Gjek Vukelj
Professor Eisenberg
MGT 250
17 February 2016
Mark Cuban is the known to be the co-founder of Broadcast.com, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and ‘Shark Tank” TV star. First starting out working with tech companies, today he is worth $3.2 billion (Forbes). This billionaire title did not come over night, but through hard work and dedication. Cuban is human after all, so along with his many strengths, come a few weaknesses. His strengths are what created many career opportunities and achievements.
One of Cuban’s biggest strengths, but coincidentally also his weakness, was confidence. As an Entrepreneur, one must believe in oneself in order to take reasonable risks that have a high reward. However there is a line of confidence that if
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crossed, it goes from a strength to a weakness. Cuban talks about this exact topic in a blog post, “I have been just as bad at this as anyone, particularly when I was getting started in the business world.
For those of us who dream of starting and running a business, we know that we have to have a level of confidence in our own abilities. We dont want to believe that there are things we cant do. We want to believe that if we try hard enough, work long enough, and get a little lucky, that the sky is the limit. The problem is that we let our confidence cloud our judgements of what we truly know about ourselves” (Cuban).
When one comes to the realization that they can accomplish anything they put their mind to, as long as it is in their current realm of reality, they can
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succeed. Organization is key when trying to do anything in life, not just the business world. Without organization, one cannot fully begin or complete any task. Whether one takes extra time out of their day to gather their plans and ideas, or hires someone to do it for them, it must be done. Cuban himself states that he is one of the least organized people he knows; “Im one of the least organized people I know. Today, i have an assistant and others that help me run my life. If you ask me where IM going to be in 3 days. I have no idea. I do know that i have a kick ass assistant who is going to make sure that when i wake up that morning, I know where Im going and how to get there. When i was 23 years old, sleeping on the floor and starting MicroSolutions, no assistant. No organization. I was a procrastinator. Accounting was a shoebox of receipts. I was a mess. But I lied to myself and said that I could deal with it. That i would make time to get it all figured out and organized. That if I only set my mind to it, I could be a detail person. I could stop procrastinating. It doesnt work that way” (Cuban). Even billionaires have their troubles. If Cuban did not have access to some sort of support group or team, he would not have been so successful. Being disorganized was a major threat to Cuban, it could have stopped him dead in his tracks. Luckily, there were people there to hold him together. He proceeded to focus on his main goal of success. Teamwork is arguably one of the most important qualities of a good leader. There are many different styles that work together, some more strange than others, but Cuban was lucky enough to have a great partner that had the same motivation he did. As Cuban puts it, his partner was perfect for him; “Fortunately, one of my best customers at the time was interested in becoming a partner in my business.
Martin Woodall ran a company called Hytec Data Systems. He was not only smart and a good programmer, but he was the most anal, detail oriented person I had ever met in my life. The perfect partner for me. Our partnership wasnt always easy. We had more than our shares of knock down drag out fights. He of course would want everything done with precision and if lack of perfection was an option, he didnt want to do it. I of course was the exact opposite. I was the GO FOR IT guy. We can sort it out after the fact. We were perfect partners. We knew and trusted the skills of the other and although many might not think yelling was the best way to work things out, we managed.” (Cuban)
Today’s business world will frown upon yelling and over-aggression in the workplace, but one must try to find a good team that has such great strengths, they counteract the weaknesses to create the perfect powerhouse. Martin Woodall was clearly a patient partner and Mark Cuban was lucky to have landed someone who was willing to put up with Cuban’s difficulties. Anyone else could have easily just walked out and found someone else, someone a little tamer to work
with. Cuban loved basketball from a very young age, so when finances finally allowed, he purchased the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $285 million. “Plagued by poor personnel decisions and mediocre players and coaches” (Biography.com), the Mavericks had not reached the playoffs in over 10 years. With his immense enthusiasm and motivational qualities, Cuban proved to be a secret weapon within the club; “Cuban showed himself to be the club's biggest booster. Choosing to sit with the fans, Cuban egged on opponents and derided refs, and the Mavericks responded positively to the new owner's zeal. The team qualified for the playoffs in 2001, set a franchise record for wins (57) the following year and made it to the 2006 NBA Finals before losing to the Miami Heat. In 2011, the Mavericks finally won the NBA title by defeating the Heat.” By simply physically being there for his team and showing that he was not just financially, but emotionally investeted, he was able to bring the same team with the same players that previously couldn’t make playoffs, to the playoffs and break personal records. Never before in the organization have they had that many wins in a season. Mark Cuban is different than his competitors because of his persistence and his willingness to jump on any potential opportunity. Reward often outweighs the risk for Cuban, although some may consider that a weakness, he is a billionaire after all. Cuban is also different because of how well he takes defeat. In an article from Entrepreneur.com, Cuban admits, “I failed.” Cuban thought that mixing powdered milk with water was the next big thing. “I honestly thought it would make a killer business and it lasted minutes,” he said. He goes on to say that he has been fired from more jobs than most people have ever had. In another article found on Forbes.com, Cuban states, “But being fired from that job was the determining factor in my business life. I decided then and there to start my own company.” If it wasn’t for being fired, Cuban might have never started his own company. Thus, he might have never been as successful as he is today. Being fired turned his attitude around and it was arguably the best thing to ever happen to him. Like Cuban, I too have suffered from disorganization and an aggressive way of leading in the past. The most memorable instance in my life that describes both of these flaws was in high school when I was the volleyball team captain. I was thrown into the position without much introduction to leading players in such a fashion before. By nature, I feel that I am the leader type, but this was new, unfamiliar territory. I had responsibilities, some of which included meeting with the coach after every practice to explain team concerns and also to assess the productivity of the practice and how it could be improved. I also had to direct players on court and constantly had to call out different plays and see a situation happen before its even a thought in my teammates mind. Learning to do all these things was challenging to say the least. Figuring out new plays and set ups was one thing, but the challenge was figuring out the chemistry not only between myself and my teammates, but my teammates with each other. This is where the aggression came in. At first I didn’t understand why the new kid on the team couldn’t keep up with “the veterans,” so yelling ensued. I also went to an all-boys high school, so there was a constant state of trying to prove you were more masculine than the next guy. However, that is no excuse. Like Cuban and his partner, my teammates were not afraid to yell back at me, and it is a good thing they did. That seemed to be the only way I could understand what they were going through. Towards the end of the season, I finally had my organization together and was able to control emotions well enough to be there and support my teammates. They were never afraid to come up to me and ask for help whether it was on or off the court. We weren’t just teammates, we were friends. The next two seasons were each more successful than the last. By the end, I wasn’t their “boss” any longer, but just another teammate who was able to see a little farther ahead than they could. Personally I think that is the most important thing, respect for one another is key, not fear. Cuban started from the bottom and made his way up to the top to be one of America’s most recognized business leaders. His ability to foresee success, his motivation, dedication and persistence are just a few of the many reasons to why he is so successful today. Leaders are not born successes, and all odds are against them, but that is why they are leaders. They are nothing without followers, but the fact that people are willing to listen and be inspired is a feat in itself. It could be the beginning to something amazing. Works Cited Burke, Monte. "At Age 25 Mark Cuban Learned Lessons About Leadership That Changed His Life." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. Cuban, Mark. "Success & Motivation: Don't Lie to Yourself." Blog Maverick. Blogmaverick.com, 18 Mar. 2006. Web. 17 Feb. 2016. Forbes. "Mark Cuban - Forbes 400." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. "Mark Cuban Biography." Bio.com. Ed. Biography.com Editors. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. Shandrow, Kim. "Billionaire Entrepreneur Mark Cuban: 'Failure Is Part of the Success Equation'" Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur, 25 Sept. 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Krzyzewski, M. (2001). Leading with the Heart: Coach K’s Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life. New York, NY: Business Plus
Although many people may not know who Mark Cuban is, he is a very successful multi-millionaire. Mark Cuban is 56 years old. This successful business man’s net worth is 3 billion dollars. In high school Mark Cuban had been kicked off of the basketball team three times but he is now the spunky owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. In 2008 he bid 1.3 million dollars to try and buy the MLB Chicago Cubs but his bid had been over bid by someone. “What I've learned in these 11 years is you just got to stay focused and believe in yourself and trust your own ability and judgment.
To the team’s surprise, however, Mark did not act like a typical NBA owner. He walked around in T-shirts and jeans, personally called fans, and sat courtside at games while screaming his eyes out at the refs like a crazed fan. Additionally, he completely ripped apart and replaced the facilities. He gave the players’ locker room a full revamp with new hardwood floors, TV’s, weight room, and a billiards room. He wanted the players to feel like they were in a “clubhouse” and had a fun place to hang.
Mark Cuban was born July 31, 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Rather than attending high school as a senior, he enrolled at the University at Pittsburgh where he joined the Pi Lambda Phi international fraternity. After one year at the University of Pittsburgh, he transferred to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and graduated from the Kelley School of Business in 1981 with a B.Sc. in Business Administration. He chose Indiana’s Kelley School of Business without even visiting the campus because “it had the least expensive tuition of all the business schools on the top 10 list”. Mark Cuban’s early influences was his grandfather, it says that Mr. Cuban was just like his grandfather. Mark Cuban started a company, Micro
The confidence came from Keller’s presence. His long history with the company his respect for coworkers and his reputation as a successful problem solver almost certainly reassured employees that a turnaround could happen. Second, team members must appreciate one another’s perspectives and refrain from blaming one another for problems they may encounter. Before Jimenez’s team-based productivity project, the engineers and the operations workers at the Wichita site neither understood nor appreciated the other side’s contributions. Jimenez and Keller set up the monthly meetings to discuss problems and resolve them.
“If you can imagine it you can create. If you can dream it, you can become it.”
The success of a business is greatly dependent on its entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is someone who takes the financial risk of starting and managing a new business venture. In order to be a successful entrepreneur, one must be ready to take a risk and invest one’s own savings into a business. The job requires that the individual be ambitious and committed to working hard in order to achieve the set targets. A successful entrepreneur is able to multi-task and communicates effectively with people, possessing leadership qualities such as confidence and motivation. The individual must play the role of constant motivator and inspire employees to improve their work performance, whilst ensuring a comfortable environment for the employees to work in. According to Schumpeter (1982), an entrepreneur is more of a ‘heroic’ than an ‘economic’ figure; his motivation should not solely be monetary, rather stemming more from inspiration and ambition.
an entrepreneur will never be uncertain of whether or not they will succeed. They are confident with the knowledge that they will make their businesses succeed (10 Qualities of successful entrepreneurs, 2010). They exude that confidence in everything they do.
Majalah Niaga(2013); Super Entrepreneur Tip: Do not Ever Stop Trying- edition 26; available from [magazine] pp 30-32. Retrieved on 7 March 2014
When it comes to business, especially when it comes to starting one, I tend to think I know it all. Yet in reality, I don't really even know how to get started, enough to make a business efficient, or even get the doors open enough to make the first dollar. When I first think of working/operating a business, I think of no boss but myself, the rules are made by me and no one else, and that seems like a great plan in my eyes. As well as having all company profit coming directly to me, and I get to decide what happens with it. Although I know there is more to it than that, there is forming a budget, working with customers, knowing when to expand, and when to coast through. I also know that in the world of business, that if you aren't moving ahead, you are moving backwards.
Risk-taking is one of the chief dimensions of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are found to be more risk takers than the managers and salaried employees, such that, they are willing to put their homes on mortgage, jobless and can work for years without any earning (Burns, 2011; Masters & Meier, 1988). According to (Moore & Gergen, 1985), entrepreneurs always take calculate risk and always analyse the situation. Cognitive Psychology supports that the risk taking ability is just limited to their area of expertise (Sjöberg, 1978, Heath & Tversky, 1991). According to (Heath & Tversky, 1991), entrepreneurs take more risk in the area of their interest and expertise and not in those area, they have little knowledge about. But even then also, they take more risk than general population.
1. WHY? Develop your "why". As an entrepreneur, not all times you have in business will be perfect. In fact, there will be many, many difficulties along the way. However, if you can develop your why, you can achieve success. Your why must be this personal, passionate, emotional drive that keeps you going, when the world tells you to give up. It is the reason you commit and work so hard. Pushing on when it seems all the odds and world is against you. Your "why" becomes your driving will to wake up and do it again tomorrow.
Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs someday. But it made me realize that there other factors that needs to be taken into consideration. We need to ask ourselves are we ready to take the challenge to the outside world. Not everyone have the vision, innovation and creativity to become an entrepreneur. The individual must have a positive attitude and accept the responsibility, have discipline to meet their goals, and take action when the opportunity presents itself. Many prefer a job security and rely on a weekly paycheck, while entrepreneurs will take risks and doesn 't have that luxury to know the amount of their income.
We learned a lot of things in this course, but I think the most important lesson I learned is that it’s not easy to be an entrepreneur. I was surprised to hear in the first class that 80% of startups fail, but after reading The Art of Start and E-myth Revisited I understood why this happens more often than one might expects. Some people start their own businesses for the wrong reason and some start with wrong mindset. I’ve always thought that if someone has a brilliant business idea and hardworking they will succeed and grow their business. However, now I know that there are many things to consider before starting any business. In fact, there are many strategies that an entrepreneur could follow to achieve success, such as know your customers, work “on” the business, and how
I am gratified to reflect on my Entrepreneurial Potential Self-Assessment. I have always enjoyed learning the concepts of running and managing a business. Personally, what I enjoy generally is implying these concepts in real life situations. Seeing the ‘real life’ effects are stimulating to me. I always saw myself running a stable/well- establish business; however, I never saw myself running my own business. For my part, I find that I do not have all the characteristics an entrepreneur should have. Therefore, the results are not surprising, but assuring of what my strengths and weaknesses are.