2 - The America's Cup needs "big picture" thinking The America's Cup needs "big picture" thinking
“I actually think it’s a straightforward problem,” says Russell Coutts. “I am not sure we have the right people in the room yet, because there have been a lot of people making arguments about what they believe is advantageous to their team. Last time, for example, we had all sorts of arguments over the length and these opinions about whether this boat would be fast upwind or downwind, and so forth.” In other words, there has been too much petty squabbling and not enough thinking about the bigger picture. “There needs to be — in my view — a much bigger commercial bias, where people are saying, ‘This is good commercially, and therefore good for all of us,’ rather than crystal ball gaze on what could be a competitive advantage. I think that is why the America’s Cup has suffered a lot in the past,” Coutts says. With Moët & Chandon named as the official America’s Cup champagne, Louis Vuitton securing its affiliation with the Cup and Jaguar Land Rover partnering with British team Ben Ainslie Racing, the commercial sponsors seem to be getting on board.
“I actually think it’s a straightforward problem,” says Russell Coutts. “I am not sure we have the right people in the room yet, because there have been a lot of people making arguments about what they believe is advantageous to their team. Last time, for example, we had all sorts of arguments over the length and these opinions about whether this boat would be fast upwind or downwind, and so forth.”
In other words, there has been too much petty squabbling and not enough thinking about the bigger picture.
“There needs to be — in my view — a much bigger commercial bias, where people are saying, ‘This is good commercially, and therefore good for all of us,’ rather than crystal ball gaze on what could be a competitive advantage. I think that is why the America’s Cup has suffered a lot in the past,” Coutts says.
With Moët & Chandon named as the official America’s Cup champagne, Louis Vuitton securing its affiliation with the Cup and Jaguar Land Rover partnering with British team Ben Ainslie Racing, the commercial sponsors seem to be getting on board.
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