“PIVOT! PIVOT! PIVOT!!!” – Ross Geller, Friends
This iconic Friends scene popped into my head during our Office Field Trip to Whistle Sports tonight. Although the Whistle team is gearing up to move offices over the weekend, this is not exactly the pivoting we were discussing.
The panel – consisting of Cory Bildstein, Joe Caporoso, Amanda Jesenof, and Alex Korn – brought up the fact that when Whistle Sports was started they would have never guessed the company would eventually be totally digital. However, Whistle’s tuned-in leaders foresaw the changes that were coming in the sports and entertainment industry and were able to pivot their business in a way that has allowed them to thrive in the digital and social media age.
“My internship and all the opportunities MSBA is providing are teaching me very valuable skills and allowing me to make great connections, so no matter where I want to pivot in my career, I know I will be successful.”
What I was most impressed by was the fact that, while they changed parts of their business, the people at Whistle never lost sight of their original mission: to provide family friendly sport and entertainment content. Although the vehicles in which they deliver the content may have changed, their underlying goal never has. That can be a very difficult thing in business and it speaks volumes of the quality that Whistle Sports holds itself to.
Personally, this topic really resonated with one of my goals this summer: I want to figure out what roles within the sports industry really peak my interest. My internship at Krossover has been great for this; the company is smaller, similar in size to Whistle Sports, which has allowed me to not only work with their financial team, but also be around the sales, marketing, and operations teams as well. My internship and all the opportunities MSBA is providing are teaching me very valuable skills and allowing me to make great connections, so no matter where I want to pivot in my career, I know I will be successful.
A big thank you to all the panelists and Whistle Sports for having us tonight, and don’t worry – they appeared to have learned from Ross’s moving fail and have hired professionals for their office move this weekend.