Note from blogger Cathy Benko: From time-to-time a guest blogger is invited to post an entry for our virtual community. Today, we are fortunate to hear from Donna Orender, President of the Women's NBA, on a topic which is obviously very near and dear to her heart. What about you? Can you relate to what Donna has to say?

Today is March 1, and it begins a month that basketball fans have dubbed "March Madness." Of course, for working moms, every month has a twinge of madness. But my world is basketball, the WNBA, the women's professional basketball league, the most successful women's sports league in the world…so, for me, March Madness is about the race for the collegiate national championship.

What's the significance? Well, it's because March Madness is one of those sporting phenomena that absolutely transcends sports fans. A Harris Poll reveals that 41% of people believe that the NCAA Tournament causes productivity at work to suffer. There was a USA TODAY article about this phenomenon in which a New York staffing specialist said the following:

"Everybody is in office pools. The games are on until I leave. You can't reach clients. You can't reach anybody. Many people just take personal days (off), and there's no question as to why. ...it takes over."

According to the same Harris Poll, about four times as many males as females filled out NCAA Tournament brackets last year, though the number of women getting involved is on the rise from previous years.

So why read on? Because the language of sports is a currency that helps build bonds and relationships. Women often relegate themselves to the sidelines or opt out of the frenzy due to lack of interest or, more notably, a lack of confidence in their knowledge of sports and their ability to speak the language.

I offer the advice to just jump in. In any client relationship you do your due diligence to understand your client's context. You make the effort to know the important things and many of those things transcend the business relationship: family, interests, hobbies, et al—you work hard to find a common place from which you can build a productive business relationship.

The Final Four offers the same relationship-building opportunity with your male colleagues. It's a communal experience. It's a way to break the ice if it needs to be broken or warm the soup if it needs to be warmed. The language of sports is a very effective business tool, and I encourage women to spend the time to understand it and embrace it just as you would any other business-building opportunity.

Of course, in this case, you just may get hooked. We are, after all, talking about the game of basketball and there is magic in its air.

And the magic surrounds the women's NCAA tournament as well. A fact worth knowing: The DUKE women's team is No. 1 in the nation and ranked much higher than their male counterparts. Can Duke keep its undefeated run going through the tournament? Will their ACC rivals, North Carolina and Maryland, have something to say? Will perennial powers like UConn and Tennessee be heard from before the nets are cut down? And which potential pro prospects will improve their status for the upcoming WNBA draft?

It's been said that it's a mad, mad, mad,mad world ... March Madness is one that we can all have a little fun with.

By Donna Orender, President of the WNBA
Friday, March 2, 2007 12:52 p.m. EST
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Comments to March Madness
Pat in Berkeley wrote:
The cultural gap here may be as much east coast/west coast as male/female. I don't know anyone here who is excited about watching college basketball playoffs.  It's 70 degrees out. We're all busy hiking, biking, running, playing tennis, windsurfing, skiing etc. Most people I work with would rather participate in active sports than sit and watch someone else.

Sue in Detroit wrote:
I've played basketball since the 7th grade and continue to play to this day. This message is a "slam dunk" for me. However, I don't think this message should be isolated to just women. It applies to men as well. I love to watch and play most every sport. I'm naturally drawn to try to talk sports with men. You would be surprised at the number of men out there that don't follow any sport and refuse to even try.

Paul in San Jose wrote:
Patricio, please feel free to adopt my alma mater, the University of Florida, which until recently actually had a chance to do well in this tournament.

Anonymous in Philadelphia wrote:
I agree ... just jump in. Many years back, I participated in my first March Madness pool in my office at another employer just to be social, since it was such a big deal. Not knowing anything about college basketball, I picked all my wins based on whether the schools were Catholic or from my home state of Ohio. Needless to say my bracket bombed but it got a lot of laughs and I felt like I was part of the process. These days my picks are slightly more informed.

Paige in Hermitage wrote:
I was lucky to grow up in a house full of sports, so I don't mind speaking up about my sports knowledge. However, I can remember several occasions as an adult when groups of men were shocked to hear my opinions. Luckily those groups are few and far between because women are watching more and more sports. Not only are sports a good way to relate to clients and colleagues, sports are also a good way to bring a little competition to your life.

Patricio in San Francisco wrote:
Donna, I couldn't agree more with your advice to “just jump in … and work hard to find a common place from which … [to] build a productive business relationship!” However I wouldn't only circumscribe it to women, March or Basketball (Sorry! I know that you are president of the WNBA!). Having been born in a country that is not the USA and not having a NCAA home/college team to root for by heritage, I have decided to make some teams “mine” by choice; and I have learnt all about March Madness, the rules of baseball, what “Playoffs” means, and of course the Super Bowl and all the other Bowls out there. All of this is part of my due-diligence to find common ground and to form a basis for communication with clients and co-workers. This not only helps bridge the gender gap, but also social and cultural gaps! Hopefully I can teach others as much about football (called Soccer here!) … which is a sport where you actually “kick the ball around with your foot”! Take care.