Case Study: San Francisco 49ers

Deliver meaning and implementation beyond an on field win/loss record

  • $470M in Revenue
  • 16th Most Valuable Sports Franchise
  • 250 Team Members

The Opportunity

  • Articulate a purpose beyond building a new $1B+ stadium and relocating from San Francisco to Santa Clara
  • Develop new team members and rising leaders - as a larger and younger talent pool changed the makeup of the team - while reducing high turnover among full and part-time employees
  • Increase low engagement scores and inspire teamwork across various departments.

Our Approach

Having recently drafted a new Purpose and Values statement, the 49ers were focused on aligning and inspiring their senior leadership team towards a new vision, having just opened Levi Stadium and moved their storied franchise from San Francisco to Santa Clara, CA. Chapman & Co. facilitated a two-day Inspire course as the first step in taking their commitment to caring for people from a statement to practical application in the organization. Following positive feedback from key leaders, the 49ers embraced:

  • New core leadership curriculum: Inspire, Connect, and Relate to all positional leaders, including the senior leadership team
  • Employee Focus Groups throughout the organization to identify culture gaps and frustrating work systems
  • Focused continuous improvement to evolve the most frustrating work systems
  • Team-specific Employee Focus Groups to address tactical concerns within legal, community relations, and business analytics
  • Executive coaching for key members of the senior leadership team
  • Leadership offsite design and facilitation, including implementation of 360 assessments to measure progress

The Result

  • Reduced turnover in key positions
  • Increased scores across multiple dimensions of their Best Places to Work Survey
  • More collaborative senior leadership team

San Francisco 49ers
If you feel like your organization is not running full steam and it’s because of people, culture, systems, or structure, they are definitely the right people to hire. Our common purpose has led to better culture, better accountability, and better decision making.
Al Guido
President