

Why Great Leaders Get Left Behind
3 Min Read
Why Great Leaders Get Left Behind
Why the mindset that brought you here won’t get you through what’s next and what to do instead.
On the morning of March 19, 2015, Pietro Leonardi, General Director of Parma Calcio, woke up to the kind of news no leader ever wants to face:
The club was bankrupt.
Over €218 million in debt.
The lights shut off. The offices cleared. The story of a club founded in 1913… over.
Leonardi wasn’t reckless. He was respected, experienced But what brought him there steady hands, caution, process is exactly what held him back when the world around him started to shift.

Let Me Ask You Something:
Do you know what your organization will look like 12 months from now?
Or two years from now?
If you’re being honest, maybe the answer is:
“Not really.”
And that’s okay.
But here’s the part that matters:
The kind of growth we used to know predictable, gradual is already being replaced by sudden, exponential shifts.
Fan behavior. Tech. Revenue models. Team structures.
Everything is moving faster than it used to.
Some of the brands you know today won’t exist in their current form a year from now.
Others will emerge from unexpected places.
And the difference won’t be their logo or their tech stack.
It’ll be the mindset of the people leading them.
From Executive to Brand Entrepreneur: A Different Way of Showing Up
This shift isn’t about working harder.
It’s not about chasing buzzwords or changing your title.
It’s about how you think.
How you decide.
How you lead.
The old playbook rewarded control, planning, and certainty.
But in today’s world?
What matters most is adaptability. Presence. Willingness to move.
Brand Entrepreneurs don’t wait for perfect information.
They act with intent, even in uncertainty.
They test, learn, and adjust before it feels safe.
They don’t just protect the brand. They stretch it. Rebuild it when needed. Keep it alive.
You don’t need to start over.
But maybe it’s time to shift the lens you’re leading through.
Why This Matters
You’ve seen how this plays out.
Blockbuster stuck to DVDs. Netflix built the future.
Kodak ignored digital. Instagram redefined photography.
SC Bastia didn’t adapt. They disappeared from French football.
These weren’t failures of intelligence.
They were failures of timing.
Of mindset.
But there’s another kind of story, too.
The Leaders Who Made the Shift
At Real Sociedad, and Sacramento Kings, leadership leaned into AI, not because it was trendy, but because they knew they needed to understand their fans in deeper, faster, more personal ways.
In the La liga club, that shift was led by Juan Iraola, Chief Innovation Officer.
He launched the Sport Thinkers Smart Stadium initiative, turning Anoeta into a living lab for innovation where technology, sustainability, and fan experience all meet.
Juan didn’t wait. He built. And it showed.
🟢 At the Sacramento Kings, the change started early and it wasn’t about tech for tech’s sake.
It was led by Ryan Montoya, Chief Technology Officer.
He built a mobile-first fan experience powered by over 30 integrated services loyalty, gamification, real-time stats, and more.
Today, Golden 1 Center is one of the smartest, most connected arenas in the world and Montoya’s leadership is at the heart of it.
These aren’t stories about technology.
They’re stories about leaders who shifted how they think and everything followed.

So Let’s Bring This Back to You
You’ve led through pressure before.
You’ve made tough calls.
You know how this game works.
But here’s the real question:
Are you showing up as a titleholder or as a builder?
Are you waiting for clarity or leading through uncertainty?
Are you managing what is or shaping what’s next?
The market won’t wait.
And neither will the future.
This Is an Invitation
You don’t have to burn it all down.
You just have to start shifting.
Quietly. Deliberately.
One step at a time.
You don’t have to know everything.
You just have to be willing to move.
Because the next era of leadership in sports?
It won’t belong to the ones who held on.
It’ll belong to those who knew when to let go and build.

Let’s Not Forget Where We Started
Remember Pietro Leonardi of Parma ?
He didn’t lose everything because he wasn’t good at his job.
He lost because he trusted that doing what worked before… would keep working.
It didn’t.
And that’s not a story about failure.
It’s a reminder.
That your mindset the one you choose right now will shape everything that comes next.
So if you’re going to make one shift this season, let it be this:
From executive to entrepreneur.
From operator to initiator.
From knowing… to building.
Not because it’s a trend. Because it’s time.
If you’ve read this far, maybe something in you already knows that.
With love for sports and innovation
AR
Comments
TONY FINNIGAN
I really enjoyed this Read.. a nice gentle reminder that the old is the OLD but embrace the NEW and create.!!