GunnerBill Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Okay, rather than derail 2 or 3 threads with it I will start afresh with some points about the supposed hiring of outside 'consultants' to review the football operations of the Buffalo Bills. Before I begin this is not intended to be a criticism of the Pegulas or a debate on their ownership. I am sure they are the right owners for this organisation, this is specific to the issue if the hiring of consultants. I will start with an admission.... I am always a little sceptical of consultants. However, my professional experience leads me to say that used in the correct way with a clear and normally narrow focus they can have a place. I'm just not sure that they are going to add much value in the case of the Buffalo Bills. I accept that the Pegulas do not have any experience of running a successful professional football organisation - which brand new owner does? But if they trust themselves sufficiently to choose the right experienced football people to come in as consultants why don't they trust themselves to choose the right experienced football people to hire to the key positions? My experience of using consultants is that they are best employed to assist in addressing very specific weaknesses or perceived weakness in your organisational approach. So, for example, if you are finding you consistently have cap management issues then you might bring in an experienced guy who has worked with teams who have managed the cap effectively to look at your strategy and make recommendations. Or of your issue is talent evaluation then you might bring in an experienced former GM to look at the structure of your scouting set up and the way in which you are utilising the material your scouts provide you with. However, I cannot see what use a consultant is likely to be looking portmanteau at the Bills' football operations. That brief is so vast that there is unlikely to be any accountability at all to their recommendations. They are a different, independent set of eyes and ears to look at what you are doing but the breadth of what they are looking at means it is hard to pin point the benefit. If they make recommendations about your coaching set up, your athletic trainers, your scouting, and your cap management and you still lose do you just say "oh well the consultant was wrong" and move on? There are too many variables, too many inter dependencies that can't possibly be fully foreseen for those recommendations to significantly increase your chances of practical delivery (ie success on the field). As I see it the consultant(s) just add another layer of largely unaccountable decision making into the process of turning this franchise around. The Pegulas would be much better served identifying the right person to come in as head of football operations and then empowering that person to make the right decisions about his GM and Head Coach and then empowering those people to make the right decisions about what happens beneath them. That is how the organisations that have truly turned things around have done it. I think the Pegulas intentions are in the right place with regards to the consultant idea but the reality is, I think, quite different. If you trust your judgment to find the correct consultants then you should trust it to find the right people to fill those key roles that actually matter on a football team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PearlHowardman Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 The skepticism in your post is 100% valid. There's really no such thing as consultants in the NFL. Consultants in the business world are for the most part completely useless as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Player Available Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 The skepticism in your post is 100% valid. There's really no such thing as consultants in the NFL. Consultants in the business world are for the most part completely useless as well. well then clearly you have no dealings in the business world. Thanks for the laugh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 The skepticism in your post is 100% valid. There's really no such thing as consultants in the NFL. Consultants in the business world are for the most part completely useless as well. Not in my personal career experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share Posted November 23, 2014 In mine they really are a mixed bag, and as I said in the original post I think where they add value is when there is a very specific element of your organisation that you have brought them in to advise on. My experience of consultants is where the scope of their work is too wide the value of what they provide is limited and that is my biggest concern with using them to look at the whole Bills football operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PearlHowardman Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 In my PROFESSIONAL experience, business consultants really don't provide much value. In my PROFESSIONAL experience, business consultants come in help incompetent business owners/management be somewhat less competent - temporarily. Anyhow, the more I think about it, bringing in consultants really pertains to the business operations of the Buffalo Bills. Not the football team per se. It sounds like Pegula might only be interested in the Buffalo Bills as a business enterprise. Buffalo Bills fans are so committed to this team that they fork over their money to the Bills even if the Buffalo Bills record stinks! Sounds like Pegula's "consultant" idea is just focusing on money! P.S. How is Pegula's Buffalo Sabres doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 In my PROFESSIONAL experience, business consultants really don't provide much value. In my PROFESSIONAL experience, business consultants come in help incompetent business owners/management be somewhat less competent - temporarily. Anyhow, the more I think about it, bringing in consultants really pertains to the business operations of the Buffalo Bills. Not the football team per se. It sounds like Pegula might only be interested in the Buffalo Bills as a business enterprise. Buffalo Bills fans are so committed to this team that they fork over their money to the Bills even if the Buffalo Bills record stinks! Sounds like Pegula's "consultant" idea is just focusing on money! P.S. How is are Pegula's Buffalo Sabres doing? FTFY. Pegula's Sabres are on the exact rebuilding path that they set as a strategy to revitalize the team as a perennial championship contender. It's obvious you haven't been paying attention to what they've been doing for the last couple of seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PearlHowardman Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Pegula's Sabres are on the exact rebuilding path that they set as a strategy to revitalize the team as a perennial championship contender. That sounds like something a consultant would say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 That sounds like something a consultant would say. Regardless of what it sounds like, it's exactly what they are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PearlHowardman Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Terry Pegula's Buffalo Sabres are in a two way tie for the WORST record in the NHL. When Pegula bought the Buffalo Sabres did he bring in consultants? Again, it sounds like Pegula is only focusing on the business operations (profits/losses) of the Buffalo Bills. Not the football team itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share Posted November 23, 2014 I might have known this thread would go in this direction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Terry Pegula's Buffalo Sabres are in a two way tie for the WORST record in the NHL. When Pegula bought the Buffalo Sabres did he bring in consultants? Again, it sounds like Pegula is only focusing on the business operations (profits/losses) of the Buffalo Bills. Not the football team itself. Not exactly: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/171979-report-pegulas-looking-to-bring-consultants-for-bills-transition/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wiz Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 FTFY. Pegula's Sabres are on the exact rebuilding path that they set as a strategy to revitalize the team as a perennial championship contender. It's obvious you haven't been paying attention to what they've been doing for the last couple of seasons. They hit a bump in the road last night when they accidentally won a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 They hit a bump in the road last night when they accidentally won a game. They have won three straight and are still dead last in the league. They are going to get worse when they trade several players with expiring contracts at or before the NHL trade deadline. I'm confident that either McDavid or Eichel will be a Sabre next year per the plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 The skepticism in your post is 100% valid. There's really no such thing as consultants in the NFL. Consultants in the business world are for the most part completely useless as well. Comments like the one above are, for the most part, completely useless. I'd be interested in what methodology you used in your very careful study of consultants in the "business world". As has been said above, consultants have their place, but are often misused. Also, in my experience, some consultants are basically con artists. But a good consultant, used properly, can be of great use. Particularly in areas of specific expertise not found in the organization. But strangely enough, I have sometimes found that even crappy consultants, poorly used, can have a short-term positive impact on an organization. If only for the reason they raise the level of focus on a particular issue, and get everyone rowing in the same direction, so to speak. The problem arises when, upon seeing the positive impact, management keeps the consultant for too long and expands their sphere of influence. So the boat goes faster, but often in the wrong direction. For the record, my experience with consultants is, for the most part, limited to broadcasting and the food and beverage industry. I have had consultants thrust upon me, hired consultants, and been a consultant myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubs Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 This is one of those topics that baffles me that people are suspicious about. There are only two reasons that the Pegulas would use a consultant. 1) they understand they have zero experience owning an NFL franchise and will leave no stone unturned to help them make the best decisions. 2) they are simply using it as a PR move Since the Pegulas have a lot of goodwill, imo they should have the benefit of the doubt. Either way, it's not like it will prevent the Pegulas from making timely decisions on big team issues (GM, Littman, Coach, etc...). So the question is, why does it matter to people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wiz Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 They have won three straight and are still dead last in the league. They are going to get worse when they trade several players with expiring contracts at or before the NHL trade deadline. I'm confident that either McDavid or Eichel will be a Sabre next year per the plan. They really don't have many players left worth trading. The Tyler's are probably at the top of the list but I agree. They are either drafting 1st or 2nd (and if they were really lucky, both, but I don't see that happening). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 They really don't have many players left worth trading. The Tyler's are probably at the top of the list but I agree. They are either drafting 1st or 2nd (and if they were really lucky, both, but I don't see that happening). With the Islanders and Blues looking like playoff teams, we can pretty much forget about 1st and 2nd picks. No more derailing the thread by me. We should talk Sabres' 2015 draft here: http://forums.twobil...or-mcdavid-wow/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Again, it sounds like Pegula is only focusing on the business operations (profits/losses) of the Buffalo Bills. Not the football team itself. It's possible that this is the least accurate statement currently written in this forum. Not guaranteed, but very possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted November 23, 2014 Author Share Posted November 23, 2014 (edited) This is one of those topics that baffles me that people are suspicious about. There are only two reasons that the Pegulas would use a consultant. 1) they understand they have zero experience owning an NFL franchise and will leave no stone unturned to help them make the best decisions. 2) they are simply using it as a PR move Since the Pegulas have a lot of goodwill, imo they should have the benefit of the doubt. Either way, it's not like it will prevent the Pegulas from making timely decisions on big team issues (GM, Littman, Coach, etc...). So the question is, why does it matter to people? I'm not suspicious about the Pegulas' intentions - but of the benefits of the approach. Edited November 23, 2014 by GunnerBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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