BOCA RATON, Fla.-Organizations seeking to become the worldwide leader in financial institutions got some lessons-and laughs-from the worldwide leader in sports.
Chris Berman, the long-time face of ESPN who is as known for creating nicknames for athletes as he is his own, the "Swami," told the CO-OP Financial Services' THINK 12 Conference that the network's growth from a small Connecticut operation into an international brand offers a guide for credit unions.
"A cult brand doesn't start huge," said Berman, one of ESPN's original employees. "It dreams huge and thinks realistically. The other part of a cult brand is it has great capacity to grow and the ceiling is pretty high if you give it time."
Before it reached for the ceiling, ESPN began in the basement, and somewhat by chance. Founder Bill Rasmussen, a PR man with the hockey franchise the Hartford Whalers whom Berman called ESPN's George Washington, initially sought to broadcast amateur sports in the state of Connecticut. But a chance remark during a meeting with executives of RCA-that for the same $35,000 monthly cost for satellite time to broadcast to Connecticut, the budding ESPN could broadcast to all the USA-created the national network.
It was a network launched in the face of skepticism. "Who actually remembers TV antennas? Who remembers when cable TV was for people who lived in the mountains? Why would I spend $20 a month to get 36 stations, when I already get four, and I can't watch more than one at a time?"
The Value of a Good Idea
CUs should be reassured that a good idea can prosper, said Berman, noting ESPN launched Sept. 7, 1979 to an audience of almost no one (its first sports broadcast was a slow-pitch softball game). He recalled that when his wife was a teacher 30 years ago she was eligible for a CU, even if he didn't understand what it was.
"Now I understand what you're doing, and now I can see why it works when people don't trust every bank they walk by."
Berman shared a few anecdotes from the early days of ESPN (he started at age 24 on the 3 a.m. shift), when there was no water in the building, and cables ran out a garage door to a truck. Once, a skunk got into the studio and did what skunks do.
The Bigger Lesson
But the bigger lesson, said Berman, is that ESPN grew and helped fuel the popularity of cable TV.
"We were the worldwide leader in nothing," he said, sharing that he once broadcast a darts tournament. "But what (ESPN management) asked us to do was to reach for the sky. And if you get burnt, pull your hand back, but keep reaching. If you keep things in the proper perspective, and you have a good time doing what you're doing, that's really how our place made it. We're serious about what we're doing but don't take ourselves seriously. As long as the ceiling doesn't hit you, keep going. We've always had good long-term vision. One of my favorite sayings is 'Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.'"
In keeping with that, Berman urged CUs to complete this sentence: "Five years from now, we could be..."
