Leading Greats # 37

Sometimes The Best Time to Start a Business is When you are Broke

This is how it worked out for Mark Cuban.

You know, the billionaire, Shark Tank investor, long time owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.

Mark got fired from an early job in software sales as he had a sales programming idea that he wanted to start there to improve sales.

He was told no by his boss. Mark did it anyway, and he was fired.

His back was then up against the wall. So with nothing, he decided to look for a business to buy.

Mark needed to pay rent.

That was his main objective, not to hit it big like owning the Dallas Mavericks at that time.

Mark’s thinking was “what did he have to lose?” Nothing!

So, if he failed, he was back to where he already was, with nothing to lose.

• Mark was focused on two main questions:

• What do I know? And who do I know?

The answer came – computer networking.

This paved the way for his new company, MicroSolutions.

The abbreviated version of the outcome was Mark wrote the first purchase order system that Walmart ever used.

Mark also wrote the first video integration that Zale’s Jewelers used at that time.

Mark knew what he did not know, and it was quite a lot.

So he chose a co-founder and made him CEO.

Mark hired the right team to make his company a reality filling in for the skills gaps.

• Mark and his team helped devise the first wave of PC networking.

• This was from a just-fired salesman that used to wear - 2 for $99 suits.

• From there in just seven years they built up to $30 million in annual sales.

Mark sold this company which allowed him to retire from business at only 30.

We know that did not last as we saw much more of what Mark Cuban went on to accomplish.

The takeaway is Mark Cuban was broke - when he started his first company.

Mark was a messy business guy.

But he knew how to hire the right people to compliment his skills for success.

This is not about the life story of Mark Cuban. This is about success.

Success Takes the Right Mindset

Take away much of what many believe success requires, and it can be distilled into having the right mindset.

You need curiosity.

Learning to ask how things could work gets momentum started.

You need a bias towards action.

When the right signs appear, move on the right idea.

You need to collaborate.

Draw on experience and ideas of others, improve your idea into reality.

You need grit. 

There will be failures. You need to be able to persist through the coming failures.

You only need to be right just one time – for great things to turn successful.

Only once!

When to Establish Culture

In mounting conversations with founders, and early partners in startups I keep noticing a pattern.

Culture was not properly established in their company.

If ever you allow a broken culture to establish itself, there is no predictable route to repairing it.

Some leaders focus on strategy or revenues up front and hope culture works itself out naturally.

If employees ever feel fear of speaking up truthfully about what is wrong in a company culture this will make it nearly impossible to fix.

The best time to get a top-notch company culture is in the beginning and do everything to preserve it.

As anything involving humans, there will be dynamics, and change.

But with care you can establish and keep the core values and proper foundation of your culture from the beginning – if that is what you choose to focus on.

Culture lives underneath everything you do as a company, of any size.

Get culture right – from the start.

We lost Charlie Munger in recent days at 99 years old

Charlie was the famed friend and billionaire business partner to famed billionaire investor Warren Buffett, for decades.

With that, I would like to close this issue of Leading Greats with a few quotes from Charlie Munger:

“The desire to get rich fast is pretty dangerous.” 

- On Fast Money.

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.” 

- On Circle Of Competence.

“You should remember that good ideas are rare - when the odds are greatly in your favor, bet heavily.” 

- On When To Bet Heavily.

“I succeed because I have a long attention span.” 

- On Patience.

“Capitalism without failure is like religion without hell.”

- On Too Big To Fail.

“In marriage, you shouldn’t look for someone with good looks and character. You look for someone with low expectations.” 

- On Marriage Advice.

^ As a Conscious Leadership Catalyst and Executive Coach, I help Executives, Leaders, and Professionals transform culture through human-centered empathy.

^ As a Conscious Leader, I help you Master Performance and Well-being.

^ If this sounds like you, your organization, or someone you know - I can help.

The World Needs More Great Leaders!

Currently, I have Limited Capacity to work with New Coaching Clients

- for those Leaders and Professionals interested in leading greatly in all levels of life, work, and relationships.

Reach out, and let’s get a strategy call on the calendar so you can get closer to what you really want in life, work, and relationships at ronniekinsey.net

Thank YOU for reading!

I wish you a successful close to your final days of 2023 !!

Consistently, I appreciate your time and support here!!!

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Til next time - Keep it Great,

-Ronnie

• Leadership Catalyst & Transformational Coach

• Leader | Advisor | Speaker | Writer

• When you are ready: schedule a strategy call for working together @ ronniekinsey.net

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronniekinseymba/