How Things Really Get Done in Private Equity and the NBA

There was a great Dilbert strip several years ago in which Dogbert was telling the Boss how to be more productive. He said “Put all of your high priorities on one list and your low priorities on another. Then do everything on both lists even it if kills you, otherwise you're a freakin' loser."

Then there is this quote that I recently came across and put up over my desk: “If knowledge was power, college professors would rule the world. Execution is power. Execution is everything.”

Too often in the rarified worlds of venture capital and private equity, there is a lot of talk about taking big risks and getting things done. But in practice, I see too much risk-aversion, too many decisions-by-committee, too many people posturing about being doers rather than actually getting things done. I think in Texas they call this, “all hat and no cattle.”

But getting things done is harder than it looks (otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking about it). In my experience, there’s actually a fair amount of emotional risk in trying to get things done – the chance that you will fail or fall short and be humiliated, the chance that you will be misunderstood and be mocked, and the very real chance that you will make decisions or choices that upset other people, who then share their unhappiness with you.

One way to ease the transition from “talking the talk” to “walking the walk” is to have role models. And that’s what prompted this article: two very interesting and different role models who specialize in getting things done. One is super-angel investor Ron Conway, and the other is NBA insider Wes Wesley.

In its most recent issue, ESPN The Magazine has a first-person anonymous account of Wesley’s influence inside the league, while Ben Horowitz of VC firm Andressen Horowitz shares his first-hand observations about the secrets to Conway’s success on his blog.

Some highlights:

• Conway is religious about maintaining his network and he has high expectations of the people in it


• Conway is always working, and is always available to be present in a situation when it calls for it


• "Super human courage" says Horowitz. "Ron fears no man and he definitely fears no phone call. When you ask Ron for help, you don’t have to wait a week while he warms up a connection."


• Wesley helps basketball players cope with fame and fortune, but doesn't have his hand out. He gets paid by others.


• Wesley tells it straight, even when it's hard. For instance, he told a player to dump most of his entourage, and he told an agent to clean up the appearance of another player's entourage.


• Both men value connections and actions over titles and status. Their networks are made up of doers, not talkers and posers.