I found out very early in my career being ready to talk about sport at any moment is an essential skill in the workplace.
I discovered this at a welcome lunch for new graduates at the firm that gave me my first real job. There were 12 of us pimply 20-somethings fresh out of college in uncomfortable new suits and ties, accompanied by 12 senior executives who had been somehow roped into their role as welcoming committee. We all sat around a beautifully laid out table on the top floor of the building and carefully sipped our wine trying to politely make conversation.
Fifteen or so minutes into the event, one of the senior executives turned to me and asked: 'How do you think the Blues will go this weekend?'
The entire room, having temporarily run out of pleasant chit chat turned to hear my response.
I was in big trouble. I wasn't being asked this question to test me. Quite the contrary, I was being asked to talk about a subject that practically any young man would find easy. The fair, but in my case, incorrect assumption was that I would be immediately put at ease by the shift from talk of business to sport. The problem was that I really didn't know who the Blues were.
If it were not for the 23 people staring at me, the imposing surroundings and the general feeling of nervousness about this lunch that I had been struggling with for most of the day, I might have come up with a better answer. All I could muster though was: 'Umm, I don't follow the Blues, really.'
This feeble response had a clear and noticeable effect on my social position at the firm. Regardless of how good I was at my job, my ability to score positions on interesting deals was hampered by my reputation as some sort of weirdo who didn't like sports. It took six months of reading about every conceivable competition or game and injecting myself into every discussion for me to recover.