When I arrived in Houston (May 2002) the Texans had just participated in their first NFL draft. The business office was downtown, the football office was a few blocks from our future home at Reliant Stadium, which was still a construction zone. The teams locker room and meeting rooms were in the rat infested Astrodome!

As a member of the two person operations team for a brand new NFL franchise in a brand new stadium, it was up to me to help develop and write the day to day operations manual for the team. At the beginning there was more we didn’t know than we did, so it was imperative that we learned quickly, developed a plan and then worked the plan around unanticipated issues. The clock never stops in the NFL so as we made our way from one part of the NFL calendar to the next we were careful to memorialize what we had just completed and how we could improve it for future years. While at the same time, working to anticipate what was coming up in the next portion of the calendar. Seeing around corners is one of the most important abilities to develop and as time went on the things we could see expanded and the issues we faced became smaller and more manageable.

I’m proud to have been on the ground floor of an NFL expansion franchise where I was able to learn a tremendous amount but also to have a voice in how the Texans continue to operate 20 years later.

In stark contrast, joining the Lions at a time they were preparing for their 75th NFL season was equally as challenging. As an established franchise, there were ways of operating that did not and would not change. It was a special place to work because there were staff with 30 plus years with the Lions. While I came with new ideas, it was challenging to effect the status quo and thus, I learned a great deal from working with an established franchise through some of the most trying times the organization would see in their history. It was with the Lions where I was able to really hone my skills of negotiating, leadership, managing people, and attention to detail for matters small and large.