I bet when a lot of people hear the word "Maverick" they think of Tom Cruise in Top Gun. That's where the idea for this post came from, Tom Cruise. Specifically Tom Cruise in his roll as sports agent Jerry Maguire. For those of you who haven't seen the film, Cruise plays a high-powered sports agent who has an epiphany one night and realizes that the entire industry is money hungry and corrupt. He writes a vision statement calling for fewer clients (thus less money) and more personal attention, a better relationship with the clients.
Enter Dr. Lynn Lashbrook. A successful NFL agent who represented the likes of hard hitting safety Brian Dawkins and first-round pick Mark Fields. Lynn felt a connection to what Cruise was trying to say as Jerry Maguire and felt that many sports agents in the real world have lost the ethical compass that saw the client come first and money come second. He broke away from the standard and established SMWW. Now building your own successful agency in a cut-throat industry seems more than enough to be considered a Maverick, but it is what Dr. Lashbrook did with that agency that I find even more impressive.
Those who study business and marketing know that one key to success is either finding a new market or differentiating yourself in an existing one. Sports Management Worldwide did both. Lynn realized that there was a huge population with a passion for sports and the desire to be involved on a professional level. As a result Sports Management Worldwide transitioned from a full-service agency (which still exists and is wildly successful with over 300 agents and thousands of clients. See smwwagency.com) to an online education provider in the sports field. Interested students can take course taught by seasoned industry veterans in anything from becoming a sports agent (Athlete Management), to working in the front office, to sport-specific scouting and management, and everything in between. Lynn has built a solid faculty of professionals like Bret Polvorosa, president of GRIP, Mark Washo of the Chicago Fire, and Mike Oke of International Scouting Services. What is even more impressive about Lynn is that he cares about every student that takes a course and many graduates join Sports Management Worldwide as Agent Advisors (and now represent everything from professional football and hockey players to professional arm wrestlers and bull riders).
Here is a guy who deviated from the mainstream of a lucrative profession to follow what he believed is ethically right and essentially created a new industry in sports education. I encourage you to check out the website and learn more about the company. To me that is the definition of a [Maverick]
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