Teaching the Big Boys a Lesson

It isn’t often that Oldham Athletic could be considered able to teach the goliaths of Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC a lesson.  As many a teary-eyed watcher of the (now perennial) League One club will testify, they’ve done it on the pitch once or twice over the years.  Though many of those watchers will undoubtedly have more grey hair than most, indeed some will have even less hair than a pre-transplant Wayne Rooney it is that long ago. Certainly off the pitch the Latics have nothing to teach the giants of the English game, until now that is.

Sitting in a full Anfield on Friday night, the long suffering Oldham fans gave a performance that even outshone their hard-working heroes on the pitch.  Full of verve, songs and no little humour, the kind of humour football crowds at their best produce on a weekly basis.  The highlight being the singing of ‘What a waste of money’ to big money signing Andy Carroll who proceeded almost immediately to score for the 1^st time at Anfield this season with a fine finish.  Not to be put off, the fans immediately switched in a breath to ‘You’re still a waste of money’, to grins and giggles from around Anfield, even on the pitch.

At the other end of the ground it was a different story, with the Kop uncharacteristically quiet throughout the game.  Save of course for at least one individual who, minutes before Carroll’s scoring appearance, reduced Oldham defender Tom Adeyemi to tears with an alleged racist outburst.  It was a sad end to what had been up until the incident a good old-fashioned FA Cup tie. 

In the stands around the ground it was unclear what the holdup was for, but something had clearly happened between the young midfielder and a section of the crowd.

Coming so close to the Suarez affair, the man himself was in the posh seats on Friday night, it was clear the incident would grab the headlines.  Sure enough within minutes of the end of the game reports of statements being made and arrests were across the full spectrum of media.

It is not a position Oldham and their non-existent team of PR people find themselves in often, ever in fact.  Yet from those first post-match minutes to four days later the sleepy League One side has shown more sense, decency and maturity than either the reds of Liverpool or Manchester. 

Oldham as a club were quick to condem the action, there was no speculating, no mention of anything other than the fact that an incident had occurred and reported.  By ensuring the relevant parties were made aware of the incident, including Tom’s parent club Norwich, they gave Tom their public support.  In private, the club staff, his team mates and fans all rallied to Tom’s aid, showing him equally tremendous support.  By these actions alone, Tom knows he has the full backing of the club.

Liverpool’s PR machine also quickly leapt into action, rightly condemning any such action and delivering the reassurance that every effort and support would be made to investigate.  They followed this up with a more significant statement 3 days later to apologise to Adeyemi for the hurt he was caused, whatever the subsequent outcome of police action. 

Oldham, with a quiet dignity have since thanked Liverpool for their actions, and made it clear they hold the ‘fan’ and only them responsible.  Of course it is always easier to maintain such dignity when you are the ‘wronged’ party, but the way Oldham have handled the incident has been classy.

Contrast this with the debacle that followed the Suarez/Evra incident where certainly Liverpool and to an extent Manchester United have played on tribal divides and the historic rivalry between the clubs to exacerbate what was a sad incident.  Much has been spoken about the PR disaster that was the Suarez shirts at the Wigan game and subsequent comments.  In fact sadly some commentators have suggested the Adeyemi incident may have been sparked by the arrival of a team many Liverpool fans see as being from Manchester.  There were unsubstantiated rumours at one stage that the perpetrators against Adeyemi were wearing the same Suarez shirts.

Whatever the outcome of the Adeyemi incident, it is clear is that the Premiership giants could do a lot worse than take a leaf out of the PR playbook of a tiny League One team.  After all, getting these incidents sorted out and ultimately removed from the game should be the aim.  Quiet dignity after the event, but not during the event should be the mantra.  Adeyemi didn’t remain quiet during the event and for that he above anyone comes out of this with dignity. So maybe it’s time for to look beyond clubs and just do what needs to be done.

From 3-3 to 3-3, 3 things for Paul Dickov to learn from

Like two perfectly formed book ends there was certain symmetry about Oldham’s 3-3 draw with Carlisle United at the weekend.  Not just in the final score, but with another 3-3 draw 46 league games ago.  Both finished 3-3, both saw late, late equalisers from the opposition and perhaps most tellingly both had seen Oldham race into 3-0 leads playing some of their best football of the season.

One thing Oldham manager, ex-Manchester City striker, Paul Dickov will be hoping is that the two results book-end a poor conventional season of results.  In the 46 games between the 3-3 draw with Exeter City at Boundary Park last November, and the 3-3 draw with Carlisle, Dickov oversaw a period of relatively poor results and football littered with defensive errors and goal-less attackers.  This contrasts hugely with what had gone before when Dickovs’ side started last season in such a fashion they were quickly nicknamed Galadickovs, including previously shot-shy midfielder, Dean Furman scoring the Football League goal of the season, also nominated one of the European goals of the season.

In between these two games, Oldham have gone from Galadickovs at the top of League One  earning over 1.7 points per game, scoring 1.4 goals per game to just avoiding relegation at the end of last season and starting this one as the model of mid-table mediocrity (win 2, lose 2, draw 2).  The overall record for the 46 games in between would have Oldham on 51 points from 46 games, possibly (just) enough to stay up in a conventional League One season (though 51 points hasn’t been enough in the past).

So what can we learn from Dickov’s tenure so far...here’s my own 3-3 draw, 3 positives v 3 improvements.

3 For

Scouting and Signing
Dickov and his scouts have proved they can pick a player.  He’s also shown he has a very useful list of contacts currently in some big clubs.  Some good loan signings last season Oumare Tounkare, Aidy White, Jason Lowe, Cedric Evina (turned to permanent) all unknowns who performed very well last season until the lack of quality replacements took there toll on the youngsters .  He’s continued to show the touch this season with the signings of Smith, Diamond, Simpson, Clarke and Kuqi.  All better known, but all have fitted in well to Dickovs system showing he’s certainly done his homework.  His signing failures have been few and far between. 

Football

Some of the football Oldham has played has been the best since Joe Royle’s legends graced Boundary Park.  High tempo, high pressure games built very much in the image of Dickov, but allied to some beautiful passing is the hallmark of Dickovs side at its best.  He admitted early in his tenure that he had been advised from some very experienced heads that 4-4-2 was the best way to get out of League One, and he has stuck fairly rigidly to this.  However, with players such as Chris Taylor, Fillipe Morais and even youngster David Mellor he has the ability to flex the formation during the game.  He’s also not averse to sending the big centre half up front when chasing a goal.

PR

Dickov has brought the polish of a man brought up in the goldfish bowl that the Premier League has become.  He exudes natural enthusiasm, is clear and concise in his interviews and, despite understandably relying on a few clichés and regular phrases, his honesty whilst still backing his players is clear.  So too his willingness to help promote the club, and get the players involved in promotion and PR, all crucial at League One level where a ‘big name’ like Dickov in a town like Oldham can make a real difference.  PR may sound like an insignificant point to raise, but with fans as sceptical as Oldham’s can be, it makes a refreshing change from what has gone before.

3 Against

Half Time / Full Time

Dickov’s playing style was, let’s say, combative.  Ok, scrub that, it was an all-out assault every time he took to the field.  Non-stop from the 1^st minute until the last, which makes one of his sides biggest failings all the more surprising. 

Since he took the reins, Oldham have developed the disturbing habit of regularly conceding goals in the 5 minutes either side of half time and in the last few crucial minutes of games.  Games the side have been in total control of have swung entirely on a goal just before/after half time.  Even more worrying is the sheer number of goals conceded in the second half of games, with around 60% of goals conceded throughout Dickov’s tenure happening in the second period.  For a side that on the surface seems extremely fit, this trend is difficult to explain.  It does point to a certain lack of concentration, but is it something more?  Just what happens in the Oldham dressing room at half time?

Experience

Dickov’s backroom staff should be complemented on the way they have helped create a team that plays the way it does at it’s best.  Former Leicester City and Bolton centre back Gerry Taggart as Dickov’s assistant brings the defensive experience to complement the striking experience of the manager, and they obviously get on extremely well.  However, what does strike many Oldham fans is the lack of management experience in the coaching team.  Certainly Dickov has admitted himself on more than one occasion that he has got substitutions and tactical changes wrong.

Perhaps some experience around the coaching team, maybe even a Joe Royle type figure would aid Dickovs development.  I’m not advocating a change to the coaching staff, merely the addition of some experience, even just in the form of an advisor which could enhance the team.  Almost in the same vain that the likes of Brian Horton, Lennie Lawrence and Gerry Francis have aided the managers they’ve worked with.  A strong man like Paul Dickov will do things his way, and quite rightly, but adding that experienced voice may just make that crucial difference at key times. 

Set Pieces

Set pieces play such a key part in any game both offensively and defensively that there isn’t a single manager worth his salt that doesn’t put the training hours into perfecting them.  Dickov is no exception.  However, Oldham have suffered almost the perfect ‘negative’ storm over the Dickovs tenure, regularly conceding from set pieces and never scoring from them themselves.

It isn’t an area that Dickov and his team aren’t aware of, and is regularly mentioned by Gerry Taggart in his musings, but still the problem persists.  Certainly this specific problem was a consideration in some of the pre-season signings this summer with height and experience brought in.  However, set pieces are all about concentration and ‘switching on’ quicker than the opposition (see the earlier section on Half Time/Full Time).  It is getting this right that can make a massive difference for Paul Dickov’s side.

3-3

I’ve been hugely impressed with the way Paul Dickov has gone about the job over the past season.  His command of the role and the way he has the side playing has been a joy to watch at times, particularly after many years of stagnation in League One.  As an Oldham fan I’m hoping Paul can stick around for a few more years yet and finally give this old club a reason to smile once again.

A Blueprint For the Future; Oldham Athletic and Business

A couple of years ago I approached the directors at Oldham Athletic, my club, to offer my marketing and sales skills particularly in the form of putting a strategic approach to improving the marketing of the club together.
Fair play to them they listened, had a meeting, and I heard no more - though as you may spot a few activities may just have been acted on.  In any case I thought I'd share with you the outline I gave them that day...

A Blueprint for the Future of Oldham Athletic; Marketing the Club


Undoubtedly, on-field performance has the biggest impact on every aspect of the club. However, the development of a clear, strong and imaginative marketing strategy is vital in lessening the reliance on such an uncontrollable element and reinvigorating the marketing of the club.

Vital to moving the strategy forward would be the internal audience being completely on board. If not, this will ensure that the project is doomed to fail.

Challenges – Where we are?

In many ways the club has reached a key point in all areas from the management and squad to the stadium. There is a curious contrasting feeling within a proportion of the supporter base between cautious excitement at the progress that has been made particularly over the past 3 years and a growing apathy at a perceived lack of success and ‘settling’ for what exists.

Taking the general points from recent debates within the fan base, there is a feeling that marketing initiatives have rather ground to a halt, and the club could be doing more to promote the club in the town. There is also a lack of regular contact with the core supporters. Yet, there is also an understanding that many previous initiatives have been extremely generous and the lack of their success is probably contributing to the current situation.

It is against this backdrop that the key challenges appear to be:

• To increase and maintain the average attendances

• To raise the profile of the club within the wider community/town/area and associated business community

• To create a buzz within the supporter base about the club

• To increase the communication with key ‘customers’.

The club already has a number of elements in its favour:

• A loyal core support

• Good routes of communication

• A product that has a generally widespread appeal

• Wide potential base for idea generation

• Teamcard and Ticketmaster systems demonstrate an willingness to embrace new technology

What is clear from a small amount of research is that there is a clear need to ‘do something’. However, a balance must be struck between the pressure from fans for short-term rewards and the business need to create long-term, sustainable results.

What is possible?

Over the past decade, a number of football league clubs have recognised the changing nature of football fans. The fans are increasingly becoming more fickle and they expect more from their clubs and rightly so. Clubs such as Norwich City, Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic have all created long-term strategies aimed at creating sustainable off-field activities, all with good results. They have all underpinned these strategies with a CRM system which places data at the heart of decision making. This has to be the way forward for a club such as Oldham that needs to make cost-effective and targeted decisions/offers.

The key for any marketing initiatives in a service/entertainment industry is to generate immediate results, within a clearly defined longer term aim. For example, a £2 entry game can be underpinned by a data collection exercise which would then provide additional targets for later marketing activity including season ticket offers.

This is an example where an innovative and extremely generous initiative could have been enhanced with a more controlled long-term approach. Any initiative must be designed along the following steps:

1. Clear start and end

2. Value offering

3. Common purpose

4. Targeted

5. Measured and tested

6. Clear Steps

By setting out a clear strategy in how the club will move forward with its sales and marketing approach it will become easier to develop and assess new ideas/outlets as they inevitably occur.

Every business benefits most from marketing initiatives that are developed from a clear understanding of both their customers and non/potential customers.

Taking a Strategic Approach

What is a strategic approach:

1. Attract leads

2. Convert leads to first sale

3. Know our customers

4. Increase the value per sale

5. Create flow-on effect

6. Increase margins

7. Reputation / Brand

The key to any strategy is results.



Recommendations – What would a blank canvas approach look like?

A Strategic Approach – Overall Steps

1. Research exercise, including set up of key focus groups

2. Development of key strategy points

3. Feedback from focus groups on the strategic points

4. Develop the marketing strategy

5. Implement

It is clear that the club should work to a strategic plan for its off-field promotional activity. I would suggest that this is developed over a 3-5 year plan, with points included within this for review. The plan would be a long-term approach with various initiatives that place the key/loyal supporters at its centre. The best method to underpin such a strategy would be through a well developed database marketing approach. The club should give very strong thought to developing an efficient database system.

Research Exercise

The basis for the strategy should be a comprehensive consultation exercise with the existing fan base and wider town to both understand the needs and opinions of the existing/potential customers and open up a clear and structured line of communication. The research will have the benefit of:

• Providing input on supporter satisfaction with club facilities

• Understanding the fans’ views about the club and their relationship with it.

• Investigating season-ticket holding and ways of packaging membership to add value and increase uptake.

The research exercise should include the following groups:

• Season-ticket holders

• Fans groups

• Official fans forum

• Local businesses

• Non-Season ticket holders

• Non fans in the local area

• Non attending fans in the local area

A sample questionnaire is included at the end of this report.

Latics have excellent communication lines with fans through the website, OWTB forum and fans groups (Trust Oldham, OASA etc). However, the consultation must go further to encompass season ticket holders, regular and irregular attendees and former and non attendees. Targeted consultations can also be held with key groups such as businesses, community groups and public organisations.

Input would include all aspects of the club from pricing and communication to match day experiences and merchandising.

The questionnaire could be distributed via a number of different media including via the forums, on match days, the club shop/ticket office and even the Oldham Chronicle (perhaps by looking for sponsorship for the feature). By utilising a low-cost, online option such as Survey Monkey it would make it easier to gain the feedback. Some thoughts should be given to incentivising the return of questionnaires.

Key focus groups

To complement the questionnaire, it would be advisable to create a couple of focus groups to further discuss the issues under review. The groups should be split along the lines of season-ticket holders and potential season ticket holders.

Also, it will help to create a focus group of around 12-16 fans that is consulted on all the issues covered on an ongoing basis, for example every quarter. These should be a mix of season ticket holders and non-ticket holders/potential fans.

The research will identify a number of key points with regards to how best the club can develop initiatives that are both welcomed by fans and profitable, along with better informing general strategic approach of the club.

Such a research exercise can be combined with a review of existing customer data to begin the steps in building a database marketing system. The intention of this being to build a long-term picture of each individual that has an interaction with the club. This will allow the development of targeted offers aimed at increasing turnover from within the existing base and encouraging new ticket holders.


Key Targets and Possible Initiative Ideas


Season-Ticket Holders/Regulars/Best Spenders

As this group can be defined in many ways as the ‘most loyal’ supporters, it is a key group to involve in regular communication. As your best brand advocates, they provide a fantastic base with which to feed offers through.

Specific offers could be developed through collection of data, which would otherwise be loss leaders for other groups of fans eg:

• Regular communication both written, and quarterly fans meetings

• Birthday present of a free ticket to bring a friend/pint/pie

• Anniversary of their first season ticket, possibly a reduced price

• Thank you from the squad at the end of the season – email/card/letter

• Preview invitations to see the new kit before it goes on general sale (esp for those who are identified as regular spenders)

• Meet the new signings – again for most loyal especially relevant around pre-season before others get the chance to see them in action

• Golden Ticket – auto entry draw when you purchase a season ticket – get the full cost refunded if you win

• ‘Experience days’ for the loyalist fans, eg joining in training/footballer for the day/vip treatment

• Vouchers to encourage buying behaviour, eg for those who attend every game but don’t buy a pie/programme/spend in shop

• Vouchers as per Burnley FC promotion – especially relevant this season with the December schedule

• Joint offers with local businesses, eg we’re loyal to local business too

• Keep the other half happy, eg money off a bunch of flowers/bottle of wine/restaurant offer


Young Fans/Colleges/Schools

As the supporter of the future, they are a key target group for any long-term strategy. Latics have a great track record of servicing the younger fan base, in which Chaddy the Owl has become a major part. More could be done to build the special feel of belonging to the various Boundary Blues and Chaddy’s Gang groups. Data collection would also help to move the youngster through from junior tickets through to adult tickets, helping to pave the way for an intermediate ticket. By tracking the ages, intermediate tickets become easier to justify and service without the club suffering from potential ‘abuse’ of the system.

• Boundary Blues/Chaddy’s Gang own website, with forums, games and possibly a 2 games for £5 style offer

• Intermediate tickets covering university and college ages

• Direct promotion activity within colleges and university

• Creating mini-franchises in schools as part of their business training. They sell tickets/merchandise in schools to pupils taking a cut of the profits...running a proper business and promoting games in schools. This would work fantastically well as part of the community scheme.

Local Press/Media

Another key target should be to enhance the links with local media especially the Oldham Chronicle and they key effect that coverage across the sports pages and elsewhere in the title can have in winning over the community. It has felt at times that there is a lack of support from the Chronicle. Certainly it is a growing niggles with some fans that the two Manchester clubs appear to be getting more and more column inches. It is the club that are in a position to be able to make a difference on this.

• A dedicate section within the paper for community news/offers/promote upcoming game – perhaps with a co-sponsor to ensure paper is gaining some advertising revenue

• General shows/comments of support on various local issues/charitable causes


Local Council

The moves to ‘rebrand’ the town and the associated campaigns and investment, offer a huge opportunity for the club to place itself as a key player in helping the process/rebirth of the towns image. The new stadium planning situation could be turned into a positive in terms of a number of ‘open’ communication channels which now exist.

• Suggesting that the rebrand could involve the club – eg

ur Club l ur Town

I am Oldham (various media campaign featuring well know Oldhamers, along with residents eg. Chris Taylor)


Business Community

As business owners it is often difficult to see tangible benefits from general sponsorship activity of sports clubs. By having a good database marketing approach major/match sponsors could be given opportunities to communicate directly with the fan base. For example, an email newsletter sent either before or after the game to the fan base could have a mini-feature on the match sponsor. This immediately gives some more tangible incentive for sponsors.

• Have a presence at existing network events around the town

• Create the clubs own network events. These could differ from the norm by having a different member each week setting out what their business could do for Oldham Athletic. This makes their business more memorable by giving a practical example, creating a better core group. Sponsorship can be gained especially from local banks/solicitors who are very keen on these type of events

• Hold special meetings prior to games with a small drinks meeting prior to attending the game. This would work particularly well prior to evening games when it could be used as an excuse to leave the office early

• Develop a Presidents club/Platinum club (particularly with the new developments in mind). Allow an annual membership and limit numbers

• Targeted promotions to the fan base allow the offering of more cost-effective/higher value sponsorship deals

• A greater involvement with the local chambers/businesslink/enterprise centres –eg. East Lancashire has based their entire enterprise funding around the football clubs of Blackburn, Burnley and Accrington offering cheap office space and various start-up funding for businesses (LEGI funding)

• The new stadium developments could be placed at the centre of much of the activity eg. get in now and it will be cheaper when it is finished

• Use the data collected to identify those fans that are in decision making roles with their employers. Target these with specific hospitality offers and be proactive in meeting with them for their input

• Golf days / experience days

• Presentation evening pre-season for the presentation of squad shirts for shirt/major sponsors (paid event)

• Management in action eg. inviting managers from various businesses on non-match days for workshop/meet with our manager/director on running the club


Other General Suggestions

• Reinvigorate the stadium development excitement. Perhaps create a new website/micro-site showing the plans, updates on the progress, advertising for contractors

• Creating a car-share scheme – especially for those not able to attend/struggle to attend games or away games

• Town Centre shuttle bus prior and post match days – could be combined with...

• Match day promotion crew – in the town centre selling tickets with incentives to attend

• “Relive the Pinch Me Year’s” promotion – bring old memorabilia along to get it signed by old players. Make an event of it with games playing on screens

• Combined tickets/offers/events with other entertainment providers in town – eg his ‘n’ hers tickets for a day at the football and a night at the theatre, local restaurants.

• Football goes to the theatre – a full classic game replayed on a big screen at a local venue


The ideas outlined have been developed to fit within a long-term, sustained marketing approach. Conducting the survey would allow these ideas (and perhaps better ones) to be discussed and evaluated.

The majority of the ideas will require an intelligent database marketing system to gain the best benefit from them. The Teamcard system which the club has recently introduced has been combined with such a system to good effect by clubs such as Norwich and Ipswich.

Approaching your marketing from this long-term view, and gaining a very clear understanding of your supporters will benefit all aspects of the club. It may also go some way to contributing to the feel that the club really is progressing into a club for the 21st Century.


...so there you go. How was it?  I designed a whole questionnaire to be distributed, but that was another thing not acted on.  Football at the lower levels needs to be clever in marketing terms.  Battling against so many powerful and huge marketing machines in not only the Premier League clubs, but the Premier League itself and Sky and the FA who all benefit from massive interest in the Premier League clubs.  However, with some thought and a long-term plan stuck to whatever is happening on the pitch, it is possible to box clever.

Finding a Way

I applied for a job.

It isn't a recoil in horror moment, I promise.  Working on my businesses is still the best decision I've ever made and I'm still doing that, but this is different.

It was for a senior marketing role with my 2nd love Oldham Athletic.  A job I make no qualms about admiting was my 'dream' job 5 years ago.  I even went so far then as applying my cheekyness to arranging a meeting with the then Director of Marketing, Sean Jarvis to discover more from him about how he had made such a position, and how I could get into football marketing.  In a way I wasn't interested in general football marketing, I just had a burning ambition to be involved in my club.

Similarly, I don't mind admiting that my ambitions have changed on that front.  Certainly one of my dream goals is not just to have a marketing job with my club, but own it!  Ok, I'll rephrase that (I'm not that stupid), have a piece of it.  It may seem a silly goal, but for me it frames lots of smaller goals into a very exciting an tangible conclusion.

So why go for this job?  Well one thing I've realised over the past few years is that there are certain key things any business needs whether it is serving customers, providing a service, selling a box or playing football.  These are:

• A clear vision filled with positivity
• Clear effective communication with customers and staff (placing their needs at the heart of decision making)
• Innovative thinking
• Persistence

All seemingly simple things and so often missing or muddled.  And that it is a lack of those that I've noticed at Oldham since the owners known as TTA (The Three Amigos) came face to face with the stark reality of life at Oldham Athletic.  Over the last few years there has been a steady decline from within the club and that doesn't just apply on the pitch.  I should at this point point out that I have a great deal of admiration for TTA and indeed some of the staff within the club for what they have done and there has been plenty especially in terms of financial support.  They deserved more for the efforts they put in. But there is no doubting that so much concentration has been on 'old' methods of selling the club.

And that is where I can see so many possibilities.  As you all know I'm definately in the 'glass half full camp' and although you can't suddenly fill a stadium with clever marketing ideas (we are a cynical bunch us football fans when it comes to our own club), you can put the structure in place so that when the day comes when the on-field product flourishes, you are ready to maximise the off-field opportunities.  After all the success or failure on the pitch is fundamentally they key to any off-field successes.

Oh how I'd love to get into the club and just seeing what could be achieved.  After all for anyone out there willing to give it some investment the picture in many ways is quite an interesting one.  Certainly in terms of divisions the club could go lower.  But in terms of crowds in my opinion we're now pretty close to the bottom.  As the economy still struggles to recover, outside of the Premier Greed there is an increasing supply of out of work footballers, which will make lower wages a reality in the lower divisions eventually.  This again brings costs down.  Financially the club is fairly stable and certainly in no danger having cut its cloth accordingly over the past few years. In Paul Dickov, Oldham Athletic have a young, ambitious manager keen to mould a squad of young, hungry and talented individuals into a winning team.  A new stadium could be on the way, and there is an owner who wants to sell.  All these add up to a tasty looking investment for someone with deeper pockets than me.

So I applied to get in through that class door, it wasn't to go back to working life, it was to try and inject a little of the entrepreneurial spirit into a business that means so much to me.  A business that I want to see thriving even if that doesn't always translate to trophys and promotions.  A business that I want others to feel the way I do now 100 years in the future.

I didn't get it!  But that's ok, because the way I see it, it could be me making that decision in a few years time.