There may be better ways to spend a summer vacation, although I can’t think of any. For two months this summer, I traveled around the country watching Minor League Baseball games, thanks to a Teacher Creativity Grant from the Eli Lilly Foundation.

A large crowd looks on at Smokies Park in Kodak, TN

Officially, the idea was to study the marketing methods used by Minor League Baseball teams, which happen to be so good that they’ve helped some Minor League franchises across the country to record attendance, recession be damned.

Unofficially, I am never at a loss for an excuse to go watch baseball.

In the course of my travels, I was also hoping to get some ideas to bring back to the classroom.

Ah, the classroom – where I teach Business to high schoolers who are sometimes (most of the time) more interested in shooting arrows at balloons with a cartoon monkey (God bless internet games) than learning business fundamentals.

And while I did come up with the inspiration for a handful of great lesson plans, I realized that nearly everything I was seeing at the ballparks – the wacky promotions, the entertaining mascots, and the carnival-like atmospheres – could easily be applied to high school athletics.

It may sound outlandish, marketing high school sports in the same manner that a professional sports league markets its product, but, the reality is that Minor League Baseball and high school sports already have a lot in common.

I’ll give you a few examples in friendly, bullet point format:

• Due to athlete turnover, both the Minor Leagues and high school athletics typically promote teams as a whole as opposed to individual players
• In most markets, fans will attend Minor League games regardless of how well the team is playing. In other words, it doesn’t matter much if the team wins. Fans attend the games to have fun and see young talent develop. Is high school that much different?
• Minor League teams, especially in the lower levels where the teams play in smaller towns, are a big part of their communities.  As a result, the fan mix at most MiLB games is a cross-section of hardcore fans, casual observers, uninterested socialites, and hyper-active youngsters. In a lot of ways it is the same type of crowd found at a high school sporting event.

Any high school athletics program, regardless of size, can adopt a Minor League mindset to help boost community interest, fan support, school spirit, and attendance – all of which lead to more money for the school.

A group of mascots discuss their gameplan.

So, as a back to school gift for Athletic Directors everywhere, I will be offering a four part blog series on the tenets of the Minor League Mindset and how they can be applied to high school athletics.

Part I: Focus on the Fan

It is hard to create a caricature of the “typical” Minor League Baseball fan, because the crowds that attend the games are so diverse. All age groups and levels of interest are represented at the ballpark. Yet, for all their differences, fans at Minor League games seem to have one thing in common: they all have fun.

So, how do these franchises go about entertaining fans ranging in age from infants to octogenarians? Most minor league front office people readily admit that it’s not always about the team on the field.

Sure, some of the fans are there to watch baseball. But, even big baseball fans would have a hard time mustering up enough excitement to go see a lineup like this:

Means – RF
Sappelt – CF
Puckett – 2B
Mendez, C – 3B
Brown, T – LF
Coddington – DH
Day – 1B
Wideman – C
Rojas – SS
Janke – P

Not exactly household names. Nevertheless, 8,584 people piled into Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio to watch these Dayton Dragons take on the Fort Wayne Tincaps on July 2nd.

If it’s not the game itself, what’s drawing 8,000+ fans a night to Dayton, and other ballparks across the country?

Minor League baseball teams have an unrelenting focus on the fan. Everything they do is designed to entertain, and most of the entertainment is interactive. Downtime between innings is filled with contests, with the participants being plucked right from the crowd. Fans may race one another around the bases, sumo wrestle, dance on dugouts, sing karaoke, and play “Let’s Make a Deal” – all before the seventh inning stretch.

As one front office executive put it to me, “baseball is just a backdrop we use to perform our shtick.”

Fans not participating in the “shtick” are treated to what basically amounts to a live-action reality show. What nine-year old will be able to put on a Dragons uniform and race around the bases the quickest? Tune in between the fourth and fifth innings to find out!

All of these contests provide family fun and help turn spectators into participators and casual fans into season ticket holders. In addition, they provide a unique opportunity for your sponsors – an issue we’ll discuss next time.

A fan participates in a dice rolling game at Bowling Green Ballpark

Focusing on the fan also means providing a comfortable atmosphere. I visited over 20 Minor League stadiums this summer, and I don’t recall seeing a single scrap of paper laying on the ground in any of the concourses or men’s rooms. All of the stadiums were clean, all had good food (some obviously better than others) and regardless of where I was at, it was always easy to spot an usher if I needed something.

Adopting a Minor League mindset requires more from an Athletic Director than scheduling officials, chalking the field, and turning on the lights. It’s about creating an environment where people are always wondering “what are they going to do next?”

And, the beautiful thing is, adopting a fan-friendly focus doesn’t take a lot of extra money or staff. Work with students to develop theme nights and contests. Leverage your school’s existing website to advertise your programs (a topic which we’ll cover in part three). Partner with the booster club to find volunteers to serve as ushers/fan assistants.

In the end, fans that have fun at a sporting event will continue to come back. The Minor Leagues have proven that. There’s no reason why the same wouldn’t hold true at the high school level.

Next Time – Part II: Get Creative and Get Fans

What do these eyes have to do with drawing fans and providing value for sponsors? Find out next time.

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As the century’s biggest economic crisis drags on, some are being forced to trade down in yet another area: their job.  But, many job seekers are finding that going from unemployed manager to employed bottom feeder is easier said than done, thanks to that dreaded “o” word – “overqualified.”

The plight of the overqualified is being acknowledged by hiring directors everywhere. Jamaica Eilbes, a recruiter for the employment agency Manpower, practices Qualification Discrimination on a regular basis. “I’d never feel comfortable putting a really high-level candidate into a lower level position,” Eilbes explained to the Wall Street Journal.

Short on employment prospects, but not ingenuity, some job seekers have taken to dumbing down their resumes in hopes of convincing potential employers that they don’t have the experience and skills necessary to warrant fancy titles or high salaries.

Although the idea of dumbing-down a resume goes against two main tenets of resume creation, namely don’t lie and always put your best foot forward, some have landed the entry-level job of their dreams (or nightmares) thanks to the practice.

If your overqualification is quickly becoming desperation, you may be tempted to put the dumb treatment to your resume. Follow these five tips and you will be on your way back down the career ladder in no time.

Ditch the Printer

Nothing says “I have extensive technology skills that command a large salary” more than being able to create a document on the computer and subsequently print it off. The amount of button-mashing talent that goes into the document creation process is mind boggling. Why put yourself out of the running before a hiring director even starts reading your resume?

The better bet is to write your resume longhand on a piece of lined notebook paper. If you must insist on creating your resume on a computer, it is best to stick with a simple program like Paint, which I use for my dumbed-down resumes (see right).

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Resume Measures

Avoid Specifics

Conventional resume wisdom advises people to use specifics when describing their previous positions and accomplishments. Phrases like “generated $1,500,000 in new sales,” and “organized 37 new product launches” help hiring managers understand exactly what contributions a candidate is capable of making.

Your potential employers do not want to know that the person getting their coffee or making their copies is capable of outperforming them. Underwhelm them immediately by being as vague as possible. “Sold some stuff,” and “worked on things,” will work fine on your new resume.

Focus on Favorites

A good “skills” section can be an effective addition to some resumes.

However, in the brave new world of dumbed-down resumes, listing all the programming languages you know and the software programs you can operate will only make you seem like a know-it-all show off. Consider casting yourself as a loveable office goof by replacing the “skills” section of your resume with a “favorites” section. Be sure to include your favorite television shows, movies, music, and breakfast cereals. A good “favorites” section will show your potential employers that you can talk pop culture around the water cooler as well as anyone.

Get Creative with Your Salary History

If your salary history includes previous jobs that earned you $100,000+ a year, you run the risk of pricing yourself right out of the entry-level market. Thankfully there’s an easy work around to this problem.

Always denominate your previous salaries in a little-known foreign currency, such as the Omani Rial (OMR). With today’s exchange rates, you can turn a deal-breaking $100,000 salary history into a “you’re hired” ريال عماني 38,500.

You Don’t Need No Education

The tendency among learned people is to include all of their degrees, certificates, and training within the “education” section of their resume – which is fine for upper level positions that require an excess of book smarts.

But, for those people back peddling their way around the career path, there is a much better way to document intellectual prowess. Show your potential boss that you can think quickly on your feet by playing Jeopardy. Prior to developing your resume, play along with the television version of the popular quiz game each night for an entire week. Record your scores in the “Education” section of your resume. This will accomplish the goal of conveying your vast knowledge while hiding the fact that you have an MBA or other advanced degree.

There you have it. Five simple steps guaranteed to dumb down your resume. Check back after the recession ends (which should be soon according to economists) and we’ll examine How to Exaggerate Your Qualifications in Five Easy Steps.

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