Cuban snip

Mark Cuban, author of ‘How to win in the sport of Business’ (Photo: Google).

One of the American business men expected to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) is Mark Cuban, a billionaire who is perhaps known in Kenya, not mainly for his entrepreneurship spirit, but for the role he plays in the T.V series ‘Shark Tank’.

In his book How to win in the sport of Business Cuban shares very interesting tips on how to do business and emerge a winner. Dubbed “Twelve Cuban Mantras for Success” here are the tips which every startup businessman in Kenya should know about.

1. Time is more valuable than money: learn how to use time wisely and be productive. How wisely you use your time will have far more impact on your life and success than any amount of money.

2. Commit random acts of kindness: Being successful entails being able to not only get along with people, but also to give something back. No one gets to the top on their own, and he believes we all should be able to make those around us smile.

3. No balls, no babies: This is something a blackjack dealer once told him when he asked him if he should hit or stick. It is also his favorite line and probably the thing he tells himself the most. Once you are prepared and you think you have every angle of preparation covered, you have to go for it. No balls, no babies.

4. Work hard, play hard: He went seven years without a vacation, but he did manage to have fun. You have to find ways to blow off steam so you don’t blow a gasket.

5. Don’t let fear be a roadblock: You can use fear as a roadblock or as motivation. There is always going to be someone who is competing with you, and sometimes they are going to win. Rather than not doing something for fear of losing, take on the challenge. If you fail, get back up and go for it again.

6. Expect the unexpected, and always be ready: Whatever you are striving to achieve isn’t waiting in one static place for you to find it. It’s the opposite. Everyone has inside of them what it takes to be successful. You just have to be ready to unleash it when the opportunity presents itself.

7. It’s okay to yell and be yelled at: One of the rules he has is that he does mind if people raise their voice or even yell a little bit. As his businesses grew, it happened less often because people deferred to him more often. He hated that. If someone believed strongly enough in something and he was being passionate about something, he wanted them to match his level of passion.

8. Everyone gets down; the key is how soon you get back up: The people who will be truly successful are those that fight through the quickest and come back stronger and smarter.

9. It’s not whether the glass is half empty or half full, it’s who is pouring the water: The key in business and success at any endeavor is doing your best to control your destiny. You can’t always do it, but you have to take every opportunity you can to be as prepared as—and ahead of—the competition as you possibly can be. Take the lead, and you can control your own destiny.

10. It’s not in the dreaming, it’s in the doing: Everyone has it in them to be successful. EVERYONE. Most people only dream about what they do if they were successful, or how they might get there. Anyone can dream. Anyone and everyone has ideas about how they might be successful. It doesn’t matter if your definition of success is being a great parent, being an athlete, a business person, whatever.

11. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered: Sometimes you have to go for the jugular, but more often than not, the biggest mistake people make is getting too greedy.

12. You only have to be right once: The beauty of success, whether it’s finding the girl of your dreams, the right job or financial success, is that it doesn’t matter how many times you have failed, you only have to be right once.