Businessman and entrepreneur Mark Cuban recently discussed leadership with Leadership Lab columnist Michael Pietrack. The three lessons that came out of that conversation start with one word: caring.
Welcome to Leadership Lab, a column dedicated to biopharma executives aiming to enhance their leadership skills and advance their careers. Every other month, Michael Pietrack, the practice lead for Kaye/Bassman’s pharma and biotech recruiting team and host of “The Pharmaverse Podcast,” shares a valuable leadership insight.
In this column, Michael shares what he learned about leadership from a recent conversation with businessman and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, widely known as a minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks and former “shark” on reality TV show “Shark Tank.”
If you had the chance to talk to Mark Cuban about leadership, what would you ask him? I recently had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and distinct privilege to interview Cuban on my leadership podcast, “The Pharmaverse Podcast.” I asked him three questions about leadership, and what I learned was too good not to share in the Leadership Lab, as they’re applicable to biopharma executives.
Why are Cuban’s insights among the most credible in the business world? Consider his expansive career. By 1999, he was a billionaire after having created and sold two major companies. Since then, Cuban has owned numerous successful businesses spanning various industries.
For instance, he became the majority owner of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks in 2000, transforming the team into one of the most successful franchises in the league. Through his role on the reality show “Shark Tank,” Cuban invested in over 200 businesses, working with leaders of all sorts. He also recently co-founded and launched the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company.
From our conversation, I learned three key leadership lessons:
- The best leaders care deeply about their people, company mission and end user.
- Leaders build great teams by aligning people to the mission and focusing on the end user.
- Leaders develop championship cultures by leading from the front, excited and willing to do the work.
Let’s dive into each of those lessons.
1. The Best Leaders Care Deeply About Their People, Company Mission and End User
When I asked Cuban what’s the No. 1 quality that separates a great leader from an average one, his answer was one word: caring. He elaborated that if a leader really cares about their people, the company’s mission and the impact the company is making, they’ll have a greater impact on everyone they lead and everything they do.
His one-word answer, and how quickly and definitively he said it, has stuck with me. He could have cited that expertise, business savvy, innovation or charisma was the key to a leader’s success, but he simply said, “Caring.” Why is caring such an important trait?
A caring leader fosters trust and connection within a team. Team members feel valued, heard, supported and important. This builds psychological safety, encouraging employees to take risks, share ideas and communicate openly, knowing they’re respected and that their contributions matter. This leads to high employee engagement, improved morale, stronger collaboration and, ultimately, greater productivity.
After examining Cuban’s meaningful one-word answer, I evaluated where I was as a leader by asking myself some pointed questions, such as:
- Does my team truly believe that I care about their well-being and happiness, even above my own?
- Does my team see that I’ve bought into the mission of the company?
- Does my team feel heard when sharing ideas and safe to be creative?
I frankly couldn’t answer affirmatively to all three questions, which made Cuban’s answer of “caring” all the more poignant. It showed me that I had some serious room for improvement.
2. Leaders Build Great Teams by Aligning People to the Mission and Focusing on the End User
I also asked Cuban what those leaders did to create a high-functioning team. He said that it all starts with who the leader hires.
“A great leader doesn’t have to force somebody to do something,” Cuban told me.
He went on to explain that leaders who create the best teams hire people who are aligned to the mission and excited to do the work.
For example, Cuban explained that at Cost Plus Drugs, they were very purposeful about hiring the people who aligned most with the mission: people who wanted to help other people.
He also shared that they led the organization with the mission in mind, rather than being solely focused on “hitting the numbers.” He stressed that leaders who lead only by the numbers will have a lot of turnover more often than not.
Cuban emphasized that the best companies have teams that are not only aligned to the mission but also “aligned on being the best at it, whatever your widget is”—and with end users in mind. As he explained, whatever product or service a company is selling, when a business uses that to make their customers’ lives easier, more productive or more profitable, the customer is grateful. This response can be fulfilling for team members and lead to a strong culture.
Again, I had to assess my leadership skills by asking myself some hard questions, such as:
- Do I hire the most qualified person, or the person who is most aligned to the mission?
- How often am I reminding my team about the mission and the impact the company has on the end user? Am I all about hitting the numbers?
- How dedicated are my team and I to being the best for the benefit of the end user?
When I went through my responses, the most glaring mistake I was making was not keeping the mission and impact on the end user at the forefront of our team discussions. I thank Cuban for helping me realize this hole in my leadership.
3. Leaders Develop Championship Cultures by Leading From the Front, Excited and Willing to Do the Work
I’ve always admired sports teams that have a championship culture and companies that build a culture of winning in the business world. So, I wanted to know how Cuban developed that type of culture at the Dallas Mavericks. He said a championship culture starts with the leader. “You lead by example.”
Cuban explained how he led by example to get the Dallas Mavericks to have a championship culture. Back in 2000, he said, nobody went to the games. So, he grabbed a phone book, sat in the sales bullpen with the other salespeople and called local residents, inviting them to the game. As a result, the sales staff learned how to sell.
“They got to listen to me talk about what a fun experience it was to come to the Mavs games,” Cuban said. “We had tickets that started at $8 back then. ‘Come and bring your family. Our games are cheaper than going to McDonald’s. They’re cheaper than going to a movie.’”
Cuban not only showed the salespeople how to sell. He also educated them about what they were selling.
“So, the first thing was understanding what business we were in,” Cuban said. “And everybody thought, including the NBA, that we were in the business of basketball. We’re not in the business of basketball. We’re in the business of creating memories. We’re in the experience business.”
What impact did that have on his sales team and everyone in the organization? Cuban said that when the leader leads by example, is willing to do the work and communicates the value proposition and that sales are important to them, everybody understands that.
“And when you start telling them that your customers are everything, and ‘If they’re not happy, I’m not happy,’ then that starts developing the culture,” he said.
Cuban also noted that if the CEO, founder or owner isn’t the most excited person at the company about selling, they’re in the wrong business.
“If I can’t get excited to sell, then how can I expect anybody else to get excited?” he said.
Again, I had to look myself in the proverbial mirror and ask the tough questions, such as:
- Do I truly lead by example?
- Would I be willing to forego my office, take a seat in the sales bullpen, grab a phone book and start making calls?
- Am I the most excited person in the company about what our team is doing?
If you’re like me, you might not like the answers, but that’s OK. We’re all still growing as leaders. The important thing is to make the necessary changes as quickly as possible.
Taking Cuban’s Advice to Heart
Few business leaders have impacted our lives more deeply than Mark Cuban. He’s influenced industries, inspired innovation and reshaped how we think about business. Along the way, he’s gained profound insights that, if applied, can help us improve our leadership ability and take our businesses or teams to new heights. I’ve begun implementing the three powerful lessons in this column and am seeing results. I’m confident you will too.
