Golden State Warriors:From Basketball to Business Transformation

By Edward Iwata

This is only the beginning for this innovative franchise1franchise 職業(yè)運動隊。. On and off the court.In 2016, the Golden State Warriors smashed the National Basketball Association’s all-time winning record for a regular season.[2] But truth be told, the Warriors are a model of management and coaching.They’re a state-of-the-art franchise in the sports-business world. While most teams struggle to win games and grow their businesses, the Warriors are a rare blend of both.

New Owners Take Warriors in Winning Direction

[3] Co-owned by venture capitalist Joe Lacob and media entertainment mogul Peter Guber, the Warriors boast a collaborative, winning culture.

[4] Kerr is a master motivator and strategist whose coaching philosophy is now emulated2emulate效仿。throughout the league.

對這支銳意創(chuàng)新的職業(yè)運動隊來說，這還只是開始。場上場下都是如此。

2016年，金州勇士打破美國男子籃球職業(yè)聯(lián)賽（NBA）常規(guī)賽勝場數(shù)歷史紀錄。

[2]但其實勇士隊在管理和訓練上都是楷模。他們是體育商界的一支最先進職業(yè)運動隊。當大多數(shù)球隊在贏得比賽和謀求商業(yè)發(fā)展上步履維艱時，勇士隊卻罕見地兩者兼得。

新老板帶領勇士隊走向勝利

[3]金州勇士由風險投資人喬·拉科布和傳媒娛樂大亨彼得·古伯共同擁有，球隊崇尚協(xié)作、制勝的企業(yè)文化。

[4]科爾善于激勵球員，同時也是戰(zhàn)術大師。他的執(zhí)教理念正被全聯(lián)盟仿效。

[5] Then there is superstar and twotime NBA MVP3=Most Valuable Player最有價值球員，指1955—1956賽季以來每年對美職聯(lián)常規(guī)賽中表現(xiàn)最佳的球員所頒發(fā)的一個獎項。Stephen Curry. A true disruptor whose revolutionary style of play is changing the game of basketball.

[6] The NBA’s perennial losers a few years ago are now on a wild, recordbreaking ride.

[7] But it wasn’t always that way.Dennis O’Donnell, sports director at KPIX-TV in San Francisco, put it this way: “The new owner inherited one of the worst-run organizations in the NBA, and turned it into unquestionably the best-run organization in the league,from owners to coaches to players.”

[8] And the numbers are hard to dispute.

After Lacob and his co-investors outbid rivals to buy the Warriors in 2010 for $450 million, the team’s value soared to $1.9 billion, according to Forbes 2016 ranking of NBA teams.

If the Warriors’ proposed sports and entertainment complex, the Chase Center, opens in 2019 in San Francisco as expected, the Warriors’ value may rise even higher.

[9] And it gets better.

The Warriors have sold out every home game over the past three seasons.Fan loyalty is off the charts4off the charts超越了正常范疇，特別好，或是特別糟。, with 99 percent of season-ticket holders renewing for the 2016-2017 season, according to Lisa Goodwin, director of corporate communications.

[5]還有超級巨星、兩度榮獲NBA最有價值球員獎的斯蒂芬·庫里，一個真正的顛覆者，他革命性的打球方式正在改變籃球比賽。

[6]這支球隊幾年前在聯(lián)盟中還屢屢輸球，如今卻狂飆突進、屢破紀錄。

[7]這番氣象往昔可不常見。舊金山KPIX-TV電視臺體育總監(jiān)丹尼斯·奧唐奈這樣說：“新老板接手的是NBA中經(jīng)營最不善的一支球隊，現(xiàn)在卻把它變成了無疑是聯(lián)盟中經(jīng)營最佳的球隊，從老板到教練再到球員都很出色?！?/p>

[8]數(shù)字難以辯駁。

2010年，拉科布與合伙投資人擊敗競購對手，以4.5億美元的價格買下勇士隊，數(shù)年后，根據(jù)《福布斯》雜志2016年NBA球隊排名，勇士隊市值已飆升至19億美元。

如果勇士隊擬建的體育娛樂綜合場館——位于舊金山的大通中心——如期在2019年投入使用，該隊市值甚至會再創(chuàng)新高。

[9]一切都蒸蒸日上。

過去三個賽季，勇士隊主場比賽的門票場場售罄。據(jù)球隊傳播總監(jiān)莉薩·古德溫透露，球迷追捧熱度爆棚，持有賽季套票的球迷中99%的人都續(xù)訂了2016—2017賽季套票。

[10] The Warriors’ marketing machine is world class. The team has 14 million followers on social media platforms.Merchandise sales are up 423 percent over last season. To top it off5top it off加之，更有甚者。, the NBA named the Warriors 2015 Co-Retailer of the Year.

[11] So what’s their secret?

The culture of the Warriors is classic Silicon Valley. In the same way that successful tech companies transform markets, the Warriors are breaking old models and traditional ways of thinking.

[12] They’re embracing risks that might scare more cautious teams.“They’re very comfortable being disruptive on the business side and on the basketball court,” said Marc Ganis, a sportsbusiness consultant on many global sports and entertainment projects.

[13] On the court, other NBA teams are copying their all-around play: a fast,free-flowing offense and tough, teamoriented defense with versatile players who fill different roles.

In earlier eras, coaches frowned on long three-point shots. Now more teams are playing long ball, encouraging good shooters to fire away.

[10]勇士隊的營銷機制堪稱世界一流。球隊在社交媒體平臺上有1400萬粉絲。特許商品銷售額比上賽季增長423%。錦上添花的是，勇士隊還被NBA評選為2015年度最佳合作零售商。

[11]那么，他們的成功秘訣是什么呢?

勇士文化是典型的硅谷文化。就像成功的科技企業(yè)能帶來市場變革，勇士隊也正打破舊模式和常規(guī)思維。

[12]他們甘冒的風險可能會嚇倒謹小慎微的球隊。擔任多個全球性體育娛樂項目體育商業(yè)顧問馬克·甘尼斯指出：“不論是在商業(yè)經(jīng)營上還是在籃球場上，他們都樂于破舊立新?！?/p>

[13]在球場上，其他NBA球隊都在模仿他們的全攻全守打法：快速流暢的進攻，強硬的全隊聯(lián)防，球員都是多面手，勝任場上不同位置。

早前，教練們對三分遠投都不以為然?，F(xiàn)在，越來越多的球隊注重外線進攻，鼓勵優(yōu)秀投手外線出手。

[14] One of Kerr’s innovative coaching methods is to show videos of soccer great Lionel Messi and his Barcelona teammates to illustrate team and ball movement.

Not surprisingly, some of Curry’s jaw-dropping dribble6dribble運球。moves and slashing drives to the hoop7drive to the hoop突破到籃下。resemble soccer players dodging defenders to score.

[15] In the front office8front office（公司的）董事會，理事會。, the Warriors focus on everything from marketing strategies to leading-edge technology.They have a full time staff dedicated to player development, marketing, and sales strategies.

[16] The team also leads the NBA in their use of data analytics.

The Warriors were among the first NBA teams to adopt devices such as Sport VU9球員追蹤分析系統(tǒng)，可使用攝像機定位追蹤每一名球員的每一個動作，然后通過計算機分析圖片進一步編譯成各類統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)。cameras, which study players’ movements and performances during games and practices.

[17] This hard data also helps the Warriors track ticket and merchandise sales, food and beverage consumption—even the buying preferences of fans in pricey courtside seats or the less-expensive seats up high.

“We take our analytics10analytics分析學。very seriously,” said Chip Bowers, the Warriors chief marketing officer. “Ultimately,the information is shared internally so we’re better informed about what’s happening in our business.”

[14]科爾新穎的執(zhí)教手法之一就是播放足球巨星萊昂內(nèi)爾·梅西及其巴塞羅那隊隊友的實戰(zhàn)錄像，以此演示球隊跑動和傳球線路。

怪不得庫里能有這樣令人瞠目結舌的表現(xiàn)：不時運球疾進、切入突破到籃下，酷似足球球員巧妙擺脫防守射門得分。

[15]從營銷戰(zhàn)略到尖端技術，勇士隊管理層對各個方面都很重視。他們配有全職人員專門負責球員培養(yǎng)、市場推廣和銷售策略。

[16]勇士隊在運用數(shù)據(jù)分析方面也走在NBA前列。

勇士隊是首批采用Sport VU系統(tǒng)攝像機等設備的NBA球隊之一，該系統(tǒng)可用于分析研究球員比賽和訓練時的動作和表現(xiàn)。

[17]這類切實的數(shù)據(jù)還有助于勇士隊跟蹤了解門票、特許商品銷售和飲食消費情況，甚至包括球迷的購票偏好：是青睞昂貴的場邊座位，還是偏向便宜的看臺高層座位？

勇士隊首席營銷官奇普·鮑爾斯表示：“我們很重視數(shù)據(jù)分析。相關信息最終會在內(nèi)部交流共享，以便更好地了解自身經(jīng)營狀況?！?/p>

[18] The fan experience is also top of mind.

At Oakland’s Oracle Arena, for example, the Warriors offer Wi-fifor all 20,000 fans. The planned Chase Arena will also likely offer many leading-edge IT services, including a virtual reality experience for fans.

[19] Kenny Lauer, vice president of digital and marketing, said that the Warriors measure themselves against not only other sports teams, but other businesses in different industries.

When one views the Warriors as “an entertainment marketing group that happens to play basketball, that horizon opens up tremendous opportunities,” he said.

Collaboration cuts across everything

[20] The success of the Warriors stems from “not one thing, but a hundred little things,” said Warriors President Rick Welts. Among them is talent acquisition and collaboration.

“They clearly have a very smart talent-evaluation process for bringing in the right kind of guys and getting them to mesh11mesh使緊密配合。,” said Bob Dorfman, executive creative director at Baker Street Advertising. “Each player and em-ployee knows his role. In a league filled with egomaniacs12egomaniac極端自我主義者。, that’s a very impressive accomplishment.”

[18]球迷體驗也放在首位。

例如，在奧克蘭甲骨文球館，勇士隊為全場兩萬名觀賽球迷提供無線上網(wǎng)。規(guī)劃中的大通球館也可能會提供諸多尖端的信息科技服務，包括為球迷提供虛擬現(xiàn)實體驗。

[19]勇士隊數(shù)字化與營銷副總裁肯尼·勞爾表示，勇士隊參照的不僅是其他運動隊，還有不同行業(yè)的其他企業(yè)。

他說，當你把勇士隊看作“一個碰巧進入籃球圈的娛樂營銷集團時，這一視角會開啟巨大商機”。

團隊合作超越一切

[20]勇士隊總裁里克·韋爾茨表示，造就勇士隊成功的“并非單一因素，而是無數(shù)微小因素的合力”，其中包括人才引進和團隊協(xié)作。

“顯然，他們有一套十分高明的人才評估程序，用于引進合適人才并讓他們?nèi)谌雸F隊?！?貝克街廣告公司執(zhí)行創(chuàng)意總監(jiān)鮑勃·多夫曼說：“每個球員和職員都明白自己的角色。在一個充斥著極端自我主義者的聯(lián)盟中，這是相當了不起的成就?！?/p>

[21] The Warriors’ managerial style also appears to strike a balance between collective brainstorming and strong decision making. For sure, the front office is no place for wallflowers13wallflower〈非正式〉（舞會或聚會上因無舞伴或靦腆）待在一旁的人。.

In the complex planning for Chase Arena, for instance, design and development teams meet often with Warriors executives to air ideas. Everyone weighs in with14weigh in with在討論中成功地提出（建議、事實等）。his or her thoughts and insights. The give-and-take ensures that the Warriors vet different ideas and make the most educated15educated基于知識（或經(jīng)驗）的。decisions at the end of the day.

[22] Open communication and transparency also apply to the Warriors’coaching. The authoritarian, commandand-control approach may have worked in earlier eras, but not with today’s star athletes, who often carry more clout16clout影響力。than coaches.

New breed of owners put business strategy first

[23] Even team ownership is evolving, becoming more innovative. Oldschool sports owners typically were tycoons who tended to run their teams as money-losing hobbies.

[21]勇士隊的管理風格似乎也是集思廣益和果斷決策相結合。管理部門中肯定不會有壁上觀者的一席之地。

比如，在大通球館復雜的規(guī)劃過程中，設計和開發(fā)團隊常與勇士隊高管會晤，交流意見。大家建言獻策、各抒己見。如此交換意見，可確保勇士隊對不同的意見進行審議，最終作出最明智的決定。

[22]坦誠溝通、保持透明度的原則同樣踐行于勇士隊的訓練中。獨斷專行、發(fā)號施令的執(zhí)教方式以往可能有效，但對現(xiàn)今的明星運動員不管用，因為他們往往比教練更有分量。

新一代老板以商業(yè)戰(zhàn)略為本

[23]連球隊產(chǎn)權經(jīng)營都在不斷發(fā)展，更加銳意革新。傳統(tǒng)的球隊老板通常都是大亨，往往把球隊當成賠錢的愛好來經(jīng)營。

這種情況已不復見。如今，新一代球隊老板是科技行業(yè)的高管和企業(yè)家，他們將自己的球隊視為成熟企業(yè)和有利可圖的投資。

No more. Today’s new breed of owners are technology executives and entrepreneurs who view their teams as full-fledged17full-fledged成熟的；充分發(fā)展的。businesses and lucrative investments.

[24] “It’s great for the league,” Bowers said. “The new guys made money by rolling up their sleeves and being intimately involved in the success of their(tech companies), and they treat their ownership of teams the same way.

“It allows us to have a greater degree of business acumen18acumen精明。, to be smarter in terms of the types of experiences we create for organizations and the fans.” ■

[24]“這對聯(lián)盟來說是大好事。”鮑爾斯說，“新一代老板之前賺到錢，靠的是實干，自己（科技企業(yè)）的成功也是親手打拼來的，現(xiàn)在他們對待球隊的產(chǎn)權經(jīng)營也是一樣。

“這令我們有了更為敏銳的經(jīng)營眼光，為企業(yè)和球迷提供各種體驗時采取更加明智的策略?！?□