I admit it, I’m a Laker fan, so bring it on, haters. Tell me Kobe is a ball hog, that Lamar Odom is an over-glorified underachiever, that Phil Jackson really is Mark Cuban’s Bucket Boy. Tell me that Mitch Kupchak is going to go down as making the dumbest trade on record, and that you’ll be rubbing your hands together as the Pistons or Spurs make their way to another NBA Championship.
I can take it.
What do Kobe and the Lakers have to do with my business, you ask?
Whether you’ve recently started a new business or are a seasoned entrepreneur, you understand one thing very clearly. Your best assets are the unique things you bring to the table"your experience, your creativity, your institutionalized craziness"and they help to determine the value of your company.
Like you, the Lakers know they have a star in Kobe Bryant. Love him or hate him, he brings a brand new aspect of his game when every season opens. He understands the competitive spirit intimately, has an incredible work ethic, and knows that when the team needs him, he can bring it in the 4th quarter.
I was there the night he dropped 62 on the Dallas Mavericks, screaming my lungs out, and there was poetry everywhere in that building.
But Kobe, like all successful businesspeople, also understands the value of the team. In business, as in basketball, it’s imperative to have the right people around you, so your business can grow and prosper. Taking the cheap approach never works. Only paying fair (or better) wages and accompanying that with respectful treatment keeps the best workers around to ensure your success.
Ask Howard Stern, whose recent jump toSirius Satellite Radio netted him a cool$200 million in salary and stock.
Clearly, Howard Stern understands the value of respectful treatment, since he’s received a guarantee that Sirius that they will not censor his risque antics. Likewise, Sirius understands the value of a great performer. They know Stern will bring revenue and new subscribers because of, and perhaps despite, his offensive brand of comedy.
So it may be time to ask yourself: what are the best assets of my company, and how do they determine our value? If you want to grow exponentially, do you have the right people around you? And how are you, as the company’s star, developing your game every year?
You Laker Haters can bring it all you want, but Kobe’s drives, break-you-off crossovers and circus shots, not to mention his jersey are going to be around for a long time to come.
Here’s hoping the same can be said for your company.
Copyright 2006 Find Your Prosperity.com
For more stories, visit http://www.FindYourProsperity.com
Alyson Mead is founder of http://www.FindYourProsperity.com. In her 18-year career as an award-winning writer, she has published hundreds of articles in over 25 outlets, including Salon, AOL, MSN-NBC, BUST, New York Daily News, Bitch, The Sun, In These Times and more. She has received the Columbine Award for Screenwriting, the Roy W. Dean Filmmaking Grant, and a Writer’s Digest Award.
