What CEOs can learn from Mark Cuban and his Mavericks

As many of you know, the Dallas Mavericks recently upset the Miami Heat in the NBA finals. It was a David vs. Goliath matchup with Miami being lead by “the big 3” and highly favored. Dallas was not supposed to be there and Miami already had dusted off the trophy case and ordered champagne to celebrate their victory.

What happened? I read the news…LeBron choked, money can’t buy everything. I even laughed at the jokes….”Today is LeBron James Day….everyone gets to leave 12 minutes early”. “I asked LeBron to change a dollar bill and he only gave me 75 cents….he didn’t have a fourth quarter.” I was rooting for Dallas, Miami beat my Bulls in the conference finals.

I watched the last game, the celebration afterwards, and learned something from the Dallas owner that I really think CEOs should as well.

Mark Cuban is the owner. He made billions off of his technology company and bought the Mavericks. He has been a punk over the years. He ran the organization like a kid in a candy store, often putting himself in the limelight as opposed to his team. Something happened this year: he changed.

Here are the three things that I learned, I believe he learned, and all CEOs should learn as well:

1. Be Humble. Mark stayed away from the media throughout the playoffs and finals. When he did speak, he often deflected the limelight to his coaches and players. He even had the original founder of the Mavericks accept the trophy!!
2. He listened to his leaders. Not many people caught this in the interview once he did touch the trophy. He thanked his team, and then immediately deflected the attention to his head coach. Rick Carlisle, the coach, said “media, you may now speak to Mark Cuban.” WOW! Rick had asked Mark to stay away from media contact and he did!! Rick then commented that it motivated the team to perform for their leader.
3. He stayed the course and invested in his key employees. Two years ago Mark had the opportunity to trade Dirk Nowitski for Kobie Bryant. WHY DIDN’T HE!! He knew that Dirk was the life blood of his organization and changing direction would lead to rebuilding. He hired complementary people that fit into his teams culture…..they wanted to win for each other.

I often laughed at the things Mark Cuban did…sometimes childish, sometimes brilliant. It all seemed more about attention and money than truly achieving the ultimate goal. I learned that all leaders can change in these playoffs.