An article from Terdema Ussery, President and CEO of Dallas Mavericks, discussing the proven strategies, philosophies and tactics they use to help their organization succeed.
Have a vision and translate that vision to everybody in the organization with passion and conviction.
“The key to leadership is to have a vision and translate that vision to everybody in the organization with passion and conviction,” says Dallas Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery.
When he was appointed CEO of the team in 1997, he quickly announced his vision to make the Dalls Mavericks “the best sports entertainment company in the country.”
With the emphasis on entertainment, the most important measurement of success is fan satisfaction
- did the fan have a great experience watching the game?
One of his innovative ideas for soliciting customer feedback was to put his personal e-mail address up on the scoreboard at home games. Fans were told, “If you send an e-mail, we will get back to you personally by the end of that day. If we don’t, then don’t support us.”
Says Terdema, “One fan sent an email in the first quarter saying he couldn’t find the game on TV. I called our broadcast partner, and together we called the fan at home within ten minutes of receiving his e-mail. We then showed him now to get the game on his TV. He could not believe that we had called him personally.”
Another improvement came from fan feedback when attendees at home games complained that seats in the upper level were too far away to hear the game. “The solution was to mike the rims and floor so people in the upper level could hear every slam dunk and sneaker squeak.”
Also, when people in the upper level complained they could not see the 24-second clock, Terdema bought and had installed a new three sided clock to accomodate them.
“Eleven thousand people sit in the upper levels,” he explaines. “The cost of these improvements was minimal, but the impact phenomenal.
“Only your customers can tell you whether you are doing things wrong or right. We listen to them through our e-mail, through which we get comments every day.”
“It used to be in the business world that companies didn’t listen. We keep our ear to the ground, hear what people are telling us, and adjust and adapt based on this feedback.”
The results speak for themselves: The Mavericks played to a sell-out crowd in 71 consecutive home games. In addition, in surveys from ESPN and JD Powers, the Mavericks consistently garner top ratings from fans.
In 2011, a new champ is crowned. The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA championship for the first time in franchise history with a 4-2 win over the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals. The Mavericks had made one previous trip to the Finals in 2006, when Dallas lost to the Miami Heat by the same 4-2 margin. In 2006, the Heat clinched the title on Dallas’ home court. In 2011, the Mavericks returned the favor by celebrating a title on Miami’s floor.
The Mavericks joined the NBA in the 1980-81 season and won just 15 games in their inaugural season. However, over the past decade, the Mavericks have been one of the league’s most successful franchises, winning 50 or more games in 11 straight seasons. They have been a perennial playoff team and now they are a championship team.
Reference:
Leadership Secrets of the World’s Most Successful CEOs by Eric Yaverbaum
Indiatimes.com – Dallas Mavericks won NBA championship for the first time
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