My business partner and closest friend has adopted a new principle, when it comes to social relations: Simply called “Look at the man next to the man” , now don’t confuse this man with a male groupie, the two are distinctly different, more often than never the man next to the man is just as smart, driven, much more authentic, just without ego.
I agree with this theory to a certain extent, but am conflicted. I have alpha male tendencies and there is something about “The Man’ that I simply can’t resist. Now let’s interrogate my stance further.
Lets take Lebron James for example.
His on court presence? Undeniably driven. When he is coming at you with a ball, you’d be a fool to stand in his way. Yet in all his skill and talent, Lebron most powerful weapon is his brain. James says his mental approach to the game is that which prioritises team success first.
His off court persona is that of a loyal lover, a doting son and an honourable father raising two kids with his long term girl friend and now fiancé Savannah Brinson. Contrary to his on court persona, his off court personality boarders on insouciant.
At the age of 22 most of us had just finished our degrees, fresh into a new job. At 22 Mr James was already basking in the overall sponsorship deals of about $170million (yeah some start REAL early) which included $90 mil from Nike, $15 from Coke, $6 mil from Upper Deck $4.5 mill from Bubblicious and 7.5 mill from Club Cadet this of course excludes his then salary of $13mill from the Cleaveland Cavalier . At the of 25 Lebron is the 3rd biggest name in sport after Tiger Woods and David Beckham.
So is all of this by chance?...me thinks not
He is armed with ambition. He wants to be the first billion dollar sports brand. which proves yet again. Success. Is. Intentional.
My appreciation for Lebron James, isn’t really founded on his on-court presence (haven’t really had interest in the game since the Kobe and Shaq break-up) but rather for his aggressive approach when it comes to the business and brand of Lebron James, the last on court man to take himself this seriously was Michael Jordan. With this swagger obsessed generation, Lebron is one of the few whose swagger far exceeds a couple of well co-ordinates outfits. At 22 he fired his management team and veteran agent Aaron Goodwin, the same man that got him a 90million dollar endorsement deal with Nike to hire 3 childhood friends, headed by a then 23yr old Marverick Carter (now 27)
He has made some fiercely smart moves since then, like reducing his tax liability by forming King James Inc, a holding company to contract with all endorsement partners. He has formed LRMR (a marketing company that keeps a pedantic eye on the King James Brand, doing market research every six months). LRMR has associated itself with top lawyers and accountants. You know you are in business when Warren Buffet says this about you “"I was amazed at how mature he was, not just physically but in financial matters. At 21, I wasn't remotely as mature as LeBron. Maybe at 51 I wasn't as mature as him, if Lebron was an IPO (Initial Public Offering), I’d buy it.”
As if that’s not enough, Nike has reshuffled their basketball division to give more resources to the King James brand, previously four of their staff were working on the Lebron account, they have now dedicated 150 people to work on the brand DAILY.
I don’t know about you, but if I'm reading all of this correct? Ill give the side guy a swift sweep and stick with THE MAN.
*Check our “Man next to the man post tomorrow”*
....
ReplyDelete