20 Quotes That Reveal How Mark Cuban Became Everyone's Favorite Billionaire

• NICHOLAS CARLSON
 
•  

Michael Seto

Mark Cuban started his working life as a bartender in Dallas. Then he took a job as a computer salesman.

Then he was fired.

And only then did he start his first company, MicroSolutions. He did well, selling it for $6 million.

He did even better with his next company – about 1,000 times better. He created a company called Broadcast.com, and sold it to Yahoo for almost $6 billion.

Almost immediately, Cuban sold all of his Yahoo stock netting $2 billion in cash for himself. His timing was impeccable. Weeks later, the market crashed.

Since then, Cuban has continued to work and invest. He's the champion owner of the Dallas Mavericks. He owns HDNet, too. He's a reality TV regular – appearing on shows like Shark Tank and even Dancing With The Stars.

All the while, Cuban has had a lot to say. Due to his incredibly impressive career, it's worth listening to him.

On the competition

Mark Cuban

“I don’t know, I don’t care, I just hope they suck.”

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On customer service

"Treat your customers like they own you. Because they do."

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On nepotism

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"It's not about money or connections — it's the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone... And if it fails, you learn from what happened and do a better job next time."

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His advice for people who want to work in sports

YouTube/zeitgeistminds

"Don't."

The sports industry is the "worst possible business for a college graduate to try to get into. It doesn't pay s--t. There are a thousand people applying for every job."

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On Wall Street

AP Images

"Wall Street used to be a place where you can raise capital to grow businesses. That's not the case anymore. Wall Street has become a platform for hackers."

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On why "follow your passion" is the worst advice you could ever get

jdlasica

Because everyone is passionate about something. Usually more than one thing. We are born with it. There are always going to be things we love to do. That we dream about doing. That we really, really want to do with our lives. Those passions aren’t worth a nickel.

Think about all the things you have been passionate about in your life. Think about all those passions that you considered making a career out of or building a company around. How many were or are there? Why did you bounce from one to another? Why were you not able to make a career or business out of any of those passions? Or if you have been able to have some success, what was the key to the success?

Today's twenty-somethings were raised to find our dreams and follow them. But it's a different world. And as the jobless generation grows up, we realize the grand betrayal of the false idols of passion. This philosophy no longer works for us, or at most, feels incomplete. So what do we do? I propose a different frame of reference: Forget about finding your passion. Instead, focus on finding big problems.

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On why startups should never hire PR firms

Business Insider / Matthew Lynley

"I'm a believer that you accomplish much, much more with direct relationships than by using an intermediary. And that cash you keep in the bank can be the difference between staying alive as a small business, or not."

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On becoming an "overnight success"

Getty Images/Brandon Wade

"It doesn't matter how many times you fail. You only have to be right once and then everyone can tell you that you are an overnight success."

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On the biggest lie CEOs always tell

 “We are acting in the best interests of shareholders.”

On getting a "guaranteed return."

"If you've got $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, you're better off paying off any debt you have because that's a guaranteed return."

On why the government should tax every share in every trade $.10

Michael Seto

It might just put the market back to the basics of what the stock and bond markets are supposed to be, a means of raising capital to support corporate growth.  There used to be a time when Investment Bank Partnerships made their money scouting out small companies in need of capital and matching them with investors. They weren’t as big as they are now, but they managed to create quite a few growth industries. Something we could use some of today.  Making the stock market a launching pad for companies will have far greater value and impact employment far greater than making sure High Frequency Traders can get their trades in.

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On how high schoolers can make "easy money" right now

ESPN2

Shoelaces.

Say what ? Shoelaces. I said it.

I guarantee you that if you go to the parking lot of any high school or college football game with a bunch of shoelaces in team colors that you bought for 2 bucks a pop,and put up a sign and 2 chairs, you can make money. Not football season? . Go to where ever there are people in your community. Flea Market.Basketball Game.  Dance recital. Wherever people who go to your school show up , you show up. You set up your sign and your chairs.

On the sign you put something like ” Get in the YourSchool spirit”.  I will re lace your shoes with “YOURSCHOOL” color laces for $10 (small schools), $20 bucks (big schools with more drunk alums or lots of rich people).  If you want to make it even more fun. You can add “I will lace them in 5 minutes or they are free”. If you are really enterprising, you can put up on the poster about 5 different ways to lace the shoes and charge a premium for anything but “Missionary” lacing.

Easy money. Guaranteed.

On buying "swag" for your employees

"A sure sign of failure for a startup is when someone sends me logo-embroidered polo shirts. If your people are at shows and in public, it's okay to buy for your own employees, but if you really think people are going to wear your branded polo when they're out and about, you are mistaken and have no idea how to spend your money."

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On what kind of business to start

"Don't start a company unless it's an obsession and something you love. If you have an exit strategy, it's not an obsession."

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On why startups should have no private offices.

Daniel Goodman / Business Insider

"Open offices keep everyone in tune with what is going on and keep the energy up. If an employee is about privacy, show him or her how to use the lock on the bathroom."

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On managers reporting to managers

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"If you have managers reporting to managers in a startup, you will fail. Once you get beyond startup, if you have managers reporting to managers, you will create politics."

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On making life fun for employees

Tony Manfred/Business Insider

"Keep a pulse on the stress levels and accomplishments of your people and reward them. My first company, MicroSolutions, when we had a record sales month, or someone did something special, I would walk around handing out $100 bills to salespeople. At Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions, we had a company shot. The Kamikaze. We would take people to a bar every now and then and buy one or ten for everyone. At MicroSolutions, more often than not we had vendors cover the tab. Vendors always love a good party."

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On "conventional wisdom"

AP Images

"I love to challenge conventional wisdom. I'm a big believer that in business and in politics, when everyone is doing the same thing, none are probably as effective or successful as they could be. Typically it's not prudent for people within those industries, parties, or organizations to stand up and challenge the incumbents. It is usually a formula for losing a job, customer, or endorsement. My businesses are usually built around challenging conventional wisdom, so I tend to gain by taking the other side. It's been very profitable and entertaining for me."

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On selling YHOO at $200 instead of a peek of $230

Courtesy Gulfstream

From a CNBC interview in 2000:

Joe Kernan: “Mark, I understand that you have your own private jet - one of those GVs - a Gulfstream V?”

Mark Cuban: “Yeah. It’s really nice to have for when we go scouting for players for the Mavericks in other cities or countries.”

Joe Kernan: “Don’t you feel dumb that you cashed out your Yahoo (YHOO) stock at $200 and now it’s trading at over $230?”

Mark Cuban: “Well, it’s hard to feel dumb when you’re flying around in your GV.”

Mark Cuban: “I sold all my stock. I asked myself - what’s the worst that could happen? I walk away with two billion dollars in the bank? How much money do I really need?”

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On dreamers

"It’s not in the dreaming, it’s in the doing."

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Read more:http://www.businessinsider.com/20-quotes-that-reveal-how-mark-cuban-became-everyones-favorite-billionaire-2012-12?op=1#ixzz38CisTna4

How to Hire Your Next ‘Perfect Attitude’ Employee

Hiring the right people is one of the most important parts of running a business. Think about it: Employees shoulder a lot of the responsibility for the success of their employers, so it pays to find someone who fits the bill from the very start.

But many companies just can’t seem to do it, with 46 percent of new hires “failing” within 18 months of landing a job.

While that’s a surprisingly high number, what’s more surprising is why. It’s not skill-based, if that’s your first thought. A lack of skills isn’t even a top-three reason, accounting for only 11 percent of unsuccessful new hires. So think again before passing on someone just because she’s short a skill or two.

Your biggest concern should be the overall attitude of candidates. When newly hired employees fail, 26 percent of them do so because they can’t handle criticism. Another 23 percent fail because they can’t manage their emotions, while 17 percent fizzle as a result of motivation — or lack thereof. This means at least 66 percent of staffing failures stem from attitude problems.

See Through ‘Best’ Behaviors

Although people are usually on their best behavior for an interview, you get a feel for their attitude as soon as they walk through the door. Consider your closest friends: You probably felt an almost destined kinship when you first met. Something similar can happen with job candidates. Your gut just tells you whether she is the right fit for the job.

Of course, some candidates can fool even the best of us, and I often recommend asking some key questions that provide telling insights into a candidate’s attitude. The two I often use are:

1. Tell me about a time when you had to perform under stress. How did you handle it?
2. Describe a time when you disagreed with your boss. How did you remedy the situation?

The ultimate goal is to find someone who’s compatible with the team, so base your questions off the character traits and qualities you or your manager look for in candidates. I’m always on the hunt for a person with diplomatic skills. You may want a real go-getter or a great communicator. It all depends on the dynamic of your business.

During the interview process, I also advise managers to be upfront about expectations. Explain your vision and management style to the candidates, then ask if they would commit to them. You’ll get better performance out of new hires when they understand what’s expected of them before they even accept the job.

The Right Attitude Is Key

When you hire candidates with the right attitude, you create an environment where teamwork thrives. Employees work together, help one another, and share in responsibilities based on strengths and weaknesses.

Also, you get the chance to develop new employees when you base your hiring practices on attitude rather than skills. If you’re running a lean company, you can train new hires on every possible discipline based on their abilities, particularly when they have the right attitude.

At Travertine Mart, we train our employees in customer service, sales, logistics, and almost every other task. We opted to not establish separate departments, and it has served us well thus far. After about a year, all new hires are able to cover for the rest of the staff, and our loyal employees share a commitment to achieving our overall business goal.

Here’s the thing: Employees with the right attitude usually aren’t afraid to take on more tasks. They’re motivated to contribute to the growth of the company. If you’re able to motivate and challenge them, they’ll take ownership and share in your successes.

So hire employees with the right attitude, even if they don’t have all of the training or qualifications for the position. As long as they have the right attitude, you can train them to do anything.

Evrim Oralkan is the founder and CEO of Travertine Mart, a boutique online flooring company specializing in premium-grade travertine pavers, tiles, and pool coping. Until Travertine Mart’s founding in 2007, travertine could only be found in brick-and-mortar shops. Travertine Mart has provided a cost-effective solution that brings high-quality travertine straight to your door. Travertine Mart was named to the Inc. 5000 list in 2012 and 2013 and was a nominee for the 2013 Edison Award.

Read more at http://under30ceo.com/hire-next-perfect-attitude-employee/#8TG5BuxtSM2FgzWW.99

Why Risk Isn’t Real and What it Really Means

What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?

What would you do if you were fearless?

You may have pondered these questions before, but have you really ever explored the edge?  Do you really know the answer to these questions?

Everyday at Under30CEO we give you advice on how to escape from the grips of society.  How to hone your decision making, leadership, marketing, and financial management, to successfully build your own venture, and give you the freedom and security you’ve been dreaming of.

It’s all bullsh*t.

What you really need is a lesson in assessing risk.

People have so many excuses.  They care what their friends think.  They care what their bank account says.  They care about their credit score.  And my personal favorite, they care about “the gap in their resume” when they went out and failed at starting a business or traveled the world.

But guess what?

None of this is real.

Your friends opinions are just words.  Your bank account is just a number that reinforces your limiting beliefs.  Your credit score is just another electronic number, certainly not backed by gold.  And, the gap in your resume… are you kidding me?

What about the gap in your life?

Is what you are doing today, true to your personal sense of integrity?  If you are like most of our generation– it probably isn’t, and you’ve probably vowed to change it…

Many of you are familiar with the story of the trip to Iceland that changed my life.  The moment when I said “life is too short to sit behind a computer”, and started a travel company.  (See the Under30Experiences travel story here)

I came home, after being totally blown away by a place on earth I never dreamed I’d visit, and sat down Jared my Co-founder and had a talk with him about integrity.

Every month close to a half a million people read Under30CEO, I told him, and we sit here and tell people to follow their dreams, take risk, and reach beyond their own personal boundaries and what they think is possible…

I needed to be true to myself.

Something inside me was calling me to travel.

I’ve dreamt of exploring the world since 3rd grade Social Studies class, hearing about famous adventurers navigating the high seas in search of trade routes.  I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by.  

Especially not in my twenties.

After Iceland it was Costa Rica, and then across the border to Nicaragua, then across the world to Dubai, Indonesia and Bali…

I learned to surf, speak Spanish, practiced yoga among rice patties, discovered spirituality by way of Balinese Hinduism, and for the first time in my life saw true poverty, and realized what it felt like to make a difference through microfinance.

Go ahead, ask me about risk.

Most people’s risk breaks down into one of two categories: either financial or social.

First, for those of you taking home less than $75K in a major city like New York or San Francisco, you probably aren’t saving much anyway.  My roommate and I were paying over $3K/month to live in a fancy place in Manhattan and buying $12 cocktails downtown.

Trust me, living off 4-star villas for $50/night in Bali, or $1.50 Imperial Beers in Costa Rica, won’t put you in the hole like a weekend out in NYC.

Second, is social.  Guess what?  My best friend was heartbroken.  Dude, we’re probably going to be friends for the next 50 years.  My step-mom told me my family felt abandoned.  Um, remember the time I went to college and didn’t come home for months?  How is this any different?

Real Risk is Not Being True to Yourself

Through my travels I’ve seen sh*t in the world, that truly puts in perspective what people are afraid of when it comes to risk.

How about the Balinese woman who I rented the motorbike from for $5/day?  That morning she put a traditional Hindu offering on the bike, and told me how grateful she was for the bike allowing me to pick her children up from school (all 3 of them on the little moped).

It’s unbelievable how happy she is, I thought as I rode away and saw an entire family next door bathing in the stream on the side of the road.

And people in the Western world are worried about the financial risk of living out their dreams?!

I am no longer afraid of risk.

As an entrepreneur, I’m not afraid of sleeping on couches, because I’ve done it.  As a traveler, I’m not afraid to walk across the Nicaraguan border at night, because I’ve done it.

I’ve leaned into the fear, I’ve tip-toed the edge, and I’ve made all the mistakes.

Learn them at a young age and be forever fearless.

At the end of the day, let there be no gap in your life…

Matt Wilson is co-founder of Under30CEO and Adventurer in Residence at the travel company Under30Experiences.  Read his free e-book The Escape Manual, The secret to temporarily escaping your job, living a life that makes your friends jealous and making memories that last a lifetime.

Events Events Events!

Spring has arrived and we've been busy bees here at Alpha!

As always we have had a lot of recent events that provide our people with not only ways to grow and have fun professionally, but also having fun and building the bonds that will last a life time.

Let's take a look at some of our recent events:

Here's the team at our Leadership Conference March 30th, 2014

Here's a look at our "Hit and Run 5K" where the team ran through obstacles and a 5K run to raise money for local charities:

For April we had to do some very fun things... Of course we'll start out with some April Fools pranks. 1200 post-its and an hour put to good use:

And we can't forget about our Paintball Challenge!

Along with our weekly team nights, we're looking forward to teaming up with Alternatives in Action to help them rebuild a high school on Saturday May 10th.

We also have our Memorial Day Camping Trip coming up soon. This year we're taking on LAKE BERRYESSA!

For more events and to keep up with all the fun things we're doing follow us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AlphaAcquisitions

So Many Leaders Get This Wrong

By Jack and Suzy Welch

We've always said that human resources should be the most powerful part of an organization. So why, in reality, is its impact more often felt in a negative way?

Because human resources, unfortunately, often operates as a cloak-and-dagger society or a health-and-happiness sideshow. Those are extremes, of course, but if there is anything we have learned over the past five years of traveling and talking to business groups, it is that HR rarely functions as it should. That’s an outrage, made only more frustrating by the fact that most leaders aren’t scrambling to fix it.

Look, HR should be every company’s “killer app.” What could possibly be more important than who gets hired, developed, promoted, or moved out the door? Business is a game, and as with all games, the team that puts the best people on the field and gets them playing together wins. It’s that simple.

You would never know it, though, to look at the companies today where the CFO reigns supreme and HR is relegated to the background. It just doesn’t make sense. If you owned the Boston Red Sox, for instance, would you hang around with the team accountant or the director of player personnel?

Sure, the accountant can tell you the financials. But the director of player personnel knows what it takes to win: how good each player is and where to find strong recruits to fill talent gaps. Several years ago we spoke to 5,000 HR professionals in Mexico City. At one point we asked the audience: “How many of you work at companies where the leader gives HR a seat at the table equal to that of the CFO?” After an awkward silence, fewer than 50 people raised their hands. Awful!

Since then, we have tried to understand why HR has become so marginalized. As noted above, there are at least two extremes of bad behavior.

The stealthy stuff occurs when HR managers become little kingmakers, making and breaking careers, sometimes not even at the leader’s behest. These HR departments can indeed be powerful, but often in a detrimental way, prompting the best people to leave just to get away from the palace intrigue.

Almost as often, though, you get the other extreme: HR departments that plan picnics, put out the plant newsletter (complete with time-in-service anniversaries duly noted), and generally drive everyone crazy by enforcing rules and regulations that appear to have no purpose other than to bolster the bureaucracy. They derive the little power they have by being cloyingly benevolent on one hand and company scolds on the other.

So how do leaders fix this mess? It all starts with the people they appoint to run HR—not kingmakers or cops but big leaguers, men and women with real stature and credibility. In fact, managers need to fill HR with a special kind of hybrid: people who are part pastor (hearing all sins and complaints without recrimination) and part parent (loving and nurturing, but giving it to you straight when you’re off track).

Pastor-Parent types can come up through the HR department, but more often than not, they have run something during their careers, such as a factory or a function. They get the business—its inner workings, history, tensions, and the hidden hierarchies that exist in people’s minds. They are known to be relentlessly candid, even when the message is hard, and they hold confidences tight. With their insight and integrity, pastor-parents earn the trust of the organization.

But pastor-parents don’t just sit around making people feel warm and fuzzy. They improve the company by overseeing a rigorous appraisal-and-evaluation system that lets every person know where he or she stands, and they monitor that system with the same intensity as a Sarbanes-Oxley compliance officer.

Leaders must also make sure that human resources fulfills two other roles. It should create effective mechanisms, such as money, recognition, and training, to motivate and retain people. And it should force organizations to confront their most charged relationships, such as those with unions, individuals who are no longer delivering results, or stars who are becoming problematic by, for instance, swelling instead of growing.

Now, considering your negative experience with human resources—and you are hardly alone—this kind of high-impact HR activity probably sounds like a pipe dream. But given the fact that most leaders loudly proclaim that people are their “biggest asset,” it shouldn’t be.

It can’t be. Leaders need to put their money where their mouth is and get HR to do its real job: elevating employee management to the same level of professionalism and integrity as financial management. Since people are the whole game, what could be more important?

Jack Welch is Executive Chairman of the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University. Through its Executive MBA program, the Jack Welch Management Institute provides students and organizations with the proven methodologies, immediately actionable practices, and respected credentials needed to win in business.

Suzy Welch is a best-selling author, popular television commentator, and noted business journalist. Her New York Times bestselling book, 10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea, presents a powerful decision-making strategy for success at work and in parenting, love and friendship. Together with her husband Jack Welch, Suzy is also co-author of the #1 international bestseller Winning, and its companion volume, Winning: The Answers. Since 2005, they have written business columns for several publications, including Business Week magazine, Thomson Reuters digital platforms, Fortune magazine, and the New York Times syndicate.

A version of this column originally appeared in BusinessWeek Magazine.

Photo: Hurst Photo / shutterstock

FEELING BURNED OUT? THE ONE CHANGE THAT COULD FIX EVERYTHING

WHAT DO STEVE JOBS, BOB DYLAN, AND PLATO ALL HAVE IN COMMON? APART FROM BEING SOME OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN HISTORY, ALL OF THEM THOUGHT OF WORK AS A GAME.

BY CHARLIE HOEHN

Within a matter of months, I quit two amazing jobs.

The first was director of special projects for Tim Ferriss, the bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek and The 4-Hour Body. Secondly, I was the co-founder of a profitable tech startup.

Both gigs had highly desirable qualities: I got to work on exciting projects, collaborate with talented people, and I was making good money. For a 25-year-old, I was living the dream.

But then I quit.

Whenever I had to explain why I’d left, I felt spoiled and embarrassed. I had no desire to do the work--I wasn’t interested in what I was doing anymore--and I’d burned myself out.

And yet, I still felt obligated to live up to people’s expectations. Everyone asked me what I was going to do next. And I’d panic inside because it felt like I was losing. There was this voice in my head that kept telling me how far I’d come, and now I was blowing it. I’d let everyone down. I needed to become a successful CEO or a millionaire in order for the world to accept that I was okay again.

This pressure I felt to make it was such a burden--until I realized that no level of success was ever going to be enough. I would always be chasing the world outside of me. What was the point of working so hard if it wasn’t for my own happiness? The solution became very clear: stop doing work that doesn’t matter to you.

You might roll your eyes at this. “I can’t quit my job! I have a family and bills to pay!” I understand. I didn’t quit everything I didn’t want to work on right away. I just started making a conscious effort to work on projects I actually cared about.

CHANGE HOW YOU THINK ABOUT WORK

Rather than viewing work as a stressful obligation, or a means of getting rich, my work was a game I chose to play.

I wanted my work to be a game I would willingly play. I thought back on the activities I repeatedly played throughout my life because they were fun and I was good at them:

• Creating my own art
• Making people laugh
• Developing skills
• Building with my hands

I started setting aside 20 minutes each day to play one of my games. I’d come up with a fun project that allowed me to do work I cared about. The project could be small (assembling furniture, drawing a funny picture) or ambitious (learning a guitar solo, writing my first book). As long as I gave myself 20 minutes each day to work on something personally rewarding, I was happy. It gave me an internal paycheck.

I wanted to spend more of my time doing these things, so I gave myself a rule: Any work I did had to allow me to create my own art, make people laugh, develop my skills, or build something with my hands. If the gig didn’t meet my criteria, then I would turn it down. The work had to be its own reward.

Before I quit my jobs, my state of mind was messed up. I never thought of my work as a game; it was simply work. Every day was serious business. I needed to get more results. I needed to earn more money. I needed to have more success. I needed more--and I completely missed the point.

FOCUS ON CREATING YOUR OWN FUN

When I tackle work with a sense of play, my creativity and optimism soar. I fall in love with the process. My energy becomes contagious, and I’m able to create unique art with the people around me.

I’ve met a lot of incredibly talented and successful people, and nearly all of them approach their lives this way--they play.

No one forces them to work on things they don’t care about or tells them how to spend their time. They just give themselves permission to follow their impulses and pursue what excites them. They create a little universe that revolves around their own fun.

Instead of grinding it out in jobs they hate, these people become passionate and highly skilled at what they do. They team up with other great players and collaborate on interesting projects. Then one day, they’re making magic. Their mastery shines through in everything they create, society reaps the benefits of their gifts, and our world changes.

Every treasured contribution in the history of mankind was created through play: music, art, books, film, comedy, sports, dance, transportation, technology. We pay a premium for these things so we can experience the fruits of other people’s play!

Play is the true source of all the immeasurable value and wealth humans have injected into this world. It’s the DNA of our culture, and the backbone of our global economy. All of our most beloved creativity, profitable innovations, and fulfilling jobs have come from the freedom to have our own fun, for hours and weeks and years on end.

If we all pursued our own interests and natural talents, we’d fall in love with our work. We’d become highly skilled at what we do. Ingenuity would thrive, the quality of our goods and services would rise, and our lives would become richer.

Today, we all work because that’s what we’re told to do. But our system is broken. Every company is downsizing, outsourcing, and strapping their remaining employees with bigger workloads. The unemployed masses are left to fight for measly paychecks that come attached to uninspired, mind-numbing jobs. To the many who bought into the old ways of work, the future looks grim.

But there is a way out, a simple choice in how we approach our lives: to play for a living.

--Charlie Hoehn is the author ofPlay It Away: A Workaholic’s Cure for Anxiety.