This past Sunday, the Manhattan Sports Business Academy Class of 2013 had the opportunity to hear Dr. Deborah Stroman, a Professor at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science.

Dr. Stroman is the Faculty Advisor for the Sports Business Club and also concentrates in Entrepreneurship.

During the intimate coversation, she discussed “Golf: The Sport of Business” and how golf can be utilized as not only a networking tool, but also as a foundation for establishing future business with a client or company. She also educated all of the students for a few minutes on some of the particulars of golf.

Following the golf discussion, Dr. Stroman talked about personal and professional development. With personal development, she discussed the N.E.S.S. Model; with the four components — nutrition, exercise, sleep, and spirituality — Dr. Stroman stressed how all of the pieces operate together. To be fully functioning on a day-to-day basis, one must have proper nutrition, exercise a few times a week, sleep eight hours a night, and believe in some Higher power. For me personally, the sleep aspect of the N.E.S.S. Model is something I continuously need to work on, as I think a lot of people do as well. It boils down to being more efficient with your time and maximizing your 16-17 hour days.

Moving on from personal development, Dr. Stroman explained the P.I.E. Model of professional development; the model is based on the book, Empowering Yourself – The Organization Game Revealed, by Harvey Coleman. The three aspects of the model (Performance, Image, and Exposure) all coincide to form a basis for how to conduct yourself as you progress in your career.

I thought performance was the most important aspect of the model, but in fact, it was exposure. Dr. Stroman explained that it is important to have a support system of mentors and older sports business professionals who you interact with on a regular basis. They’re the individuals who also can hold you accountable for the decisions you make and the actions you take. Dr. Stroman challenged all of us to find those three or four people like that (if we haven’t already) and start building relationships with them. Overall, the dialogue was very inspiring. I think it allowed all of us the opportunity to reflect on our current career trajectories and whether or not we’re really headed in the right direction.