When you’re worth over 3 billion dollars, own a championship-winning NBA franchise, and star in a ratings giant of a reality tv show, your words carry a lot of weight.
(source: Slam online)
Brash billionaire Mark Cuban has never been one to mince words. Cuban’s direct approach and willingness to call it like he sees it is one his calling cards, and he clearly knows of what he speaks. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, successful business owner, or simply just working your way up the corporate ladder, these Cuban quotes will highlight some areas you can likely improve in, while at the same time driving you to reach new levels of success.
1. “Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you.”
If you think you’re working hard enough, then you need to work harder. 9-5 just doesn’t cut it if you want to get results that are truly special. At all hours of the day, there’s someone out there trying to get an edge over you.
2. “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.”
To achieve things that are truly remarkable, you need to be 100% immersed in whatever that is and not get caught up in the “what-ifs?” If you’re making a plan for what happens if you fail, you’ve failed already.
3. “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.”
When it comes to setting up your work environment, it’s important to create an atmosphere that allows for things like in-person collaboration, the sharing of positive energy with your team, and working together with others toward common goals.
If you want to achieve maximum levels of success, barricading yourself away from others is an approach that will get you nowhere.
(source: Zulilly)
4. “I still work hard to know my business. I’m continuously looking for ways to improve all my companies, and I’m always selling. Always.”
Getting complacent and patting yourself on the back is one of the business world’s most deadly sins. If a multi-billionaire is still studying and working his ass off to make his businesses grow, then you should be too.
5. “Treat your customers like they own you. Because they do.”
One of the great Mark Cuban stories happened as a result of telling a reporter that a referee who had worked a Dallas Mavericks game “wasn’t fit to run a Dairy Queen.” The quote caused an uproar in the city, as it’s home to over 30 Dairy Queen franchises. Realizing he had pissed off a large group of current and potential customers, Cuban decided to spend a day working at a local D.Q. where he served ice cream and won back the hearts of thousands of Dallasonians.
Mark Cuban understands the value of a customer, and that’s one of the most important lessons you can ever learn.
(source: Nerds Republic)
6. “I look at my annual budgets for everything and anything, and I look to see where I can save the most money on those items. Saving 30% to 50% buying in bulk – replenishable items from toothpaste to soup, or whatever I use a lot of – is the best guaranteed return on investment you can get anywhere.”
Sometimes the changes that get the best results are the most obvious ones to make. Cuban owns an NBA team and is involved in dozens of different tech ventures, yet to him some of the most obvious, rewarding wins are some of the most basic there are, such as saving money on toothpaste or soup. More often than not, the most important changes we need to make in ourselves or our businesses aren’t the most flashy or self-gratifying.
Did any of those quotes strike a chord? If they did, good! Now make some changes and get back to hustling.
