The Biggest Story in the Business of Sports:
New Book from Inside the 30-Year Rise of ESPNʼs Culture and Success

ESPN THE COMPANY:
The Story and Lessons Behind the Most Fanatical Brand In Sports
By Anthony F. Smith with Keith Hollihan

“If you love the business of sports, or the sport of business, you'll love this book.”
Lawrence F. Probst III, Chairman, United States Olympic Committee, Chairman of Electronic Arts

Published in time for ESPNʼs 30th anniversary on September 7, 2009, a new book, ESPN THE COMPANY:
The Story and Lessons Behind the Most Fanatical Brand in Sports (John Wiley & Sons, hardcover,
$24.95), tells for the first time the insider tale of ESPNʼs unlikely rise from a fledgling regional sports network
to a global business empire valued at nearly $30 billion.

ESPN THE COMPANY, written by Anthony F. Smith with Keith Hollihan, chronicles the evolution of the
franchise, drawing on Smithʼs 20 years at ESPN spent counseling, coaching and critiquing company
leadership as they built an unrivaled sports entertainment superstar. The authors detail the hard lessons the
company learned through 30 years of trial and error which now serve as the guiding principles behind the
success of the biggest brand in sports.

As Smith tells it, “Along the way, I saw a wild start-up become an industry threat and finally the industry
leader. I got involved with ESPN at a crux moment, when the company was scrambling with the transition to achieve the scale and capabilities of its future self…. What Iʼve learned firsthand at ESPN about growing a great company Iʼve written down in this book.”

From his vantage point high inside the company, Smith gathered insights on how and why ESPN persevered
and succeeded where others might have failed. ESPN THE COMPANY offers eight guiding principles by which it was able to survive, thrive, grow and
constantly innovate over the last thirty years:

1. Turn Fanatics Into Fans
2. Think Like an Incumbent, Act Like a Challenger
3. The Right Leader at the Right Time
4. Create Your Own Game
5. Expand the Brand
6. Playing Well With Others
7. Blow the Whistle, Spot the Ball
8. Are You Having Fun?

ANTHONY F. SMITH is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Leadership Research Institute, based in
Rancho Santa Fe, California, specializing in Leadership Development and Assessment. In addition to his
work with ESPN, Smith has been an active consultant for over twenty years in the areas of organizational
change and assessment, team building, executive coaching and development, and leadership training and
design. He has served a list of enviable clients in a variety of fields, including, American Express, The
National Football League, the Coca-Cola Company, The National Geographic Society, Seimans AG, The
Walt Disney Company, Deutsche Bank, Spencer Stuart, Hewlett Packard, ESPN, KKR, Goldman Sachs, and
McKinsey and Company. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed business book, THE TABOOS OF
LEADERSHIP: 10 Secrets No One Will Tell You About Leaders And What They Really Think, published
by Jossey Bass, May 2007.

KEITH HOLLIHAN is a writer who has collaborated with Smith and many other top business and leadership
experts on books and articles covering the gamut of issues that leaders face today. He is also coeditor of
The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching: 50 Top Executive Coaches Reveal Their Secrets and
Enlightened Power, How Women Are Transforming the Path to Leadership, and Co-Author of the best-seller,
Everybody Wins: The Story and Lessons Behind ReMax, all of which are published by Jossey-Bass, an
imprint of Wiley. Keith lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The V Foundation for Cancer Research
Proceeds from the profits of ESPN THE COMPANY will benefit the The V Foundation for Cancer
Research, founded by the late, great basketball coach Jim Valvano. The V Foundation distributes 100% of
direct donations to cancer research and related programs. ESPN supports The V Foundation in many ways
including a portion of ticket sales for the ESPY Awards, the annual sports awards event created and
broadcast by ESPN. Dr. Smith serves on the board of The V Foundation. To learn more visit the website at
www.jimmyv.org.

Media Contact & Author Inquiries: Patti Judd 619.847.5494 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Publisher Contact: John Wiley & Sons, Jocelyn Cordova, 201.748.6249, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it