You don’t judge the seaworthiness of a ship in calm waters; rather, the true test is how she weathers the storms. Similarly, a more telling measure of business leaders is not how they work in good times, but how they work through trying times. For Greg Jamison, these are trying times.

The president, CEO, and part owner of the San Jose Sharks National Hockey League team (as well as its related businesses) has a quarter-century of pro sports management experience in both the National Basketball Association and the NHL. However, this past off-season has proved exceptionally gut-wrenching with team owners and the players’ union locking horns in a labor dispute. At press time, the NHL had initiated a lockout and hockey cognoscenti were questioning whether the puck — or the curtain — would drop on the 2004-2005 season.

Sitting in his office inside the "Shark Tank," officially the HP Pavilion, Jamison, a member of the Silicon Valley Capital Club in San Jose, California, shared his insights about finding balance at work and at home, creating an environment for people to succeed, and why he couldn’t cut it as a pro hockey player.

Professional athletes often are revered and referred to as "heroes." Who were your heroes growing up?
My dad was one of my heroes. He was in social work, he taught at the university level, he was a minister. He did a number of different things that kept taking him to various places, and we’d end up moving. I went to eight different grade schools, two junior highs, and three high schools.

My sports hero was Bobby Richardson, the second baseman for the New York Yankees. One summer, when I was with the Indiana Pacers, I walked up to a man at a golf tournament and said, "When I was 10 years old, you hit a home run that broke my heart." It was Bill Mazeroski, who hit the famous home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat my Yankees in the 1960 World Series.

As a boy, do you remember anything you wanted to be when you grew up?
I became fixated on being a teacher. I graduated from college with a degree in education and taught fifth and sixth grades for the first five years of my working career.

Do you recall any definitive experiences that you look back on now as turning points that set you on this path versus another path?
I got my master’s in education, became a teacher, and was going to be a principal, which is a wonderful career. Then a college friend came through town and we started talking about his work with Athletes in Action, which is part of Campus Crusade for Christ. And I thought that sounded neat, so my wife and I moved out to California in 1978.

That was the big turning point. Then after 2-1⁄2 years, I felt compelled to go a different direction. While working for Athletes in Action, I’d met a man named Don Carter who was starting an expansion NBA team in Dallas called the Mavericks, and in 1980 I went to work with him.

You were with Dallas from its inception. What was your first job title?
Director of marketing and advertising. I’ll never forget one phone call I made trying to sell a guy season tickets. He said, "Son, there are two sports in Texas: football and spring football, and don’t ever forget it."

The Mavericks got progressively better every year while you were there.
I can’t take credit for what happened on the court, but in the stands we averaged 7,800 fans that first year, 9,500 the second, 11,000 the next. Then, in the fourth year, it hit in a big way, the city got behind us, and, for many years, we had sellouts every night — 17,007 every night.

What were your most notable accomplishments with the Dallas Mavericks?
Developing a great staff that worked hard and helped make the team a success. I also helped develop the three-point shot for the NBA.

Really?
As part of the 1986 NBA All-Star Game, we came up with the idea of staging a three-point-shot contest. In that first year, the slam-dunk contest was won by a 5'7" guard named Spud Webb, and the three-point shot was won by a 6'9" forward by the name of Larry Bird — who truly did walk into warm-ups and say, "Which one of you guys is going to take second?"

In 1987 you moved to Indiana.
I was vice president of business operations for the Indiana Pacers. That was a shock. That was a big shock. I went from Dallas, where the Mavericks were the hottest ticket in town, to Indiana, where basketball is religion, but the Pacers just weren’t a big deal. But that is where I watched and learned how a team is drafted and the fruits of the labor come later. Perfect example: The college player of the year in 1987 was a wonderful young man from Indiana University by the name of Steve Alford. The Pacers got a tremendous amount of grief for not drafting Steve Alford and, instead, taking a player out of UCLA named Reggie Miller — which in hindsight turned out just fine. The thing I learned in Indiana was to stick to your guns, do what is right, and eventually it will pay off.

You came to the San Jose Sharks in 1993. What intrigued you about the opportunity enough to move to hockey from basketball?
The business of sport is still the business of sport, be it hockey or basketball. We’d been in Indiana six years, and our foray in the Midwest was fine, but it was great to come back out West. Opening up a new arena is always fun, too. I came here as executive vice president and COO. Then, in 1996, the president of the team up and quit. I was in Boston at the NHL All-Star Game when our owner at the time, George Gund, asked me, "Would you like to be president?"

To which you replied?
"Let me think about it." (Pause.) "Yes."

In 2001, Gund approached you again, this time about putting together an ownership group to buy the team. Isn’t that fairly unusual, going from management to ownership? The perception of many owners is that of super-rich fans who buy a team and assume power as opposed to experienced professionals who have worked their way up.
Remember, I have a very small piece of this. My role is to run the organization as president and CEO and as a part of the ownership group. It’s probably not as common as someone coming in from the outside, but there are others, like Al Davis, the former coach and now managing general partner of the [National Football League’s] Oakland Raiders, who have moved into ownership from within.

How has your professional experience and success contributed to the success of the Sharks, which last year enjoyed its best season and deepest run in the Stanley Cup playoffs?
I’m glad I worked in two different markets before I came here because I learned a lot in Dallas and in Indiana, most notably the idea of building a team and being patient. At times, you have to make decisions that may not be popular — with the fans, the press, and especially the players — but to build a successful team you always have to do what is best for the organization. I think that holds true in any business.

Hockey is facing a dire labor situation. As this issue goes to press, owners and players have not been able to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement, and as a result many predict this season might be scuttled entirely. Can you tell me what’s going on in terms that I can explain to my hockey fan kids?
First of all, let me say that I am only able to speak to a certain degree. But there are problems that need to be fixed. We have to generate as much revenue as we can, but we also have to address our expenses, including player salaries, which need to work in such a way that the team can be successful both on the ice and also economically.

In your most unbiased opinion, what is the solution that is in the best interest of the game?
One of the best ways is to have player salaries work in conjunction with revenues, so, if teams are successful, then the players can be successful and make more money. But if revenues are down, everybody needs to work together.

You have to understand that it seems like millionaires squabbling with millionaires on how to divvy up what is a pretty sizable pie.
Well, it is, but you’ve got to recognize there are a number of expenses that enter into this and the revenue can only go so far. We went to the Western Conference Finals this year and I still lost money simply because we need to get our expenses in line. Only 16 teams make the playoffs, and only one is going to win the Stanley Cup, so you want to build a team that’s competing for the Cup every year — but you have to build it wisely.

Hockey is the best sport to watch live, but the worst to watch on television. Better TV ratings would obviously drive more revenue. However, you really have to know the sport to follow the action, and the majority of Americans didn’t grow up with hockey and don’t know what to watch for on TV.
There is a consistency that’s required. We have been in San Jose for 13 years, which is really not that long, but eventually we’re going to have kids who grew up going to Sharks games bringing their kids to Sharks games. In Canada, hockey has been there for so long that people are used to watching it on television. That comes with consistency and time. San Jose is a non-traditional hockey market, but the fans get more and more sophisticated every year.

If you were commissioner of the league for a day, what’s the first rule you would change?
Let’s see, what’s the first rule I would change? I would continue what the commissioner is doing to see hockey played with less clutching and obstruction so that our players have a chance to really show their skills in an up-tempo game, which I think fans really like.

I think goalies’ pads are too big.
Well, that’s been considered as a potential change. And you know what, there’s a good chance that’s going to happen.

Why is fighting allowed in hockey? If it happens in the stands, it’s an assault. If it happens on the rink, it’s applauded.
It’s part of the culture of hockey. It’s part of the game. It’s been part of the sport from its inception. Hockey is a rough, tough game. Bodies are going high speed on skates, there are a lot of collisions, and sometimes emotions break out from that. There have been cases when it’s gone over the line, but, for the most part, it seems to clean up other parts of the game wherein players are able to perform at a high level without feeling like they are going to pay a physical price.

So it’s a bit like baseball where, if your pitcher beans my guy, my pitcher plunks your guy?
There’s a lot of that.

In addition to overseeing the Sharks’ hockey operation, you’re also in charge of the HP Pavilion, serve as chairman for the Silicon Valley Football Classic college bowl game, and head up Silicon Valley Sports Entertainment, which has its hand in events from big tennis tournaments to professional lacrosse. When do you sleep?
I don’t feel like I have a job; I have more of a lifestyle. And it’s a lifestyle that I enjoy. I have a great wife who has been a wonderful partner.

What part of your job gives you the greatest satisfaction?
The diversity. Working with different people on a lot of projects in the course of each day.

What part of the job gives you the greatest aggravation?
It’s difficult to assess what gives me the greatest aggravation. At times, it’s being patient so as to let things come along in their due time. It’s not unlike raising children. You make a lot of deposits and, then, when the withdrawals come, you hope you are prepared for those withdrawals. You have to invest, and ideally the fruits of your labor come later on.

If I asked 100 of your employees to describe you as a boss in one word, what word would I hear the most?
That’s a very good question. One word, huh?

One word.
I guess I would say "accessible."

What one quality do you value most in your employees?
Team-oriented.

And what do you do, specifically, as a boss to foster that?
We have two rules around here. The first is to create a positive work environment in which people can work hard. I am not a screamer or a yeller, but I do believe very strongly that we have goals we have to accomplish and we can get there by working together.

The second rule is that managers must eliminate the barriers that are stopping their employees from being successful. What usually happens is good people rise up and fly, while those employees that are not quite so good end up spending a lot of time looking for barriers to hide behind. After a while, the question begs to be asked: What’s the problem, the barrier or the person?

That makes sense in theory, but in the real world there are so many companies where there exists a pervasive fear of protecting your turf.
I don’t say this as rhetoric; I say this because I truly believe it. I have five EVPs who report directly to me, and, to a person, these people are brighter and more creative than I am. That’s a dead-on true statement, OK? And because of that, they not only make me look good, but they help the organization succeed.

Now, as bright, strong employees continue to move up the organizational chart, you are not going to be able to keep every one of them because you don’t always have room. But I would rather have a really good person for a few years than a mediocre person for many years.

Other than your current gig, what’s your dream job?
I guess, if I weren’t doing this, it would be fun to be a president of a small college in a good location.

Not a pro hockey player?
Those guys are truly unbelievable athletes. What they do, at the speed they do it, and on skates, it’s amazing. I have so much respect and admiration for my players, but it’s too tough for me.

Scott Gummer is a senior writer with Golf Magazine. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune. Previous "Interview" stories for Private Clubs include Dan Aykroyd and Mark Woodforde.

GREG JAMISON
Birth date and place: June 15, 1950, in Nampa, Idaho.
Occupation: Owner, president, and chief executive officer, San Jose Sharks/Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment.
Club membership: Silicon Valley Capital Club, San Jose, California.
Residence: San Jose, California.
Family: Wife, Vicki (married 28 years); daughter, Lynna, 25; Son, Spencer, 22.
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho. Master’s degree, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Career highlights: 1972-77, elementary school teacher. 1978-80, Athletes in Action, director of marketing and
advertising. 1980-87, Dallas Mavericks, director of marketing and advertising. 1987-93, Indiana Pacers, vice president of business operations.
Community activities: Past board president, San Jose Cleveland Ballet; past chairman, San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau board; board member for Special Olympics, KTEH public television, and VIA Rehabilitation Services. Also a member of American Leadership Forum Board and Montalvo Board.
Hobbies: Golf, physical fitness, and reading.

CAPITAL IDEAS
Greg Jamison’s Five Keys to Winning

Have a vision
Know where you want to go. You have to know where you are headed before you can decide down which road to lead your troops.

Hire good people
It’s an age-old adage that good people are hard to find, but there is no shortcut or substitute for a thorough interview process.

Foster an environment of success
Create a workplace where everyone knows the goals — and checks their ego at the door. I tell people, "Somebody has to bring the doughnuts," and we all take turns.

Be accountable
I really like the people I work with and I enjoy working with them, but, at the end of each day, we are all responsible for what we need to achieve.

Have the courage to change course
Stay committed to the plan, even if it comes under fire, but remain ready, willing, and able to make modifications when that’s what it takes to achieve the ultimate goal.