Do you know what it takes to catch the eyes of a leader? Do you know what it takes for a leader to say, “I believe in you…so much I’m willing to get behind you?” Well I’m about to give you some insights from great leaders themselves.
My two favorite television shows happen to both be on Friday evenings – Blue Bloods and Shark Tank. Last evening was the season premier of Shark Tank, the popular show where aspiring entrepreneurs make pitches for their products in front of business leaders Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Kevin O’Leary, and Barbara Corcoran.
The following are 38 Leadership Quotes and Lessons from this season’s initial episode of Shark Tank:
Josh Brooks, Founder of Postcard On The Run
- Leaders Want To Know You Can Finish What You Start – “Walk me through the money. How do I make money? How do you pay for it?” – Herjavec
- Leaders Want Margin – “What are your margins?” – O’Leary
- Leaders Count What Counts – “What are your sales? That’s all that really matters?” – O’Leary
- Leaders Don’t Rely On Luck – “You can stay up all night. That doesn’t mean you’re going to get lucky. You’ve got to get lucky for this to work for investors.” – Cuban
- Leaders Are Looking For Something Unique – “There is nothing proprietary in what you are doing.” – O’Leary
- Leaders Are Interested Increasing Followers – “What’s the age range (target market)?” – Herjavec
- Leaders Don’t Leave Things To Chance – “You said ‘I have patents pending’ but you don’t know if you’re going to get it. I’m out.” – Greiner
- Leaders Are Interested In Value – “It’s my money. I worked really hard for my money. I get the privilege of saying I feel it’s worth.” – Herjavec
Leaders Change Lives – “The great thing about Shark Tank is it changes lives.” – O’Leary
Lynnae Schneller and Ali Cullinane, Founders of Lynnae’s Groumet Pickles
- Leaders Know What Works – “Did you tell us what your sales were” – Corcoran
- Leaders Invest In Potential – “We have signed on with the largest specialty food deliverer in the U.S.” – Cullinane
- Leaders Need Solutions To Dilemmas People Face – “You have the classic entrepreneur’s dilemma you don’t have enough inventory to grow the business. We have to see beyond that. Do you have anything that makes people say, ‘Wow!’? – Cuban
- Leaders Invest In Other Leaders – “The differentiator is the two of you.” – Corcoran
- Leaders Are Good Stewards – “Why would Target put a $7 jar in when the market is at $3?” – O’Leary
- Leaders Are Looking For Other Leaders Who Are Personally Invested – “I don’t like sweet pickles and I have to like whatever I invest in. I’m out.” – Greiner
- Leaders Value Hard Work And Creativity – “I think you hustle which is great. You’re creative.” – Cuban
- Leaders Invest In People They Like – “No one is beating you up because you’re so nice.” – O’Leary
- Leaders Invest In Other Leaders – “I’m a sucker for great entrepreneurs which you both are.” – Corcoran
- Leaders Look For Momentum – “$144K of sales in your first year is phenomenal. I don’t think you need a partner.” – Corcoran
Drs. Richard and Albert Amini, Founders of Rolodoc
- Leaders Create A Sense Of Urgency – “What are you going to do to convince doctors to put their profiles on Rolodoc? How are you going to do this?” – Cuban
- Leaders Invest In Logical Decisions – “Let’s go through a logical procedure.” – Cuban
- Leaders Question Plans And Tactics – “Within a secure environment you’re going to do advertising? Not going to happen.” – Cuban
- Leaders Do Not Want Liability – “I see this as a liability nightmare..There”s a lot of risk in it.” – Greiner
- Leaders Will Not Be Reduced To Levels Below Excellence – “Worst presentation ever…I’m being a bully because they deserve to be bullied.”
- Leaders Sell Their Ideas – “If you’re looking for money, you got to sell your idea. That business plan is so unclear I’m out.” – Corcoran
- Leaders Are Results Oriented – “At the end of the day I can’t connect the dots on how I make money.” – O’Leary
- Leaders Deeply Value Their Time – “They just weren’t prepared. They were arrogant thinking they were just going to wing it.” – Cuban
- Leaders Learn From Mistakes – “Protein is never wasted when a death occurs. Others we see what happened here and learn from their mistakes so they won’t make mistakes.” – O’Leary
Cole Egger and James McDonald, Founders of Sweet Ballz
- Leaders Invest In Things That Last – “What’s your shelf life.” – Greiner
- Leaders Invest In Past Success – “Were any of your other enterprises successful?” – O’Leary
- Leaders Have Often Previously Failed – “You got burned along the way and learned some lessons which is a good thing.” – Greiner
- Leaders Find A Way – “You only have to be right one time.” – Cuban
- Leaders Have Multiple Streams Of Income – “95% of your sales in 7-Eleven.” – Egger
- Leaders Must First Buy Into Their Products Before Expecting Others To – “Have you paid yourself any? How big is your distribution?” – O’Leary
- Leaders Invest In People, Not Products – “I’m not investing in my retail strategy. I’m investing in the two of you guys.” – Herjavec
- Leaders Are Looking For Sustainable Success – “You need a shark who knows how to keep you IN the retailer.” – Greiner
- Leaders Value Partnerships – “There is value to having more than one shark in on the deal.” – Herjavec
- Leaders Count What Counts – “I know from 17 years of experience people are dying to get on QVC for publicity alone. It is lights, camera, customers.” – Greiner
There is no better reality show on television than Shark Tank. Bar none.
To subscribe to this site and get my latest FREE eBook 649 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From The 2013 Passion, Exponential, Orange, Chick-Fil-A Leadercast Conferences click here or on the image to the left.