Barry Sanders and his Brand

If you have met my husband, you will know that he is an avid football fan. Well, “Avid” might be an understatement. This man can tell you nearly every player’s college team and what they ate for dinner. In any case, I tend to keep myself sane by playing the “did you know” game. This game involves me catching wind about a football related development and sharing it with him before he gets a chance to hear it on sports center, listen to it on sports radio, receive an alert, or read it online. Typically, the articles I tend to catch involve a posting about their financial status or a real estate deal.

The most recent win for me was an article from The Detroit News written by Justin Rogers; titled “Barry Sanders returns to Lions as fan liaison”. If you followed football from 1989 to 1998, you should know Barry Sanders. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004 during his first year of eligibility, after retiring from the NFL at the height of his career. Many people still believed he had many years left in the Lions’ franchise and were disappointed in his sudden departure. Despite his early retirement, many people still love and respect him. Frankly, I wasn’t surprised about this recent development- Sanders has always played an important role in the Lions’ franchise.

While I hope to one-day meet Barry Sanders and learn more his decision to leave the NFL, I can only summarize everything he did right.  (Barry, if you are reading this… feel free to reach out!  j_kreger@ epiinc.com)

Here are six take-a-ways from Barry Sanders’ career that are applicable in today’s business:

1. Understanding Your Brand and Value

Sanders and the Lions’ franchise stayed in touch after his departure from the team, despite the franchise requesting that he pay back part of his bonus after he announced his retirement. There was a mutual respect between them. Both the Lions and Sanders knew that they made history and in doing so created a lifetime worth of fans.

With any business, it is important that we share our “fans” with you. Often our contributions are valued, even hidden, so that our partners can become even more successful! We don’t always announce our new partnerships – because we value your competitive advantage and respect. In any case, please don’t let that deter you from checking out how a partnership with us could benefit your company. If you are interested in working with EPI, we are happy to share our fan mail with you!

2. Considering Growth Opportunities

Sanders retired at the height of his career. He didn’t allow for the concussions, injuries, or “old age” to take over. Instead, he left the NFL on a positive note. This allowed Sanders to pursue other dreams and maintain his reputation. Each step in his professional career was a byproduct of his drive and passion demonstrated in the NFL and that passion translated to other opportunities.

Often we find ourselves working with one division of your organization. Sharing our capabilities, our commitment to Total Cost of Ownership, and our partnership allows us to identify other opportunities to work together. We look forward to exploring our passion and dive with you.

3. Valuing Relationships

In Barry’s Hall of Fame Speech he says that many people have created a positive impact on his life. Barry had a great point- the companies and people that we choose to surround ourselves is a direct reflection of who we are. We can only make each other better.

4. Following Your Passions 

It is evident that Barry Sanders loves football. This is an important component of any brand. If your heart isn’t in the job that you do or the product you promote, it is evident to everyone around you.

5. Be OK with Making Mistakes

I grew up playing sports and one thing that I learned from an early age that fear hinders your performance. The most successful players in the industry are constantly taking risks, growing, and investing. If Sanders hesitated at any point on the football field it opened up possibilities of a fumble – Let’s avoid this in business!

6. Selling the Vision

My favorite part about Barry Sanders’ 2005 Hall of Fame Speech was about his High School Coach, Dale Burkholder. He says,

“I can remember coming in the first couple of days of the season and getting ready for the season and Coach Burkholder telling us that if we worked hard and were able to get to a point, we’d be able to run 40 40s (40-yard sprints). I thought, “That’s a very interesting way to sell sort of a workout.” No matter what we did, we’d always run 40 40s, but he presented it in a way like he was giving us some sort of gift. I don’t know if you’ve ever run 40 40s, but if you’ve never felt your lungs burn, try doing that.”

Coach Burkholder did something amazing. He was able to show Sanders and his teammates that there was something more that they could do to be successful. I like to think that he was saying, “I can see your potential, but we both have to put in the work to get you there.”

How spot-on is this in business? Whether those 40 40’s represent changing vendors or an on boarding process – the possibilities are endless when you put in the work required. Creating strong and dependable partnerships opens up the potential for so much more.