By JEFF OTTERBEIN
Hartford Courant

KEYNOTE LUNCHEON

He was the keynote speaker in Philadelphia at the June 24 luncheon at the APSE convention, but there's nothing conventional about him. The executive vice president of ESPN Inc. seems to have had a hand in everything ESPN has built, and the place went nuts in '90s. Before you knew it, you not only had ESPN, but ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN News, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN International, ESPNet, the forerunner of ESPN.com, the XGames and the ESPYs.

Walsh talked about the evolution of ESPN through the years as it celebrates 25 years. But he also talked about the culture ESPN tries to cultivate. A few things:

Show you care: know the product, be inclusive in meetings, give feedback to staff.

Take risks: At one point or another, everything at ESPN has had some risk.

Get the best: This sometimes means finding people in unconventional places.

ESPN VP John Walsh talk about evolution and changes in the business of sports.

Make work family and celebrate: Create a second family at work by doing special things when the opportunity arises and celebrating achievements.

Ask for help: From the outside, from the inside; it never hurts.

Make bad decisions go away: Can't live with them forever.

Demand ideas: They're there. You need to get a mix of people and use them to their strengths. One person might be a good moderator, one might be the type who won't let an idea die, one might be able to link together what everyone is saying.

Know research and pay attention to your world: That's simply keeping in touch, which is good business.

Tell good stories: Aren't we all trying this, but it sure makes for loyal audiences.

All of what he spoke about can be transferred to newspapers. We may look at his list and say we know that, but do we all practice it faithfully?

Walsh also had advice for what he seeks in a sports section — basically what is he getting that is unique, different, that he can't get elsewhere. And we need to think differently than in the past, he said, because our audience is changing.

Walsh said one thing you'll see a lot on ESPN this summer is poker. It's hot. He also said he thought women's softball just might be the next women's sport to take off. This guy usually has a full house to beat your straight, so I wouldn't bet against him.