'That's Complete Bulls***!': Mr. Wonderful Shares His Thoughts on Playing the Blame Game, 'Quiet Firing,' and More

Kevin O'Leary, besides known arsenic Mr. Wonderful, is 1 of the original Shark Tank sharks who, since 2009, has made the dreams of immoderate entrepreneurs travel existent and sent others location successful tears. The 17th play premieres successful astir 2 weeks, and if my speech pinch him for our show, How Success Happens is immoderate indication, clip has not mellowed this man.

He calls b.s. erstwhile he sees it, but he isn't a hater. As accelerated arsenic O'Leary is to state "I'm out!" he besides doesn't hesitate to propulsion his afloat power down the things he loves. If you travel Mr. Wonderful connected social, you cognize he loves watches. WORSHIPS watches. We talked astir wherever his passion for collecting uncommon timepieces came from and really that obsession led to his latest venture, WonderCare, a business pinch the 1916 company.

We besides talked astir the 1 finance his woman told him he was "out of his mind" for making (a record-setting winning $12.9 cardinal auction bid connected a hoops card,) his thoughts connected guidance tactics, really he keeps his power up, and the worst correction he sees group make complete and complete again successful entrepreneurship.

You tin watch our full speech supra aliases perceive here, and cheque retired beneath for immoderate genuinely awesome highlights.

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Give the Crap a Rest

The number 1 point hurting astir entrepreneurs' expertise to enactment focused and energized? "Shit food," says O'Leary. "You don't cognize really bad that crap is for you until you extremity eating it, and past you consciousness incredible." He tells anyone he meets to effort the Yuka app, which scans barcodes of packaged foods and tells you if you really want it successful your assemblage aliases not. He besides stresses exercising your mind by doing things retired of your comfortableness zone. "The producers of the upcoming movie Marty Supreme called maine and said, 'Look, we've sewage a portion successful a movie for you and we're looking for a existent asshole and you're it.'" O'Leary has ne'er done scripted intermezo earlier and jumped astatine the challenge.

Takeaway: If you want to extremity emotion for illustration garbage, extremity eating garbage.

Great Customer Service = Great Profits

Responding to a listener mobility astir maintaining margins, O'Leary offers: "Customers covet 1 point much than anything, work and support. …If the infinitesimal they telephone you, you hole it that aforesaid day… they're not going to quibble astir the bill." He compares this to Apple's ecosystem: "I worked for Steve Jobs measurement backmost successful the early '90s. Not a bully guy, but he taught maine truthful much. He said, 'I don't request to do marketplace research. They don't cognize what they want till I show them what they want.' I said, 'Steve, you sound for illustration specified an asshole.' But he was right. He said they want a awesome merchandise pinch awesome service."

Takeaway: Superior work commands demand—invest successful happy customers, not endless discounts.

Success Demands Resilience, Not Certainty

Mr. Wonderful warns founders against falling successful emotion pinch their ain projections: "The roadworthy to occurrence successful entrepreneurship is simply a journey, it's not a destination… Stuff you ne'er saw coming astatine you, boom, it hits you. You request to beryllium flexible." He values founders who ain their failures: "When you fail, it's your fault. You screwed up. Own it and study from it and don't do it again. Then you get maine to put successful you."

Takeaway: Build elasticity into your business and spot failures arsenic captious learning opportunities.

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