12-21-2021, 12:42 AM
1 Most importantly, based on how all the parties described it, Nico, not Cuban, was the one pursuing "Nico as GM" --- Cuban wanted the deal the most.
Sorry, I don't get it. If it was Nico, and not Cuban, who was the one pursuing the Nico as GM position, how would that have given Nico control?
My apologies for the confusing typo - it should have read "Cuban, not Nico." I have gone back and edited the post. Thanks.
What I meant to write ---
"Most importantly, based on how all the parties described it, Cuban, not Nico, was the one pursuing "Nico as GM" --- Cuban wanted the deal the most.
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2 That gave Nico control, justified or not, to set terms and conditions, even though Nico was not bringing any GM expertise whatsoever to the table. Plus, Nico has said explicitly that he made it a condition that he would make the GM-ing decisions, so there's that.
When did he say that? I have only heard him say that Cuban is in charge.
Nico said it explicitly very early, and always, that he would NOT have had any interest in the job if it didn't come with the authority to make all the decisions that GMs typically make. (I didn't catalog the where and when Nico spoke, and it's been too long ago to point to the specific interviews, but it was said in that way in two or more. Whenever the question of his authority to make decisions was asked, he said it clearly. He didn't shy away. He knew the stories.) I think that the only way anyone could have missed it was to either simply not have heard Nico, or to filter his words to fit an expectation that he could not be making decisions in light of where he came from.
Yes, there was the one big "introduce everyone" PC (very late, maybe a month later?) in which the questioners tried to draw out "who's really in charge" in order to perhaps pit one exec vs another, either now or from before, or do some sort of comparison, in light of Cato's article. IMO Cuban tried to put the topic to bed by resorting to the obvious truth that any Owner always can overrule his employees, as he wishes. (My take on why, was that Cuban didn't want to admit to the reporters there looking for meat that he had been too much of a micro-manager before, and had done a u-turn. It looked to me like Nico was uncomfortable with how Cuban answered, but it was the wrong time to push the point, so he smartly went with the flow.)
In assessing what I was seeing in that PC, my sense of it was based on context of what Nico had made very clear when asked one-on-one before, and I see how someone who didn't hear the previous clear statements would have left with a different impression.
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3 Everything I have heard him say, including last night's interview, was very self-effacing -- emphasizing there is a lot he doesn't know, and he's not in a position to be making decisions yet.
I agree that Nico is soft-spoken and self-effacing, but that is definitely NOT a definer of whether he has quiet-but-strong confidence, whether he knows his worth, and whether he would insist on what he feels is necessary to do the job right. More than that, of course, is that he told us who he is, when he said he would not have taken the job without full authority. The lion doesn't have to tell you he's a lion, to be a lion.
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4 IMO This was classic Cuban style - to try to discover an answer no one else would have considered. Less expensive hire, perhaps, given the lack of a track record. But once he was set on having to have Nico be the hire, then Nico could define parameters, which it has always sounded like he did.
I get the Cuban tendency to go some contrarian route and claim to be the smartest guy in the room. But it would be VERY unlike Cuban to surrender control of his business to a guy who doesn't know anything -- even to a guy who does, for that matter.
I haven't seen anything to indicate that Nico is rampaging through the organization making decisions without regard to Cuban. Maybe I have missed it. If you know of such, spill!
I did not say Cuban (a) surrendered control of his business - iow, made Nico the new owner, or (b) that Nico, given GM authority, then has isolated himself to make whatever rampaging decisions and has told Cuban to pound sand. Sheesh, get real, that's not how any biz works. Having authority also conveys responsibility to get it right, and if Nico is smart, he will work WITH others helping, not alone, and EVEN MORE WHEN HE IS STILL LEARNING. I assume that is how Nico is doing it, because it's a big job, and hard to do well.
I can offer one example of Nico acting just as he said - in how Bob (Cuban's buddy, even still) was handled. Is he staying? It was 'ask Nico.' When asked, Nico said he didn't know yet but would get to a decision later. Bob was on the outside of any action all summer, then he was let go when Nico had decided and was ready. In all of it, Nico made no waves, just went about his biz in his time and in his way. But it was all Nico's timing, and call.
Sorry, I don't get it. If it was Nico, and not Cuban, who was the one pursuing the Nico as GM position, how would that have given Nico control?
My apologies for the confusing typo - it should have read "Cuban, not Nico." I have gone back and edited the post. Thanks.
What I meant to write ---
"Most importantly, based on how all the parties described it, Cuban, not Nico, was the one pursuing "Nico as GM" --- Cuban wanted the deal the most.
-------------
2 That gave Nico control, justified or not, to set terms and conditions, even though Nico was not bringing any GM expertise whatsoever to the table. Plus, Nico has said explicitly that he made it a condition that he would make the GM-ing decisions, so there's that.
When did he say that? I have only heard him say that Cuban is in charge.
Nico said it explicitly very early, and always, that he would NOT have had any interest in the job if it didn't come with the authority to make all the decisions that GMs typically make. (I didn't catalog the where and when Nico spoke, and it's been too long ago to point to the specific interviews, but it was said in that way in two or more. Whenever the question of his authority to make decisions was asked, he said it clearly. He didn't shy away. He knew the stories.) I think that the only way anyone could have missed it was to either simply not have heard Nico, or to filter his words to fit an expectation that he could not be making decisions in light of where he came from.
Yes, there was the one big "introduce everyone" PC (very late, maybe a month later?) in which the questioners tried to draw out "who's really in charge" in order to perhaps pit one exec vs another, either now or from before, or do some sort of comparison, in light of Cato's article. IMO Cuban tried to put the topic to bed by resorting to the obvious truth that any Owner always can overrule his employees, as he wishes. (My take on why, was that Cuban didn't want to admit to the reporters there looking for meat that he had been too much of a micro-manager before, and had done a u-turn. It looked to me like Nico was uncomfortable with how Cuban answered, but it was the wrong time to push the point, so he smartly went with the flow.)
In assessing what I was seeing in that PC, my sense of it was based on context of what Nico had made very clear when asked one-on-one before, and I see how someone who didn't hear the previous clear statements would have left with a different impression.
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3 Everything I have heard him say, including last night's interview, was very self-effacing -- emphasizing there is a lot he doesn't know, and he's not in a position to be making decisions yet.
I agree that Nico is soft-spoken and self-effacing, but that is definitely NOT a definer of whether he has quiet-but-strong confidence, whether he knows his worth, and whether he would insist on what he feels is necessary to do the job right. More than that, of course, is that he told us who he is, when he said he would not have taken the job without full authority. The lion doesn't have to tell you he's a lion, to be a lion.
----------------------------
4 IMO This was classic Cuban style - to try to discover an answer no one else would have considered. Less expensive hire, perhaps, given the lack of a track record. But once he was set on having to have Nico be the hire, then Nico could define parameters, which it has always sounded like he did.
I get the Cuban tendency to go some contrarian route and claim to be the smartest guy in the room. But it would be VERY unlike Cuban to surrender control of his business to a guy who doesn't know anything -- even to a guy who does, for that matter.
I haven't seen anything to indicate that Nico is rampaging through the organization making decisions without regard to Cuban. Maybe I have missed it. If you know of such, spill!
I did not say Cuban (a) surrendered control of his business - iow, made Nico the new owner, or (b) that Nico, given GM authority, then has isolated himself to make whatever rampaging decisions and has told Cuban to pound sand. Sheesh, get real, that's not how any biz works. Having authority also conveys responsibility to get it right, and if Nico is smart, he will work WITH others helping, not alone, and EVEN MORE WHEN HE IS STILL LEARNING. I assume that is how Nico is doing it, because it's a big job, and hard to do well.
I can offer one example of Nico acting just as he said - in how Bob (Cuban's buddy, even still) was handled. Is he staying? It was 'ask Nico.' When asked, Nico said he didn't know yet but would get to a decision later. Bob was on the outside of any action all summer, then he was let go when Nico had decided and was ready. In all of it, Nico made no waves, just went about his biz in his time and in his way. But it was all Nico's timing, and call.
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