Business the NHL Way

Lessons from the Fastest Game on Ice

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Pub Date Sep 20 2022 | Archive Date Jan 09 2023

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Description

The National Hockey League is at its apex in terms of its business success. Even a global pandemic could not slow it down. The league generates more than $5 billion annually, its revenues and media deals continue to grow, and its properties are increasing in value, innovation, and quantity. More clubs are profitable than are not, and the game of hockey is expanding globally.

Business the NHL Way draws on hockey-inspired stories to show how brands, institutions, and individuals associated with the NHL have consistently survived a variety of challenges and thrived as a result of its decisions. The book explores twelve business-related scenarios from the sport of hockey and links each lesson back to business, leadership, diversity, management, and sport outcomes.

Using ice hockey as an analogy for life, Norm O’Reilly and Rick Burton – leaders in the business of sports and former amateur hockey players – inform business and industry professionals on best practices to achieve strategic outcomes and career advancement. The book aims to help businesses emerge from the financial and health disruptions of the global COVID-19 pandemic that not only altered the future of hockey but threatened business sustainability in every sector. Business the NHL Way will appeal to both casual and passionate hockey fans, as well as anyone eager to follow in the footsteps of a successful professional sports organization.


Norm O’Reilly is dean of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Maine. He is a regular columnist for Sports Business Journal and the lead researcher on the Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study. He was assistant chef de mission for the Canadian Paralympic Team in 2016 and was a member of the 2004, 2008, and 2010 mission staff for the Canadian Olympic Team. He is minority owner and partner consultant with the Toronto-based agency T1, with clients including Nike, UFC, Pepsi, Nissan, Esso/Exxon, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, and Hockey Canada. He acts as a specialist on legal cases and has sat on the boards of many sport organizations. He has authored or co-authored numerous books, including Sports Business Management: Decision Making around the Globe and 20 Secrets to Success for NCAA Student-Athletes Who Won’t Go Pro

Rick Burton is the David B. Falk Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University and Syracuse’s faculty athletics representative to the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He is a regular columnist for Sports Business Journal and Sportico, and has been a longtime moderator for global sports business conferences. He previously served as the national advertising manager for Miller Lite, vice president of Clarion Performance Properties, chief marketing officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and commissioner of Australia’s National Basketball League. His consultancy Burton Marketing Group has handled international clients for more than twenty years, with clients including the NHL, Visa, FedEx, and Nike. He is co-author of numerous books, including Forever Orange: The Story of Syracuse University, 20 Secrets to Success for NCAA Student-Athletes Who Won’t Go Pro, and Sports Business Unplugged: Leadership Challenges from the World of Sports.

The National Hockey League is at its apex in terms of its business success. Even a global pandemic could not slow it down. The league generates more than $5 billion annually, its revenues and media...


Advance Praise

"I have read many great sports books but never one about how to apply the best of the NHL’s values into running a business or getting promoted. This is a fun read that is also reverential to the game and the traditions of the NHL. It’s a book for hockey lovers who go to work every day and ‘skate’ their shifts." 
Sean McDonough, NHL Play-by-Play Commentator, ESPN

"Hockey is a great metaphor. Both as a game and as a business, it is competitive and fast moving and offers powerful stories and illustrative cases that create learning opportunities for other contexts.’ This is an excellent description of Business the NHL Way. "With a mix of rich storytelling and personal anecdotes, Norm O’Reilly and Rick Burton have vividly captured the essence of what makes hockey such a great game, on and off the ice, and they have applied those principles to business and life. If you love sports and also appreciate how qualities that enable character-building on the ice can apply to developing leadership skills and the preparation for success in business, this is a terrific read."
Susan Cohig, Executive Vice President, NHL Club Business Affairs

"A truly impressive book on the qualities and fundamentals of effective leadership along with anecdotes of managing through crisis while staying focused on your goals. This book is inspiring for business leaders in any field and the lessons throughout should serve as a resource for leading and managing the right way!"
Jim Van Stone, President of Business Operations, Monumental Sports and Entertainment

"Some derive leadership lessons from boardrooms. Others derive leadership lessons from behind the boards and on the ice. Norm O’Reilly and Rick Burton have found a way to do both. Business the NHL way provides anecdotal evidence and colorful storytelling about how the sub-economies around the NHL have massive cultural relevance and provide valued learnings."
Donnovan Bennett, Feature Host, Producer, and Radio Host at Sportsnet

"In Business the NHL Way, Norm O’Reilly and Rick Burton use hockey as the vehicle to teach us about building successful businesses. The authors take us into rinks, locker rooms, and front offices to illustrate the shared strategy of hockey and business, which is, as the great Wayne Gretzky said, ‘...always knowing, always skating, to where the puck is going, not to where it has been.’"Joan Ryan, Author of Intangibles: Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry

"Business the NHL Way is a lively and engrossing romp through hockey history told by a pair of insiders who are not afraid to shake off the gloves. But it’s also a sharp-eyed take on a question that bedevils every successful legacy business: How do we adapt and evolve without abandoning our essential character?"
Sam Walker, Wall Street Journal Leadership Columnist, and Author of The Captain Class

"Business the NHL Way is a fascinating read. Hardcore and casual hockey fans and those interested in the business of sport will enjoy the behind-the-curtains insights that Norm O’Reilly and Rick Burton provide. As someone who grew up playing and loving the game of hockey, I never expected I would be able to spend the bulk of my working career engaged in the business of hockey. Readers will learn about the inner workings of the NHL and better understand what drives decision-making at the club and league level. You will be impressed at the data and details provided. I know I was!"
Cyril Leeder, Former CEO, President and Alternate Governor, Ottawa Senators


"I have read many great sports books but never one about how to apply the best of the NHL’s values into running a business or getting promoted. This is a fun read that is also reverential to the game...


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- International Review Mailing

- International Author Interviews

- Book Launch Tour across North America

- Book Trailer

- Digital Marketing Campaign

- Social Media Campaign

- Conferences

- Journals


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781487508760
PRICE $32.95 (USD)

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