Hmmm. I thought I remember seeing a 60 minutes story about Cuban that said HE created audionet so HE could listen to Indiana Hoosier games on the internet. Was that all bullshit? Did Morley Safer lie to me?!?!?!

I like the guy a lot...some of his writings have been a big inspiration in some of the things I am trying to do business\photography wise.

(Via BlogMaverick)

In basketball you have to shoot 50pct. If you make an extra 10 shots per hundred, you are an All-Star. In baseball you have to get a hit 30 pct of the time. If you get an extra 10 hits per hundred at bats, you are on the cover of every magazine, lead off every SportsCenter and make the Hall of Fame.

In Business, the odds are a little different. You don't have to break the Mendoza line (hitting .200). In fact, it doesnt matter how many times you strike out. In business, to be a success, you only have to be right once.

One single solitary time and you are set for life. That's the beauty of the business world.

I like to tell the story of how I started my first business at age 12, selling garbage bags. No one ever has asked if I was any good or made money at it. I was, and I did...enough to buy some tennis shoes :).

I like to tell the story of how I started up a bar, Motley's Pub when I wasn't even of legal drinking age the summer before my senior year at Indiana University. No one really asks me how it turned out. It was great until we got busted for letting a 16-year-old win a wet t-shirt contest (I swear I checked her ID, and it was good!).

No one really asks me about my adventures working for Mellon Bank, or Tronics 2000, or trying to start a business selling powdered milk (it was cheaper by the gallon, and I thought it tasted good). They don't ask me about working as a bartender at night at Elans when I first got to Dallas, or getting fired from my job at Your Business Software for wanting to close a sale rather than sweeping the floor and opening up the store.

No ever asked me about what it was like when I started MicroSolutions and how I used to count the months I was in business, hoping to outlast my previous endeavors and make this one a success.

With every effort, I learned a lot. With every mistake and failure, not only mine, but of those around me, I learned what not to do. I also got to study the success of those I did business with as well. I had more than a healthy dose of fear, and an unlimited amount of hope, and more importantly, no limit on time and effort.

Fortunately, things turned out well for me with MicroSolutions. I sold it after 7 years and made enough money to take time off and have a whole lot of fun.

Back then I can remember vividly people telling me how lucky I was to sell my business at the right time.

Then when I took that money and started trading technology stocks that were in the areas that MIcroSolutions focused on. I remember vividly being told how lucky I was to have expertise in such a hot area, as technology stocks started to trade up.

Of course, no one wanted to comment on how lucky I was to spend time reading software manuals, or Cisco Router manuals, or sitting in my house testing and comparing new technologies, but that's a topic for another blog post.

The point of all this is that it doesn't matter how many times you fail. It doesn't matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and either should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because...

All that matters in business is that you get it right once.

Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.

I like Cuban a lot. He's an owner that's a fan first and a businessman second. I'd love it if he bought the Cubs, the team would finally have ownership deadset on winning for once. Also, I think he's done a real nice job with the HDNet channels, especially HDNet Movies.

The ideal owner: willing to spend, interested in the team, knows that he needs to allow the right people to make the right decisions.

He's willing to spend and passionate. The question is whether or not he's too hands-on.

A great example of this type of owner would be Bob Kraft. An example of an owner who has two of the qualities but fails miserably in the third is Jerry Jones.

I hate the NBA but he seems like a good guy. I saw a TV piece on him where he took a small group of people out on the town in Dallas and several clubs wouldn't let them in........even when he told them who he was. What is that all about?

He does show a passion for his team and its sport so I have to admire that. I'll probably get flamed for speaking ill of Lamar Hunt right now but I've always got the impression that as long as the bottom line was good then Lamar was good.

Would I want Cuban as my owner? Not really. That passion sometimes crosses the line and becomes a detriment. Jerry Jones is a lesser example. I'd prefer something in the middle of Hunt and Cuban. The closet thing I can think of is the Rooney's in Pittsburgh.

Dude singlehandedly turned me into a Mavs fan. I have friends who have waited tables on Cuban and say that he's real down to earth and treats everyone the same. It was only a few years ago the Mavs were competing with the clippers for the worst team in the league. Even though we lost a finals we should have won, there was such an exciting buzz around town and it was awesome.

I am glad Cuban is speaking out against the horrendous officiating system that is present in the NBA. We're talking about officials who have been reffing games for years and blatantly give calls to superstar players and make calls against people they don't like. These are refs who have been beneficiaries of a good old boy network for years and David Stern doesn't seem to hold them accountable. As a result, the NBA has the worst officiating personell in sports IMO.

<i>officials who have been reffing games for years and blatantly give calls to superstar players</i>

You mean like the Jordan rules we used to have?

I'm not a fan of watching basketball but the game and the NBA in particular has become unwatchable. The concept of defense is gone. All anyone seems to want to do is dunk. A blocked shot means swatting it 10 rows deep in the stands and then mugging about how bad you are. And then we have officials who seem to think the game is about them.

All in all, take in a high school game. It's a much better product.

cuban is cool
 

i live in dallas. its been interesting to observe his influence and relative success compared to that of jerry jones versus the stars/rangers contingent. one thing for sure is that he absolutely loves the game which i think is pretty important. the other is he is a very astute business man. lastly he's not afraid to take a risk (remember dennis rodman a few years back). the winners put their money where their mouth is! both jones and cuban take care of their players and coaches (althoug don nelson has said some ugly things about cuban of late). i admire their commitment to winning. one thing i've heard alot since Mr. Hunt's death is that he was very committed to the success of the NFL even over and above that of his franchise. which is noble but part of me would rather have a superbowl win -- in my lifetime. cuban is more al davis without as much of the weirdness altho cuban is a bit strange himself.

I think the best way to judge him is by asking his players how they feel about him....and from what I've seen in interviews, tv pieces, etc....his players love playing for him (he takes care of them).

His team always has the best equipment, perks, travel conditions, etc. etc.....that says something about how much he cares about what he owns - and how bad he wants to win.

Mr. K was a lot like him (very competitive). From stories I've heard, Mr. K would overspend to gain any advantage he could to beat the yankees.

You gotta love owners that are fans (Mr. Hunt included)

Basketball on the Chiefs forum?!?!?