Allison Barber
===

Vince: [00:00:00] So are we, are we gonna get back into the makeup scene or not? 

Joe: I mean, we 

Vince: can I have it in the back? Yeah. No, I think we're good. Okay. You do look a little shiny. It's really the morning I took it. I mean, tough crowd. You're 

Allison: glowing. It's a nice way to start the day. There we go. Thank you. You're welcome. That, 

Vince: uh, like the morning dew kiss.

Wow. All right, well, we'll break out the makeup next time. Actually, your husband has an interesting story too. We'll talk. We have to talk about that later. 

Allison: All right. 

Vince: Um, about makeup? No, not about, well, I guess we wanna 

Joe: get into makeup. We can, but, um, well, I wanna know about the, your, you mentioned your husband in Santa, so he does private events as a, as a retired well post working career, new career Santa, uh, fandom that he's found.

So he does. Sullivan's the, the train there on Keystone, I think is where they do that. But you said also for charitable purposes. 

Allison: Charitable purposes, yeah. He, [00:01:00] years ago when he was in the Army, they had a Christmas party and they needed somebody to play Santa. So my husband, who was a speech major in college, did it and found great joy and it's this great, you know, trade off to being an attorney, to have a space where you can just bring joy to people.

And he loved, loved it. And so when he. Stepped away from his full-time career. He became a professional Santa Claus and has done several venues around our city and state, and most recently did a fund. December did a fundraiser for a young girl in Lafayette that needed to raise money for a service dog. So he went up and made an event happen for her, and in a matter of a few weeks, raised $20,000.

I see through Santa's, you know, workshop that helped her get her dog. 

Joe: So does is it, uh, like real? Beard, Santa esque beard? Or does does he have the, uh, fake costume beard? 

Allison: Uh, you know, I'm not sure I can disclose all of the secrets, but he's a legitimate Santa. 

Joe: Gotcha. Now, is it all year [00:02:00] round or is he like, Hey, it's come, season's coming.

I gotta start growing it out and, and getting character? 

Allison: He's a seasonal Santa. Gotcha. Okay. Yes. If you walked in the room, you wouldn't say, oh my word, Chris Cringles and Indie. 

Joe: Gotcha. Is that his decision or is that, 

Vince: or did he provide some guidance on that? No, no. His 

Allison: decision. Gotcha. 

Vince: We may have a gig for him then this coming, uh, winter.

Um, the Heroes Foundation has a, uh, pediatric aspect called Team Joey Mm-Hmm. Where we take, um, one of the pieces of team Joey's taking Legos into pediatric oncology patients, uh, at the hospital. So we may have to connect and make that happen. 

Allison: He's a, he's a great Santa. He sounds good. Brings the best out of everyone, so it is good.

Absolutely. I'm trying to encourage him to do Summer, summer, Santa, and do hospital visits in a. Right in his summer, Santa July. That's right. Yeah. Why not? Everybody needs a little happiness. I agree. Absolutely.[00:03:00] 

Vince: Hey guys. Welcome back to another episode of the Industrious Podcast. We thank you all for joining us from wherever you get your podcast or if you're joining us on the access of YouTube channel. Thank you for tuning in. If you are on the YouTube channel, you haven't hit the subscribe button now. It would be a great time to do so.

Hit that little notification bill icon so you can be alerted with new episodes like this. Very one drop. That would be great. Won't cost you a dime. You don't even have to dress up as Santa if you don't want to. But Santa and the rest of the folks at North Pole would be much appreciative. Yeah, we are a Santa approved podcast.

That's right. Alright guys, we have a special guest today, Dr. Allison Barber, who is the president and COO of R, [00:04:00] Indiana Fever. Dr. Barber, welcome to the Industrialist Podcast. 

Allison: Thank you. Glad to be here. 

Vince: Likewise. Um. Appreciate the pin. It's game day. Excited. 

Allison: I am excited. Yeah. I'm excited on several fronts. You know, the fever have been in a, you know, we've had a few years of putting together a new strategic plan both in the front office and in the locker room, and, you know, we're watching these pieces come together.

Is it, it's just thrilling and our fans are responding. They're excited, the partners are energized and so it we're on track. For the plan that we've been working for three years, which is good from a business standpoint. Sure. But then it's really fun. Right? 

Vince: Well, there's no question. There's a lot of buzz going on.

Um, we'll get into that, but let's take a step back in time first. Um, why don't you educate our listeners and viewers a little bit on your background, where you're from and, and we will get into some of the pieces of what's gotten you to where you are today because your background. Might be as varied as anybody I've [00:05:00] ever read.

And it's, I find it incredibly interesting. So let's, uh, let's start at the beginning. 

Allison: I've had a great journey. I started off in northwest Indiana as a school teacher up in Merrillville, first grade, second grade, and sixth grade. Okay. My husband was a practicing attorney, Notre Dame alum. The first golf war broke out in the nineties, and my husband wanted to serve the country, so we both quit our jobs and he joined the army as a lawyer, which then took us to New Jersey.

And then I started a new career pursuit and. Have had just great opportunities. Worked for the American Red Cross in Washington, DC and public relations and marketing, and then became the president of the ad agency. Then started my own PR business consulting public relations, and was selected by the Bush administration to, uh, be a communicator at the Pentagon, and spent seven years at the Pentagon and nearly a year at the White House doing community engagement projects for the military.

How do you keep the American people connected to our troops and their families? Yeah. How do you support that community in the best way [00:06:00] possible is the, you know, really the greatest Americans we have are those who serve, in my opinion. Okay. And then moved over to the White House to open up a new division of strategic communication.

That job took me to Iraq and around the world to really help connect the mission of America to the media and communicators, and so that was fascinating. From there, I became an adjunct professor at Georgetown, and then we decided to move home. At that time, governor Daniels at the time wanted to start WGU Indiana.

Mm-hmm. Our state's online university and offered me the chance to be the first chancellor to start that organization. And that was really a wonderful experience. Got to get to all 92 counties of Indiana and meet with people to help them find a new path through education to really upskill their opportunity.

And WGU was just a wonderful opportunity, uh, to make an impact, I think, in our city and state. Then on a Friday I got a cold call from Pacer Sports Entertainment, asking if I would come over and talk to them about [00:07:00] being the President of the Fever. And I love the game of basketball, you know, my Hoosier, I've played it in my driveway since I was young and thought that might be a great chance to help redefine of a franchise and a brand.

Sure. Doing good things for girls and women. And so I've been there for now my, this is my sixth season, so, okay. Eighth career. Um, and it's just everything is built on. Each previous job and opportunity. There's no straight path. You know, I have a friend here, Luke Gehrig, and he and I have the same joke when people say, oh man, I'd love to work in the White House someday.

How do I get a job in the White House? The answer is be a school teacher. 'cause he also worked in the Reagan White House and he was a sixth grade teacher. 

Vince: Okay. 

Allison: And you know, people who have that aspiration to work in a high in at the White House, rarely also wanna be a school teacher. But that's the path that worked for both of us and we're grateful.

Vince: Yeah. So you, that was a, that was a CliffNotes version because there's a lot of stories in there, but you know, we only have so much time. Um, a couple things I do want to hit on. So you answered one of my questions, which was [00:08:00] the commonality with all those was the, uh, marketing, pr, strategic communications piece.

That's what kind of led to each wall in, correct? Yes. Okay. Yes. 

Allison: Brand building. 

Vince: Yeah. I, I have to imagine that. Starting out as a teacher, you did not see yourself in the Department of Defense. Correct. Um, and, and I'm sure that probably goes for, for most, and I sure saw 

Allison: Sure. Didn't see myself in a war zone.

Well, 

Vince: right. So that was 

Allison: a, the one piece, 

Vince: although could 

Joe: argue the sixth grade classroom on 

Allison: Sunday based fair, maybe I was more equipped 

Vince: than 

Allison: I knew. 

Vince: Um, there was an article, I think it was an Indianapolis Star a year or two ago perhaps, uh, that talked about, uh, you found yourself headed to Iraq. You guys were staying in one of, uh, Saddam Hussein's old palaces.

Mm-Hmm. Uh, share that if you would. 

Allison: Well, you know, when I got to Iraq, I, my flight got in early and I landed into Baghdad. So the officer who was supposed to meet me there didn't know my flight had arrived [00:09:00] early. And you fly in and it's, you know, you fly to Kuwait and then you get into a military plane and you fly into Iraq.

The landing into Iraq, they tell you ahead of time, like you're probably gonna get sick. 'cause we do a corkscrew landing into Iraq, which means you fly in over your landing zone and then you do a nose dive on purpose and then your plane rolls to the right and then it centers, then it rolls to the left.

So think about a corkscrew and this is how you then land on the ground. Sounds awesome. It was, and I said, you know, cer out of naivety. I'm sure. I said, well, why do we do a corks GR landing? The officer said, well, it makes it harder for them to shoot us. Yeah. And there, so there were several moments where you're just thinking this, how is this my reality of, you know, a school teacher who's now doing a corkscrew landing?

Yeah. So I get into Baghdad early, there's a city bus that says Green Zone, and my office was in Saddam's Palace. So I jump on the city bus and I get into the green zone. I walk into the office space and I see the colonel who was uh, originally [00:10:00] gonna meet me at the airport. I walked in and I said, um, you know, Allison Barber?

And he said, ma'am, how'd you get here? I said, oh, I took the bus that said Green Zone. He said, you took the suicide bus. I said, well, I did not know that's what you called that bus, but that's the bus I took. It said Green Zone when I got on it. And so all of a sudden you're just in this new world of uh, something very different.

And so, uh, but it was, what was interesting was my second day there, I went up on the top of the palace where we were working and it was so. Poignant to me that when you looked across Baghdad, you saw all of the statues for Saddam. And it made me think about when you would go in Washington, DC to the top of something and all of the statues represent freedom.

Um, and it, it was so very different just being, you know, on the front lines with the Iraqi people who were anxious for a new government and politics aside, they're, they're humans that wanted Right. Something new and different and. [00:11:00] Meeting them and working with them was really inspiring. And then to be, you know, side by side with our military members that volunteer to serve and do their best work, it's, um, it was just a, a job of a lifetime in that it had meaning and impact and a ability to support people that are doing really good work for all of us.

Vince: Right. Well, kudos to your husband for making that leap and, and deciding to join the military. Um, I can't imagine there's many. University of Notre Dame law student or law graduates who then decided to go into the military, 

Allison: it was a little out of order. A lot of people go to the military and then they pay for your law school.

But when, you know what, when you're passionate, it's prob, it's not different than any of us. Mm-Hmm. If you've got a passion and desire, you do, you follow that? And you know, he served 21 years in the army and really proud of that service and we've. Met wonderful people to include Eunice, who we met in Fishers on Memorial Day.

She's 102 and a half years old and served in the Navy in World War ii. 

Joe: Wow. 

Allison: So that's some of the [00:12:00] brand rub of being in the military community is really the other people you get to meet that are just patriots, you know? Yeah. It's great. Cool. 

Joe: So one question I have and, and obviously it went when I was doing the, I think in line with what Vince said when I was kinda doing my research on you, and I thought, okay.

I have a thousand questions because you've had a thousand careers that are all very interesting. It could be their own interview. Um, but one thing within this, so we introduced you as Dr. Barber because you have your PhD. How, I guess, what was your educational path? Obviously undergraduate degree. You're a college athlete if I'm not mistaken.

Yes. Uh, so there's a tie in back, you know, things kinda come full circle. Right. Um, I'm assuming your undergraduate degree had something to do with education. Yes. But then where along the line did you find time to advance your educational path while you were, your career path was sort of exploding and, and moving along?

Allison: I've always have, uh, valued education. My mom's a school teacher. My dad was in construction management at Moody [00:13:00] Bible and suit and ball state. All of our life education has been valued. When I, when I went to college, I didn't know really what I wanted to do, but I knew I, I went to college 'cause I couldn't wait to work.

I've always loved work. I started door to door sales when I was in third grade. Just I love working with no apology, so I thought, what degree could I get that would lead to a specific job? And because I loved education, decided to go into elementary ed, got my bachelor's degree. Not super proud of it. Got my master's degree as a teacher, really.

Mostly to get more income. And where'd you get 

Vince: your master's at? 

Allison: IU. You go. There we go. Uh, so 

Vince: God's country, 

Allison: like, that's right. So I did learn of course a lot through my master's degree, but my motivation was I'm a young, you know, I'm 24 years old, how do I keep advancing? Right? And a master's degree was the path to that.

But then when I went to the Red Cross. My first job at the American Red Cross [00:14:00] was in tissue services, so people can donate organ at the time of death. You can also donate tissue skin long bone. I was in that Department of the Red Cross and realized if I wanted credibility in that job, I should get certified.

So I went to school to become a certified tissue banking specialist, which means I actually worked on a cadaver. I took tests. I had to do all the things to be certified. Which I became. mm-Hmm. So I'm a certified tissue banking specialist. Then at Red Cross, they need somebody to do public relations for tissue services.

And so I thought, well, that fits more my speed and what I like of educating people through communication. So then I went back and got my certification in public relations. So what I did, without really putting together a strategy, I kept teaching myself that education helps build your competencies. And so the.

Tissue banking specialist, public relations specialist. When I got my job at the UM, [00:15:00] WGU, I realized that leadership in higher ed often needed a PhD. So I got my PhD, so sometimes I was, education was following my opportunity, but I still valued it so much that I thought I want to be credible and as educated as possible.

In the career that I'm choosing. So I, it is a path that's a little more difficult when you keep changing industries. A lot of people change jobs, but to change careers means you're always starting from zero and have a lot to learn. That energizes me, but it does take extra effort and education. And so I think if you value it, you find time for it.

Joe: Certainly. Uh, so I guess that leads me to another question. We, we've talked about the diversity and, and variation in, in the, uh, industries that you've worked. But, you know, prerecording, so sort of offline. We also talked a little bit about how, you know, we inter, we have guests on the show that come from different backgrounds, but there's more things we [00:16:00] have in common within our, our work lives than we have different of, of, of your path.

What commonalities have you found across that spectrum? 

Allison: So several. And so let's start with a simple one. And I put. Opportunities into three buckets. And so I look at people that are either move unmovable, they're, you know, they're moved, they're movable or unmovable. So when I was a chancellor of WGU Indiana, we were trying to encourage people working adults to go back and get their degree.

Well, that seems like a good idea for just about everybody. You know, many people in Indiana, it started college, didn't finish for some oftentimes good reasons. Mm-Hmm. Now's your chance. We blanket the state, all 92 counties trying to encourage people to go back and finish their bachelor's or earn their master's degree.

But what I realized is that there were some people that no matter how convincing we were, were never gonna be moved out of their [00:17:00] mindset of, I'm not going back to college. There were some people that were so ready for it. All we had to do was show 'em the way and they were moved and. On their way and needed no assistance.

We had people getting master's degrees in less than a year because it's, you move at your pace at WGU. Mm-Hmm. It's a perfect, perfect education opportunity for working adults. They were gonna happen. The movable middle is where I learned to spend more of my time. People that are on the bubble, maybe they think they should do it, maybe they shouldn't.

That's your where I would spend most of my time. I came into the fever and I looked at Phantom in the same way. There are some people, I have the best fans. That have been fans of the Indiana Fever for 25 years. They are moved, they're unshakeable. They are all in for women's sport, for fever. Terrific. We have some fan, some people who are unmovable, that's just not their space.

And then the movable middle are the people that we wanna engage with to give them this opportunity. [00:18:00] And so when I looked at the three areas, I can put that against every career I've been in. Tissue services. If you're an organ donor, you're probably gonna be a tissue donor. You're, you're moved. If you're in the movable middle, you might not even know about ability to help somebody through death.

Vince: Mm-hmm. 

Allison: That's a good person to educate. And then there's some people that just aren't gonna be interested in it. So time is limited marketing dollars, PR money. Mm-Hmm. All those things are limited. The best thing I figured out at a very, very early stage in my career is how to divide my efforts and energy.

Double down. Always take care of your moved clients, customers, fans always take care of them and then spends the rest of your time and the energy on the movable middle to turn them into moved. 

Joe: That, that reminds me a little, uh, I think it was Phil Knight had this saying, I don't recall the verbatim. It was basically energy takers and energy makers.

The energy takers are the one that are going to take the energy away from you with no return. That reminds me of [00:19:00] people that are not movable. Yes. And it's okay. There are certain people that when we talk about this, there are potential customers out there that we have that will never buy from us. Right.

For whatever reason. And that's okay. Just let 'em be, let's focus our energy and our time and our investment. Both, both, you know, human capital and financial capital on the, the ones that are easy to move and the ones that have the potential to move, which to me would be the energy makers, because you're gonna invest your energy in them, but they're going to.

Give back, which is sort of, you know, sort of recharges that, that energy, that juice that you can put into it. 

Allison: What's hard though is people who are in business are super competitive. 

Joe: True. 

Allison: And when you have a product, you're really loyal to your product. And so you want people to, you want, there's that element, right?

Yeah. It's like, what do you mean you don't like my product? What do you mean you don't like my Yeah, I'm gonna show you. Yeah. Like, come on, I wanna win. That's what makes us successful as humans. Yeah. Is this competitive nature. So it's really a matter of that discipline to say, I'm willing to accept there's a [00:20:00] portion of people who won't buy my product, come to my game, and, and I'm not gonna consider that as a loss.

I'm gonna look at that as a strategic advantage that now I'm investing in places that will yield a better return. 

Joe: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Strategic advantage is having the, the ability to see it without. That blind spot coming in on you and I, that was a question I wanted to touch on really quickly. 

Vince: Um, 

Joe: well, 

Vince: real quick before you go there, one question.

Do you find that that middle group tends to be the largest or does it very, 

Allison: I think it depends on the, I think it, it's the largest opportunity. I don't know about the subset in the size necessarily, but I feel that that is the largest opportunity for sure. Okay. Do you. 

Vince: I agree with the opportunity.

Largest opportunity. I was just curious from a, from an actual number standpoint, does it, does that group tend to be the largest Mm-Hmm. In quantity? 

Allison: Probably because they haven't moved into the moved, [00:21:00] right. Yeah. 

Vince: We, uh, preseason fever game, we did sit next to a lady who would definitely be in your, um, committed, confirmed group that whether you're 25 and oh or oh and 25.

She's there. Yes. She hasn't wavered. Yes. Um, so that's awesome. The passion was, uh, and she was sharing it with everyone around her isn't show you in a, in a good way. 

Joe: Um, one question I had, when you entered the realm of sports entertainment, what was the, you know, you bringing all this background, uh, which we've, we've touched on.

What was the biggest surprise that you found over the last five, six years of. The sports entertainment industry specifically that you, that you weren't expecting? You know, I, you, you, something, you, you, you know, you're exposed to something. I, you know, 

Allison: I didn't expect that the win-loss record would permeate the company in the same [00:22:00] way.

So all of my other careers, the front office, all the work you did, you, you worked hard at it, and the harder you worked, the better your outcomes were. In sports, you can work, you know, you can work every day diligently and successfully. And your company, your business is still re you know, reviewed on your win-loss record.

And that's different. And so sometimes the harder you work, you know, my job is not to put the ball through the hoop, but what people look at in sports is, did you put the ball through the hoop? 

Joe: Right? 

Allison: And so that was interesting for me to reset my mindset around. What does success look like incrementally in all of these areas?

And as we build all these areas, as the team is improving, we'll be ready for the moment that we're incorrect right now. But that, uh, that was new for me. 

Joe: Yeah, there's, I don't, I don't know how to, to paraphrase the, the saying of a, [00:23:00] a business model in professional sports that is probably has a little bit of truth to it, but also has a lot of fallacy to it.

Of all you have to do to be successful in sports is win. But there's this that is, that is the most, like, you know, maybe a little truth, but a lot of fallacy because there's so much behind that that goes into that world, 

Allison: right? And well, and when I got this job, I said, boy, I'm gonna work hard to get fans in all 92 counties and build and, and some people who are not necessarily in my company, but just people who are more in sports than I've been said, well, when you win you'll have fans.

And I said, well, I kinda disagree with that because I'm a Cubs fan. 

Joe: I was about, say, what about the Cubs? 

Allison: I mean. And what I tried to share is what I've learned from my other jobs is that if you can give people something to believe in, they will become loyal. Not everybody, but there's something bigger than your win-loss record.

But, but that's a special group of fandom. So how do you build that group of fandom? You'll, you'll we'll gain incremental fans when you win. [00:24:00] For sure. 'cause people love to win. And that's the business we're in is winning games. You can really encourage people around what we do in the community and how we're developing young girls and kids and the game of basketball.

You can build loyalty and support around that. That transcends the win-loss record. 

Joe: Yeah. You know, I've wondered about that because, you know, the Fever not being a Bria new franchise, but newer in, in, in the scope of, of sports franchises in Indie or, or, or really nationwide. Um. Yeah. It reminds me when we had Pete Ward on, uh, a few episodes ago, and when the Colts came in 84, you, you obviously you didn't have Colts fans.

I mean, maybe you had some Colts fans because back in the Johnny United States, but you had Bears fans, you had, you know, Bengals or Browns or St. Louis similar to what baseball is here in Indy. Mm-Hmm. I mean, you've got Cubs fans, reds fans, Cardinals fans. The occasional socks fan, although they don't, generally don't wanna admit it, don't talk to 'em.

Yeah. Although you're being from the region, I would think that, you know, it is supposed to technically the [00:25:00] sames cubs all the way. Um, yeah. But it, it, it, to build a brand, which you've made that comment a few times, which is, is really kind of the role that the specialty that you've taken from job to job.

Mm-Hmm. It, it almost becomes generational. Yeah. Because you've tried to convince folks who have become, have been a fan of a franchise. For decades. How do you get their attention? Maybe they're the unmovable, but then it's, but you've gotta start with those who, it's what they've known all their life. But that's a long-term investment.

Allison: See, and you're exactly right. And the fever at 25 years, which is what we are right now, this season. So that's the research we, we did when I came into this job around where is the future fan and the generational fan is a real thing. I'm a Cubs fan because my grandfather and my great uncle were Cubs fans.

And so it is sports. That is true around sports. And what we realized with the fever is that this is our moment so that the [00:26:00] fans that were coming 20 and 25 years ago, they're now, they're bringing their kids and grandkids. And so we're just now starting to reap the benefit. Of being 25 years old, and I think that bodes well for our future.

Vince: Yeah. I, for, for me personally, it's working in reverse. So instead of, you know, our father being a, a fever fan, and that's just passed down to us, it's actually working from the bottom up. So women's sports and, and sports for girls has grown tremendously. Our daughters who are, have gotten involved in athletics have gotten us to go to games that we might not have gone to otherwise, and.

The product on the floor. So I'm, we both went to IU for undergrad as a men's basketball season, take a holder. And then as the women's team, uh, was doing well and they had been doing well for a while, my daughter's into basketball. Suddenly we started gonna games. They're like, wow. No offense, Mike, but the product on the floor was honestly more exciting than the guys.

Mm-Hmm. And suddenly I'm been buying season tickets for the women's games. Yeah. And it, [00:27:00] that has now, as those players have gotten outta college and gone into the W-E-N-B-A, um, that has permeated into watching the fever. That's great. Um, the product that you got, the things that you have going on now, and we can, we can talk about this after.

Episode, but some of the stuff you have going on now, I think is just giving a feeling of that really resonates with the people in Indianapolis and the people in the Midwest. Yes. Um, and I think that's a, certainly a great building block to build on. 

Allison: Well, the game of basketball resonates here unlike anywhere else.

And then for us to bring in, you know, great talent, both in our veteran class and then our recent rookies, you know, Aaliyah, Boston, Grace Berger from iu, and then to add Kaitlyn Clark to the mix. You know, you, you. From, you know, your business people, you would look at that and say, oh, they're putting the right pieces together as a strategic plan.

Right. You know, that could bore a fan if I got too deep into the strategic planning of a, the rebuilding and the, you know, reinvention of a [00:28:00] franchise. Sure. But that is what we're doing. And so the right pieces at the right time is what matters. Yeah. 

Vince: I it's, it's two pieces, so it's, it's one, you have to have the talent, right?

Yes. Maybe you don't have the talent, you're not gonna win the games, but it's a combination of that with. And, and maybe this is just luck, um, certainly some skill involved getting some of these players who played in the Big 10 that we all in this, this, this market know of and bringing them into the fold as well.

So we have the talent as well as the familiarity and the connections. I. It's like a win-win. Right? And hopefully, of course that translates to more wins too. But 

Allison: Yeah. And that's, you know, don't you find that true in business too? When you have your sales folks out and they get to know people, all of a sudden there's a relationship, a connection, right?

You trust that sales person. You trust that rep because you have a connection to them. Yep. And so you feel better about your, the purchase or the brand or the product. It's the same in sports. 

Vince: Yeah. We, we see that with younger sales reps. They don't understand the value of the relationship. They're focused on just selling you that.

Cup of water. Mm-Hmm. [00:29:00] Relationship means everything. 

Allison: Right. 

Vince: Um, and I think going to with, for the fans, going to games, if they have that feeling, they wanna see the product on the floor, they wanna see a win, et cetera, they wanna be entertained. But if they ha they feel like they have a extra connection Yes.

Then that's what's gonna help move them into the bucket that you want to be in. For sure. That's right. Yes. That's awesome. Um, so we're, I'm excited. I, I, I like what you guys are building. Um, I admittedly had not been to very many fever games in the last 20 plus years, but, um, I've now already been to two this season, going to tonight, which predates this episode release, but I'm excited, excited to see what, uh, what we do.

Allison: Well, I think the city has come along. This is what I love about Indianapolis. We do all things well in sport and engagement and community, and so we're thrilled with the partners that have. Come alongside the fever now and And we welcome new fans. We welcome new partners because you have to have, I mean, I think timing matters.

Joe: Sure. 

Allison: And so being the right team for the [00:30:00] position our city and state are in right now, you know, to attract the right fans, that gives us hope for the long-term success of our franchise, which is really what we're built for, right. Do 

Joe: you remember to ask another question? No. I was thinking about how, and, and Santa Claus is a fever fan, so, oh yeah.

What else do you need? 

Allison: Santa Claus came to the draft lottery party and we got the first pick, so I don't know if there was some connection there, just Santa, but, you know, we appreciated 

Joe: Santa's effort. I, I do have a question. Um, going back to the theme of branding and sports, like what's the secret sauce?

For branding and sports entertainment. Like if you could whittle it down to one key thing, it's not it, like we kind of mentioned, it's a lot deeper than just wins. That helps. But what is that the secret sauce there? 

Allison: I think it's two things. It's authenticity and customization. You know, you refer to some of your younger sales reps and that they might not think about relationships in the same [00:31:00] way and you know.

The, one of the best things, the tips they talk about for young people coming outta college today, the best skill you can learn is adaptability because kids who are going into, you know, school right now will apply for jobs that don't exist today. Adaptability, which, which really means how do you customize an experience for the fan, meet the fan where they are.

So that they're getting out of that experience, what they wanna get out of it. So we have families who bring young kids and we're painting faces. We have a DJ that plays music I've never heard of, but that, you know, it relates to someone else, the next 

Vince: three of us, 

Allison: right? Yeah. Uniforms. When our, uh, stranger Thing uniform came out a few years ago with Nike, our logo was upside down on the uniform.

And I said, I just, that does not sit well with me. The logo's upside down. And they said, oh no, it's connected to the show. Stranger Things, and. I said, I just, you know, I just don't like it. But when, once you've done as much in the workplace as I've done, you, hopefully you also learn sometimes your opinion's not the [00:32:00] right opinion.

Yeah. So you let other people make the decision that uniform is the bestselling uniform in the history of the WNBA. So, you know, you, you have to meet people where they are, listen to advisors, but you then you have to be authentic. And that I, I think that's true for every industry, every business, but sports fans, if you're.

Authentic with them, then they're gonna ride the wave with you. The ups and the downs and the, you know, some people who are in sports are, they'll give you all the right talking points and just every, you know, every day is sunny and 70. Sports is hard. You know, you're gonna have players that get injured.

You're gonna have players that you try to get in free agency and you didn't get it, but you give it your best effort. It's just like business. You give it your best effort, you have a plan, you work your plan, and you stay authentic. You, you meet your customer or your fans where they are. Interesting. 

Joe: So when your, when your brand is being talked about on sports radio, sports tv, all the things, [00:33:00] especially if there's a tough stretch going on in the win-loss column and the talk generally isn't positive.

Yeah. Is that good because all press is good for, or is that a challenge to overcome? 

Allison: I welcome it all I do, I am old school pr. You know, every story you have is an opportunity for people to think about your brand, to think about your product. But do you, is it always good news? No, but what is always good news to me, that's part of the authenticity.

It's also what makes you relatable. I mean, I, you know, I know people that wanna run and they go out and run a mile and you know, they, it hurts the next day. But they did it. The next day it gets a little easier and the next day a little easier. This is humanness. Mm-Hmm. And so I think sports is such a great representation of our, what we all do every day, just without the spotlight.

You know, people will say, oh my word, I can't believe she missed a layup. And I wanna say, I can't believe you had a typo in your document. Document. Like. These are things, 

Vince: right. 

Allison: So get better. That's, 

Vince: and I hate when I miss a typo, right? Like, how do you miss, miss a typo? Just stop typing documents [00:34:00] as if they're air text, right?

That's my latest mantra. Does that 

Allison: make sense though? You know, it does. Because just this is, we're all on journeys, right? Right. What I, where my heart is sensitive and thoughtful toward my players is their journey is on a court for 40 minutes while everybody's watching them. Mm-hmm. And a missed layup is.

It's really hard and they try not to do it. It happens, but you pick yourself up and keep going. Yeah. Just like we all do in our jobs. But you 

Joe: have a layer that's even more difficult. I mean, your professional sports is a consumer brand. 

Allison: Mm-Hmm. 

Joe: But you don't have people going to work around the water cooler talking about, you know, passionately about the shampoo they use that morning.

As a consumer brand, you 

Allison: don't 

Joe: Well, well, well that, see that? That's I two. Back to the makeup. Yeah. See. But you've got people that, it's a consumer brand that people get wacky about sometimes. Mm-Hmm. Because the fandom, they get very passionate about it. So that's just a whole nother layer to the onion that, that you guys have to deal with for better or worse.

Allison: Yes. And it is, you're right, there are a lot of emotion and energy in [00:35:00] fandom. I welcome that too because you know, the other day I was saying hi to a fan and she was a season ticket, Belinda, she was a season ticket holder for 20 years and her partner passed away and she, or for 25 years and she didn't think she could come back 'cause it was too sad.

Joe: Mm-Hmm. Okay. 

Allison: And my ticket sales team over in the off season, when her partner passed away, my ticket sales team sent her flowers, invited her out to a pacer, did all the things. She came back and told me that story and she said, well, I'm back because of how you, the people cared for me. Yeah. And so that is also good fandom and it is the emotions and the ups and the downs and, you know, she doesn't cut a slack when we're struggling and she wants us to win too.

We all wanna win. But the point is that that connection to people and the emotion is good and it's, you know, energized sometimes and it's. Frustrated, negative and, but it's all part of the package that when you land it, [00:36:00] it comes to a good place. 

Vince: Well, it's relational versus transactional. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I think every industry has its set of Monday morning quarterbacks.

And as we like to say, the easiest job in the world is being a Monday morning quarterback. Yes. Um, and it's just a matter of dealing with 'em and proceeding accordingly. 

Allison: That's right. That's right. But it is part of what makes sports entertaining and attractive to people. Sure. And that's. And it in its own way, it's relatable and gives you something else to think about.

Vince: Right. Question for you? Uh, actually it's a two part question. Number one, um, what, what, what is, to the extent that you can share kind of what's, what's the plan for the fever over the next short term, three to five years, let's say. Mm-Hmm. Um, and then two, what is something about Dr. Allison Barber that we might not know?

Hmm. 

Allison: The plan for the fever is to continue to get better, get into the playoffs, win a championship. So that is in our sights, and we're doing everything we can with the, with the [00:37:00] items we can control. Again, it's a business principle that we all know, you know, what can you control? What can you influence those two circles?

Everything outside of that, you gotta let go. You can't control the player. Controls hurt. Control. It's so true. And so for the things we can control, we're building a pathway to make it into the playoffs and then it, and then compete and win a championship. So we'll bring a second championship back to the city in the matter of the next few years.

That's our plan and that's what we're building for when we're excited about it. Uh, the timing of that is a little bit outside of our control, but Right. But we have to plan for it. And without a plan, you'll never get there. Correct. 

Vince: Yeah. And I think you guys are doing a good job of, of heading down that path for sure.

So tell us something about Dr. Allison Barber that we might not know. 

Allison: Well, when I'm not with you, I'll be picking grape leaves on the side of a road because I'm Assyrian, which is, or nationality. Oh 

Joe: boy. Gosh. [00:38:00] I've had, this is my third straight day that I'll be eating Kibby sandwiches for lunch. I'm just saying.

Allison: Okay. 

Joe: And if I could have some grape stuff, grape leaves, go with them, that'd be amazing. I like to 

Allison: drop some off. We make our own dalma and ass Syrian food, so it's very 

Vince: good. Our father's not here right now because you'd probably never leave. And suddenly we'd be all be eating lunch together. 

Allison: Yes. Isn't that great?

Mm-Hmm. 

Vince: We'll, we'll, we'll book in that one for another time. God, I have moms me some tabouli for us. 

Allison: So if you see me on the side of the road, I don't have a flat tire. I'm looking for great leaves. Great leaves. Okay. 

Vince: I hadn't heard that one. I did not know about, uh, the, the ethnic background. We, we share something very similar.

Our paternal grandparents are from Lebanon. Okay. So we've been eating Middle Eastern foods since we were born. Yeah. Yes. 

Allison: It's a great, you know, it's a great story, isn't it? My great grandparents were immigrants, okay. Came to Gary, Indiana for jobs. Yep. I just, I never lose sight of that. It's the best American story, right, that we tell.

And I'm sitting here as a president of a sports team, a female president of sports team. [00:39:00] And my, you know, great-grandfather worked in the steel mills and all of those things connect and the, and the commonality of that trait is hard work. And hard work leads to good things. 

Vince: Yeah. You just, Joe mentioned that, um, it might have been, I can't remember if that was that Gabe Connell episode or a recent episode we were talking about.

I think it was 'cause he was talking about his father's background. We were talking about how, um, is that immigrant entrepreneurial mentality. Yeah, 

Allison: it's there for the taking. It's hard. I mean, my hat goes off to all of our family members and people who still keep coming Someday. I'd love to do a campaign for our country called They're still coming.com.

People still want to be in this country and it's so fraught with, you know, the political rhetoric and the difficulties and it's not without its challenges, but at the end of the day, this is a country where people still wanna come and I love that. 

Joe: Yeah. And those people wanna work. 

Allison: Yes. 

Joe: You [00:40:00] just, you just hit the nail that it is there for the taking.

Mm-Hmm. If you're willing to go earn it, you, you can get it. Yes. 

Vince: Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for your time this morning. We really appreciate you coming in. 

Allison: Thank you. We'll see you at the game. 

Vince: Likewise. That'd be great. And thank all of you guys for just checking out this episode of The Industrious Podcast from whether we get your podcast, if you're tuning on Theesa YouTube channel.

Thank you for doing so. We greatly appreciate it. Don't forget, follow the Indiana Fever. They're a team to watch guarantee. You'll be excited and entertained. Um, and above all, don't forget, be industrious.