Girard's Law of 250

PK’s post this morning was a good one. There are hundreds of thousands of kids that will take to the fields this weekend, in small towns all across America. Many of them will be participating in their first game. Will their experience be a good one? Will they want to come back for more? Will they stick around long enough to get to the top?

Some time ago, I read a book about sales by Joe Girard in which he put forth something called “Girard’s Law of 250.” Girard asked lots of average people to sit down and make a list of all the people they knew and communicated with on a regular basis. The list was to include family, friends, co-workers, even the local grocers or anyone else with whom they were routinely in contact. Then Girard totaled up the number of names on each list.

Girard made an interesting discovery – on average, we each know and regularly talk with about 250 people! And every one of those 250 people know about 250 themselves! His point? Whatever opinion someone has of you will be shared with a lot of others.

Think about the opinions and impressions formed by new referees. One positive (or negative) comment from one knowledgeable person can make all the difference in the world to a young referee, and perhaps 250 of their friends and acquaintances.

Let’s try to keep them all coming back for more. The effects of our interactions with these youngsters go far beyond just one person.