel connected without being too imposing? We have all heard both sides of the argument. Our corporate clients and prospects have shared that they find a dual challenge: ·      Trying to foster a sense of community and camaraderie among their employees, particularly among their younger Gen Z teammates and ·      Continuing to offer flexible work arrangements for work-life balance and to meet employee expectations. While there is evidence that unlike their predecessors, Gen Z often prefers to keep their work and personal lives separate, leading to a reluctance to engage and make friends at work, we have been hearing that many don’t want fully remote jobs and do want to connect with new co-workers for meaningful relationships. To address this issue, companies we’ve spoken to are trying a variety of strategies including: 1.      Mentorship programs: Pairing younger employees with mentors can help foster connections across level and experience and provide guidance and support in both personal and professional ways 2.      Large Group Team-Building Activities: Organizing large team-building events brings diverse people from groups together in facilitated, inclusive ways during which people can get to know each other in new ways and build stronger relationships. 3.      Smaller In-Person Experiences by Interest: These include the usual lunches, happy hours, etc. but adds experiences by interest like book groups, sports teams/leagues, fitness challenges and community service projects (which can be integrated into larger team building events) 4.      Flexible but Structured Work Arrangements: Coupling flexibility with defined time when everyone on a team needs to be in the office helps foster “loose” connections, many of which become “strong” over time What have you seen at your company? Please let us know. We’re happy to discuss. #companyevents #teambuilding

Our amazing partner Asphalt Green is looking to hire coaches and instructors If you or anyone in your circles are interested in coaching with AG, they currently have postings up for: - Volleyball Head Coach, Girls’ Club – Upper East Side - Pickleball youth/adult Class instructors – Battery Park Citty - Martial Arts & Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructors – Upper East Side and Battery Park City - Flag Football instructors – Upper East Side Here’s the link to all current openings with us - https://lnkd.in/eWHyxatH If you know anyone looking for extra hours, please send them our way!

25+ Years Later, "Bowling Alone" continues to hit home Robert Putnam, political scientist and sociologist from Harvard, wrote a book in 2000 called Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. The book sites research about the decline in community involvement in everything from PTAs to religious groups to community organizations to yes, bowling leagues. He surmised back 20+ years ago that bowling by yourself you "did not participate in the social interaction and civic discussions that might occur in a league environment." Since then, with ups and down, generational changes, Covid, great streaming content and new norms about how we work in person, we continue to see these effects. This is the primary reason I founded ZogSports after 9/11 - to build community and help people feel connected to others through common interests. And it's why we started ZogCulture - to build connections at work through fun events. So my call to action is join 1 club, 1 organization, 1 interest group or yes 1 league. Say yes to doing things with friends and co-workers And if all of the above isn't enough incentive, Robert Putnam's research says: "Joining and participating in one group cuts in half your odds of dying next year." Morbid, but I'm in. . . http://bowlingalone.com/ #zogsports #zogculture #bowlingalone #sportsleagues #companyculture #companyteams