The Exchanges

Q Can I ask, what was the secret to his framework? Because it's clearly worked so well for him and for you, but respectfully, it doesn't work for everyone. You are very few people who've succeeded in the way that you have in this business and making that transition. What was his framework and what has worked from it?

A I think there was, there was three things. He said, number one, you have to find the best people in the world to come work with you. End of story. And don't compromise that. They won't expect that from, you know, former athletes like us, right? He said, number two, uh, lean into your superpowers. Mine is basketball, yours is baseball. So go out and be the best baseball player you can. And when you have an opportunity, um, you know, continue to do, uh, television work when you're playing, when you're done playing, so you can stay connected to the next generation of, of baseball fans. And thirdly, he said, come out and do these kinds of things, Harry, is go out and speak to the Goldman Sachs, the JP Morgans, the private equity community, and stay connected and stay informed and continue to stay in front of the smartest minds and continue to practice, uh, what you preach. Uh, so those three things, I wrote them down in my notes and I've tried to execute those over the last 25 years.

AI assessment note: “I think there was, there was three things. He said, number one, you have to”

Q I find it very reassuring to have bluntly mentors who've been there, done it, seen it. Um, you have some of the most exceptional mentors Mark was telling me. He told me Magic Johnson, he told me Warren Buffett, John Gray, Barry Cernlake. I wanted to unpack Uh, lessons from then. If we go to Magic Johnson, what's he taught you, and how have you changed having learned from him?

A I love Magic Johnson, and he is a very dear friend. Um, he was my hero, and growing up, I loved watching the Lakers against the Celtics, Larry Birding as Magic Johnson. Harry, what Magic did for me is he gave me hope. In my neighborhood, you did not have a lot of role models that wore a suit and tie every day to work, uh, that were a men of color, uh, and then when you go into having a Hall of Fame basketball career, and then taking that to a Hall of Fame career in business, the first thing he gave me was hope, because I said to myself, boy, if, if Magic can do it, why can't I? So that was very important. The second thing he did for me as, as we then became very good friends, uh, I had a very important meeting with him that he taught me framework, and he basically gave me his floor plan on how he took Magic Johnson, the Hall of Fame iconic basketball player, to a Hall of Fame iconic businessman. And this was in a course of a three-hour, uh, dinner that we had in, uh, LA, uh, near Rodale Drive. We went to a steakhouse. We had a back room. Uh, Lon Rosen, his longtime partner and agent, uh, set this meeting up, and it was a thirty-minute meeting, and it lasted around three hours. And years later, I asked Magic, I said, Magic, I am overwhelmed. I was so nervous to ask you. But I have to ask you now, why did you give me three hours when it was a 30 minute meeting? And he said, Alex,…

AI assessment note: “he taught me framework, and he basically gave me his floor plan”

Q Can I ask, what was the secret to his framework? Because it's clearly worked so well for him and for you, but respectfully, it doesn't work for everyone. You are very few people who've succeeded in the way that you have in this business and making that transition. What was his framework and what has worked from it?

A I think there was, there was three things. He said, number one, you have to find the best people in the world to come work with you. End of story. And don't compromise that. They won't expect that from, you know, former athletes like us, right? He said, number two, uh, lean into your superpowers. Mine is basketball, yours is baseball. So go out and be the best baseball player you can. And when you have an opportunity, um, you know, continue to do, uh, television work when you're playing, when you're done playing, so you can stay connected to the next generation of, of baseball fans. And thirdly, he said, come out and do these kinds of things, Harry, is go out and speak to the Goldman Sachs, the JP Morgans, the private equity community, and stay connected and stay informed and continue to stay in front of the smartest minds and continue to practice, uh, what you preach. Uh, so those three things, I wrote them down in my notes and I've tried to execute those over the last 25 years.

AI assessment note: “I think there was, there was three things. He said, number one”

Q I find it very reassuring to have bluntly mentors who've been there, done it, seen it. Um, you have some of the most exceptional mentors Mark was telling me. He told me Magic Johnson, he told me Warren Buffett, John Gray, Barry Cernlake. I wanted to unpack Uh, lessons from then. If we go to Magic Johnson, what's he taught you, and how have you changed having learned from him?

A I love Magic Johnson, and he is a very dear friend. Um, he was my hero, and growing up, I loved watching the Lakers against the Celtics, Larry Birding as Magic Johnson. Harry, what Magic did for me is he gave me hope. In my neighborhood, you did not have a lot of role models that wore a suit and tie every day to work, uh, that were a men of color, uh, and then when you go into having a Hall of Fame basketball career, and then taking that to a Hall of Fame career in business, the first thing he gave me was hope, because I said to myself, boy, if, if Magic can do it, why can't I? So that was very important. The second thing he did for me as, as we then became very good friends, uh, I had a very important meeting with him that he taught me framework, and he basically gave me his floor plan on how he took Magic Johnson, the Hall of Fame iconic basketball player, to a Hall of Fame iconic businessman. And this was in a course of a three-hour, uh, dinner that we had in, uh, LA, uh, near Rodale Drive. We went to a steakhouse. We had a back room. Uh, Lon Rosen, his longtime partner and agent, uh, set this meeting up, and it was a thirty-minute meeting, and it lasted around three hours. And years later, I asked Magic, I said, Magic, I am overwhelmed. I was so nervous to ask you. But I have to ask you now, why did you give me three hours when it was a 30 minute meeting? And he said, Alex,…

AI assessment note: “what Magic did for me is he gave me hope... he taught me framework”

Q watched Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? I don't know if you know this game show, and I was like, ah, when you're a millionaire, life is great. And then I, I did that, and I was more depressed than ever, which sounds very one percent worried concern, but it didn't make me happy. How do you embrace your relationship to money today, and how do you think about that?

A Look, money is obviously a necessity. Um, we always say we got to keep our lights on and all of that, but my relationship with money has changed over the years because what money allows you to do is to have, you know, more time. And the most important asset we have in our lives is, is our time and the ability to spend time with those that you love and respect the most. And, and for me, those are My family, my daughters, and our team here at ARC. But money doesn't care about me. It doesn't care about you. And so I found that when I really worry, think about process and not results, both in baseball and in business and investing, uh, if I have the best team and we're collaborating together and we have a very sound process and we're laser focused, uh, I would make the bet that in the long run, Maybe not in the short run, but in the long run, uh, the success and the capital and the resource will follow.

AI assessment note: “my relationship with money has changed over the years because what money allows you to do”

Q How do you think you changed as a result of that time working with him?

A I, it completely changed. I, I would say, Harry, that pre and post suspension, I'm a completely different person, complete different person, and, uh, it starts with just Appreciation, uh, being grateful. Uh, the definition of winning and success is wholly different today than it was before my suspension. Before my suspension, I thought winning and success was exactly what I said. Winning a world championship, uh, winning a big contract, having nice cars or a nice house, um, dating beautiful women. And what I understood post-suspension was Post Dr. David was that I was completely, uh, out of my mind. None of that is really winning and success. While it sounds nice and it's, it's fun, uh, success today is really built more around, um, gratitude, uh, others around me, winning, collaboration, being a present and loving father. Yeah, completely different.

AI assessment note: “pre and post suspension, I'm a completely different person”

Q there, your partner, um, one, one of the most skilled resume readers I think I've ever met. Uh, he did mention to me that you're one of the most skilled deal makers that he's ever met, uh, and negotiators. Can I ask what does great deal making look like and mean to you? You mentioned how your definition of success has changed. What does great deal making mean to you?

A Well, I think it's, it's empathy and compassion, right? Uh, really connecting with the seller or the buyer and really understanding. I don't think, Harry, you can make a good deal with a bad guy. That's number one. Number two, I do believe in this concept of win-win. If I'm trying to make a deal with you, Harry, and I don't understand that you live in Chelsea and London and you're this great athlete and you, you Things are important to you. I need to know what, what are the things that are important to you and understand what are the three most important things with this transaction that mean the most to you. And I'm going to start there, right? But if you have 10 things that are important to you, it's hard to meet all 10, but I can certainly focus on the top three. And I think working from there and then working backwards is really important, but also being a good listener. I think so many people are busy with, you know, running their mouths. I found that the greatest entrepreneurs and the greatest negotiators are people that are good listeners and then try to work out a structure. Sometimes the price is not negotiable, but sometimes terms are. Sometimes the price is negotiable, but terms aren't. And if you just go full speed ahead and you don't understand the rules of engagement, I think you're not doing yourself, uh, you know, Giving yourself the best shot.

AI assessment note: “Well, I think it's, it's empathy and compassion, right?”

Q I mean, that's a, that's a fun one. Warren Buffet. I mean, Warren Buffet is most, you mentioned kind of the private, I mean, it's most of our heroes. I grew up on Warren and Charlie's lessons. What have you learned from Warren?

A Warren's, uh, the absolute greatest, and I've had an opportunity, uh, more than a handful of times to sit down with him and spend 5:06 hours in a day Uh, where he's literally going over all my books, looking all over the real estate, and just really giving me feedback, and again, it's like having Da Vinci helping you paint, or, or Picasso, or something. It was such a, an incredible experience. I think I learned from Warren a few things. Um, he always talks about sticking to your circle of competence. That's always been really important. Number two, he always talks about You know, buy the best and forget the rest. You know, the saying that he says is I'm better off buying a great business for a fair price than a fair business for a great price. And that's, that's been true so far in my career. And then I would say this one I will share with you is he always talks about, like in sports, separating emotion from investing. And the same is true for sports, baseball, basketball, anything. And what he means by that is being a great investor, companies, stocks, they don't care about your emotions. He always talks about emotion. Uh, great investors usually have their emotions in check. So those, those are three things that, uh, among many that, that I'm enjoying sharing with you today.

AI assessment note: “I think I learned from Warren a few things. Um, he always talks about”

Q How do you think you changed as a result of that time working with him?

A I, it completely changed. I, I would say, Harry, that pre and post suspension, I'm a completely different person, complete different person, and, uh, it starts with just Appreciation, uh, being grateful. Uh, the definition of winning and success is wholly different today than it was before my suspension. Before my suspension, I thought winning and success was exactly what I said. Winning a world championship, uh, winning a big contract, having nice cars or a nice house, um, dating beautiful women. And what I understood post-suspension was Post Dr. David was that I was completely, uh, out of my mind. None of that is really winning and success. While it sounds nice and it's, it's fun, uh, success today is really built more around, um, gratitude, uh, others around me, winning, collaboration, being a present and loving father. Yeah, completely different.

AI assessment note: “pre and post suspension, I'm a completely different person”

Q there, your partner, um, one, one of the most skilled resume readers I think I've ever met. Uh, he did mention to me that you're one of the most skilled deal makers that he's ever met, uh, and negotiators. Can I ask what does great deal making look like and mean to you? You mentioned how your definition of success has changed. What does great deal making mean to you?

A Well, I think it's, it's empathy and compassion, right? Uh, really connecting with the seller or the buyer and really understanding. I don't think, Harry, you can make a good deal with a bad guy. That's number one. Number two, I do believe in this concept of win-win. If I'm trying to make a deal with you, Harry, and I don't understand that you live in Chelsea and London and you're this great athlete and you, you Things are important to you. I need to know what, what are the things that are important to you and understand what are the three most important things with this transaction that mean the most to you. And I'm going to start there, right? But if you have 10 things that are important to you, it's hard to meet all 10, but I can certainly focus on the top three. And I think working from there and then working backwards is really important, but also being a good listener. I think so many people are busy with, you know, running their mouths. I found that the greatest entrepreneurs and the greatest negotiators are people that are good listeners and then try to work out a structure. Sometimes the price is not negotiable, but sometimes terms are. Sometimes the price is negotiable, but terms aren't. And if you just go full speed ahead and you don't understand the rules of engagement, I think you're not doing yourself, uh, you know, Giving yourself the best shot.

AI assessment note: “I think it's, it's empathy and compassion, right? Uh, really connecting”

Q I mean, that's a, that's a fun one. Warren Buffet. I mean, Warren Buffet is most, you mentioned kind of the private, I mean, it's most of our heroes. I grew up on Warren and Charlie's lessons. What have you learned from Warren?

A Warren's, uh, the absolute greatest, and I've had an opportunity, uh, more than a handful of times to sit down with him and spend 5:06 hours in a day Uh, where he's literally going over all my books, looking all over the real estate, and just really giving me feedback, and again, it's like having Da Vinci helping you paint, or, or Picasso, or something. It was such a, an incredible experience. I think I learned from Warren a few things. Um, he always talks about sticking to your circle of competence. That's always been really important. Number two, he always talks about You know, buy the best and forget the rest. You know, the saying that he says is I'm better off buying a great business for a fair price than a fair business for a great price. And that's, that's been true so far in my career. And then I would say this one I will share with you is he always talks about, like in sports, separating emotion from investing. And the same is true for sports, baseball, basketball, anything. And what he means by that is being a great investor, companies, stocks, they don't care about your emotions. He always talks about emotion. Uh, great investors usually have their emotions in check. So those, those are three things that, uh, among many that, that I'm enjoying sharing with you today.

AI assessment note: “I think I learned from Warren a few things. Um, he always talks about sticking”

Q over before, the one thing that's staggering is the breadth. I mean, from the real estate to the kind of venture and P investments to everything in between, there's a lot. How do you think about prioritization and where your spiky self is? Where are you best in business? You said there were your best, obviously, clearly baseball, but now you're a business leader. Where are you best in business?

A So I, I think if you take a step back to when I started my business career about 25 years ago, early on, I wanted to have it like a pyramid where at the very bottom, uh, I would try a bunch of things and put some very small bets, 50, a 100,000 dollars in a, in a number of, uh, companies that I wanted to, A, uh, get a good return, but B, um, get a fair understanding Of the business, of the space, of teamwork, and that's what exactly has happened over the last five years. We've really kind of worked this triangle where we're, we're only doing things that we're passionate about, that we understand really well. That we have a competitive advantage and where we can bring real, real value to the founders. So what that looks like today at Iraq Corp, we do two things. We do sports and we do real estate, right? And sports I've been doing for my entire life pretty much. And real estate, um, look, I'll tell you when I was seven years old or so, I always thought about, um, You know, real estate, because we were lifelong renters. We always rented. My mom had two jobs, and I always dreamed about trading places with the landlord. Um, and then sports, I was playing baseball. So if you go, if you now cut, 40 years later, when I'm 47, uh, I'm doing exactly those two things, real estate and sports, and, uh, and are thrilled to, to be in those spaces.

AI assessment note: “we do two things. We do sports and we do real estate”

Q over before, the one thing that's staggering is the breadth. I mean, from the real estate to the kind of venture and P investments to everything in between, there's a lot. How do you think about prioritization and where your spiky self is? Where are you best in business? You said there were your best, obviously, clearly baseball, but now you're a business leader. Where are you best in business?

A So I, I think if you take a step back to when I started my business career about 25 years ago, early on, I wanted to have it like a pyramid where at the very bottom, uh, I would try a bunch of things and put some very small bets, 50, a 100,000 dollars in a, in a number of, uh, companies that I wanted to, A, uh, get a good return, but B, um, get a fair understanding Of the business, of the space, of teamwork, and that's what exactly has happened over the last five years. We've really kind of worked this triangle where we're, we're only doing things that we're passionate about, that we understand really well. That we have a competitive advantage and where we can bring real, real value to the founders. So what that looks like today at Iraq Corp, we do two things. We do sports and we do real estate, right? And sports I've been doing for my entire life pretty much. And real estate, um, look, I'll tell you when I was seven years old or so, I always thought about, um, You know, real estate, because we were lifelong renters. We always rented. My mom had two jobs, and I always dreamed about trading places with the landlord. Um, and then sports, I was playing baseball. So if you go, if you now cut, 40 years later, when I'm 47, uh, I'm doing exactly those two things, real estate and sports, and, uh, and are thrilled to, to be in those spaces.

AI assessment note: “what that looks like today at Iraq Corp, we do two things. We do sports”

Q largely from our dear friends across the pond in your wonderful nation. Into English football, um, but buying English football clubs and just buying sports franchises, and it's kind of, sport is becoming such a business today, unlike ever before, which has its pros and cons. How do you foresee the next few years in terms of the business of sports franchises and where the opportunities are in your mind?

A I think you have to thread the needle, Harry. I think what's beautiful about sports It's the great passion, uh, these progressive owners over the years. I can just tell you here about America, but when you think about, you know, Dr. Buss with the Lakers, when you think about George Steinbrenner with the New York Yankees, Al Davis with the Raiders, Robert Kraft, Jerry Jones, Jerry Reinsdorf, so many great ones. You have this heart and passion connected to the franchise, which connects with, with the fan base. Uh, you think about what Jerry Reisdorf has done with the six championships with Michael Jordan. Uh, Jerry and Michael were very much tied at the hip. It would be different if it was Michael Jordan, uh, tied into Blackstone. It just doesn't have the same feel, and I think Blackstone's the greatest of the great. But if there's a combination, Harry, where you can still remain and keep the Robert Krafts, the Jerry Joneses, uh, the Buss family still involved in the forefront, And because these franchises have exploded in enterprise value, then I think is a good mix because you get the capital from the institutions, but you still get the passion and the follow through from the Robert Crafts of the world.

AI assessment note: “you get the capital from the institutions, but you still get the passion”

Q What was the best deal that you did, and when you reflect, and what did you learn from doing that?

A I think the best deal, or one of the best deals that we've done here at AROC Corp is, um, we bought a third of a business called Petros Pace, almost five years ago, and we bought a third of the company, and it was a lending kind of brokerage, uh, business that was ESG and, and green, and it would lend to real estate owners, and it was a great substitute to mezzanine debt. So in a world where in mezzanine debt you pay mid-teens, uh, you were paying for Petro's Pace money, uh, about five or six percent. Of course, this was before the Fed, you know, has raised, raised, raised tremendously. And so if you're looking at a loan that is Uh, not personally guaranteed. Uh, it's half the price of mess debt, and it's green and makes the world a better place. Uh, it was, I, I really liked it. I love the two founders. Uh, we backed them, and then this, this year, we sold it to Apollo for almost, uh, you know, 12 times.

AI assessment note: “one of the best deals that we've done here at AROC Corp is”

Q Can I ask, how did that shape your mindset? Because that is such a significant moment for reality.

A I, I didn't, uh, really get to unpack it, um, if you fast forward all the way to 20 14, when I got suspended from Major League Baseball, uh, the longest suspension for PDUs It wasn't until then that I had a real opportunity to dive into the deep end of the pool, turn the lens inward, and met a guy, a doctor that really saved my life. His name is Dr. David. Unfortunately, he's no longer with us. He passed within the last 24 months, but he really changed my life and helped me unpack a lot of the things that happened due to that exit of my father when I was 10, and then more importantly, Help me rewire my brain, um, and I worked with him for more than six years extensively, uh, and yeah, I, I think that's, that's where my brain goes.

AI assessment note: “helped me unpack a lot of the things that happened”

Q watched Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? I don't know if you know this game show, and I was like, ah, when you're a millionaire, life is great. And then I, I did that, and I was more depressed than ever, which sounds very one percent worried concern, but it didn't make me happy. How do you embrace your relationship to money today, and how do you think about that?

A Look, money is obviously a necessity. Um, we always say we got to keep our lights on and all of that, but my relationship with money has changed over the years because what money allows you to do is to have, you know, more time. And the most important asset we have in our lives is, is our time and the ability to spend time with those that you love and respect the most. And, and for me, those are My family, my daughters, and our team here at ARC. But money doesn't care about me. It doesn't care about you. And so I found that when I really worry, think about process and not results, both in baseball and in business and investing, uh, if I have the best team and we're collaborating together and we have a very sound process and we're laser focused, uh, I would make the bet that in the long run, Maybe not in the short run, but in the long run, uh, the success and the capital and the resource will follow.

AI assessment note: “my relationship with money has changed over the years because what money allows you to do”

Q How do you engender the same ambition and hustle in your girls when respectfully they're brought up in different financial environments to how you were brought up in?

A I think it's less about what you say and more about what you do. Um, Rachel, who's sitting here next to me, uh, has been working with us for years. And I love her for a lot of reasons, but one of the main reasons I love her, she's really, uh, fair and tough with my youngest daughter, Ella. And Ella comes home and complains like, oh, Rachel's being this and this, and she's not being fair. And I go back to Rachel, I said, Rachel, congrats, you just got a bigger bonus. Because that's exactly what my daughters need. They need people that are straight, that are real, because, you know, fortunately, Uh, and, or, and, and unfortunately, dating grew up how we grew up, so the more, in a weird way, the more they lose, and the more they can learn from those lessons early on, the more people can be straight with them and not BS them, uh, the better they're gonna be, so Rachel's helping me, um, you know, and Cynthia become even better parents.

AI assessment note: “the more they can learn from those lessons early on, the more people can be straight”

Q great, those one or two things, I, I look for spikiness in people when I hire today, which is those one or two things. But I suck at hiring, Alex. You never earthly crap at it. What advice would you have for me when you think about assembling great teams as a founder, as a CEO, on your lessons on finding people's one or two things and bringing them together?

A I, I've been very fortunate, um, playing professional sports for over 25 years, that you end up with this experience where you have pattern recognition. Now, that's not enough, right? You're able to see really talented people who are hungry and gritty. Um, but my partner Mark Laurie has taught me a lot about reading resumes, and really the key is The tens and the fives are easy to recognize. The tens, you know, jump out of the page, and the fives are, are people you're probably not going to hire. The challenge is when you have the six and the sevens, and the six and the sevens, uh, have the gift of gab, and are good people, and they, they can trick you, uh, over a series of two or three interviews. So one thing I would say is, Hire slow, fire fast, and I would avoid, and even interviewing, as you read through your hundreds or thousands of resumes, I would, I would eliminate hiring six, seven, and eights, and I would focus on just the best of the best. That way, at least you're in a pool of, uh, people that you want to hire, then it's just a matter of culture fit for you.

AI assessment note: “Hire slow, fire fast, and I would avoid... I would eliminate hiring six, seven”

Q What was the best deal that you did, and when you reflect, and what did you learn from doing that?

A I think the best deal, or one of the best deals that we've done here at AROC Corp is, um, we bought a third of a business called Petros Pace, almost five years ago, and we bought a third of the company, and it was a lending kind of brokerage, uh, business that was ESG and, and green, and it would lend to real estate owners, and it was a great substitute to mezzanine debt. So in a world where in mezzanine debt you pay mid-teens, uh, you were paying for Petro's Pace money, uh, about five or six percent. Of course, this was before the Fed, you know, has raised, raised, raised tremendously. And so if you're looking at a loan that is Uh, not personally guaranteed. Uh, it's half the price of mess debt, and it's green and makes the world a better place. Uh, it was, I, I really liked it. I love the two founders. Uh, we backed them, and then this, this year, we sold it to Apollo for almost, uh, you know, 12 times.

AI assessment note: “one of the best deals that we've done here at AROC Corp”

Q Is there anything you're worried about when you look at the sports franchise landscape and how it could evolve?

A I just think, I, I, I always think about the fan base, and we can never, by the way, my same concern, Harry, about sports is my same concern about real estate, is I have to think about my mother, and my mother, uh, was someone who had two jobs, and we come from a very modest, you know, economic background, and we cannot forget about my mother. My mother is a figurehead for someone Who can't afford her apartment, and, or someone who can't afford to come watch their favorite sports team. We have to always make sure that we have enough, uh, to make sure that we don't eliminate, uh, 99% of our fan base, which is someone that has to consider affordability.

AI assessment note: “someone who can't afford to come watch their favorite sports team”

Q largely from our dear friends across the pond in your wonderful nation. Into English football, um, but buying English football clubs and just buying sports franchises, and it's kind of, sport is becoming such a business today, unlike ever before, which has its pros and cons. How do you foresee the next few years in terms of the business of sports franchises and where the opportunities are in your mind?

A I think you have to thread the needle, Harry. I think what's beautiful about sports It's the great passion, uh, these progressive owners over the years. I can just tell you here about America, but when you think about, you know, Dr. Buss with the Lakers, when you think about George Steinbrenner with the New York Yankees, Al Davis with the Raiders, Robert Kraft, Jerry Jones, Jerry Reinsdorf, so many great ones. You have this heart and passion connected to the franchise, which connects with, with the fan base. Uh, you think about what Jerry Reisdorf has done with the six championships with Michael Jordan. Uh, Jerry and Michael were very much tied at the hip. It would be different if it was Michael Jordan, uh, tied into Blackstone. It just doesn't have the same feel, and I think Blackstone's the greatest of the great. But if there's a combination, Harry, where you can still remain and keep the Robert Krafts, the Jerry Joneses, uh, the Buss family still involved in the forefront, And because these franchises have exploded in enterprise value, then I think is a good mix because you get the capital from the institutions, but you still get the passion and the follow through from the Robert Crafts of the world.

AI assessment note: “you get the capital from the institutions, but you still get the passion”

Q What do you think that looks like in five years time? How do we see sports franchises evolve? And what does that landscape look like?

A I'm not sure because if you asked me that question five years ago, I would have been Completely wrong of where we are today. The truth is in the middle of COVID and this, you know, direct to consumer and what's happening to the regional sports network deal, five years ago, while some people saw some of it, I think someone would be lying if they said, I forecasted everything. I think we've seen more changes in the last five years than we've probably seen in the prior 30 years. I think the same is going to be true here in the next five years. A lot of this enterprise value is driven by television, by the national television deals. So it'd be interesting what that landscape looks like in the next five, seven, 10 years. But I do think that there's going to be a world where it's going to be a lot more, uh, franchise direct to consumer. And that means with the way you watch the sport, uh, how you interact with players, how you interact with Buying, uh, merchandise, and everything in between.

AI assessment note: “there's going to be a world where it's going to be a lot more franchise direct to consumer”

Q great, those one or two things, I, I look for spikiness in people when I hire today, which is those one or two things. But I suck at hiring, Alex. You never earthly crap at it. What advice would you have for me when you think about assembling great teams as a founder, as a CEO, on your lessons on finding people's one or two things and bringing them together?

A I, I've been very fortunate, um, playing professional sports for over 25 years, that you end up with this experience where you have pattern recognition. Now, that's not enough, right? You're able to see really talented people who are hungry and gritty. Um, but my partner Mark Laurie has taught me a lot about reading resumes, and really the key is The tens and the fives are easy to recognize. The tens, you know, jump out of the page, and the fives are, are people you're probably not going to hire. The challenge is when you have the six and the sevens, and the six and the sevens, uh, have the gift of gab, and are good people, and they, they can trick you, uh, over a series of two or three interviews. So one thing I would say is, Hire slow, fire fast, and I would avoid, and even interviewing, as you read through your hundreds or thousands of resumes, I would, I would eliminate hiring six, seven, and eights, and I would focus on just the best of the best. That way, at least you're in a pool of, uh, people that you want to hire, then it's just a matter of culture fit for you.

AI assessment note: “Hire slow, fire fast, and I would avoid, and even interviewing, as you read”

Q That's a really rude question. You were so good. Why do that?

A Uh, I think that's something that, uh, it was a really, uh, Silly, dumb decision. And that's kind of part of the therapy, right? That I kind of, uh, today I am a changed person. I would have never, I would never do that. And what was most rewarding for me, Harry and I have, I've come to the place where I've forgiven myself. The, the most important thing that I think about my baseball career Is what happened at the very start when I was 19, where, and what happened at the very end in my last season. At 19, I came second in the MVP to Juan Gonzalez, and I was just a skinny lad. Uh, hit three 58 and won a batting title. And then as a broken down, uh, you know, guy at 41, uh, playing for the Yankees after two hip surgeries and two knee surgeries, I won the MVP for the team, um, hit 33 home runs, and brought them back to the postseason. So Harry, to your point, is when I think about, I don't need any of that stuff, because at 19 and 41, I had two of my best seasons, completely clean, and in a great frame of mind, makes you go back and go, boy, what a knucklehead. Um, but, but you know what, that mistake, Now sets me up for the back nine of my life, and I've never been in a better place, happier, more grateful, and if it cost me the Hall of Fame, I have no one to blame but myself, but if it can help the next generation avoid some of the mistakes that I've made, then ultimately there'…

AI assessment note: “it was a really, uh, Silly, dumb decision.”

Q What do you think that looks like in five years time? How do we see sports franchises evolve? And what does that landscape look like?

A I'm not sure because if you asked me that question five years ago, I would have been Completely wrong of where we are today. The truth is in the middle of COVID and this, you know, direct to consumer and what's happening to the regional sports network deal, five years ago, while some people saw some of it, I think someone would be lying if they said, I forecasted everything. I think we've seen more changes in the last five years than we've probably seen in the prior 30 years. I think the same is going to be true here in the next five years. A lot of this enterprise value is driven by television, by the national television deals. So it'd be interesting what that landscape looks like in the next five, seven, 10 years. But I do think that there's going to be a world where it's going to be a lot more, uh, franchise direct to consumer. And that means with the way you watch the sport, uh, how you interact with players, how you interact with Buying, uh, merchandise, and everything in between.

AI assessment note: “a world where it's going to be a lot more, uh, franchise direct to consumer.”

Q How do you create an environment of safety where you do have that? But also not an acceptance of continuous losing. You know, if a coach loses 10 games in a row. Yeah. We might need to cut him. But you want him to try. How do you create that balance?

A Yeah, I think it starts at the top, right? We talked about higher and slow. And then it's cultivating that talent. But how you, how do you create an environment? I think it starts with a leader. And the leader has to be, be able to stand up and say, hey, uh, I take full accountability. This is on me. And the more vulnerable you are with your team, hopefully it, it creates, uh, an environment where they feel safe, uh, doing that. It doesn't mean you have to like spill your guts in front of everybody, but it means that, you know, at times there's challenges and to be able to come to your senior, um, report person or to someone, um, like, like myself, you want to have that culture. You want to have that trust. And just like I can tell you, I've had coaches, hitting coaches, managers in baseball, that I knew they had my best interest at heart, and because of that, if they said jump, I would say how high, and I would do it without thought. The opposite, Harry, is also true. I've had coaches that I felt they had my worst interest at heart, so anything they told me, I questioned. So when I take that thought process to the business world, it's exactly the same thing. The first Thing that people that you have to think about is, Harry, if you and I work together, do you really think that I have your best interest at heart? If the answer is no, we're done, right? Uh, so building that trus…

AI assessment note: “how do you create an environment? I think it starts with a leader.”

Q kind of in the grind, you're an athlete, Alex. Like, I'm not an athlete. I know I look at it, but I'm not. But I'm a grinder. Um, like, it's not that easy to be like, oh, I really appreciate this, and I'm so grateful for this. It's, I want to win. But how do you actually bring it back to that today, and ensure that you do remember that?

A I think it's really about priorities, and it's much easier, I would say, to say this in my forties versus twenties and thirties, because the, the thought that I always share with my team is this whole idea that I see a lot of young people make this mistake where they go wide and shallow, and they try to be experts at all things, and we always talk about, at A-Rod Corp, narrow and deep. And what are the priorities? What are the two or three things that are most important, uh, to me personally, uh, to my family, to my company, right? And you can be great, in my opinion, at 10 things, but if you work really hard at one or two of them, I think you can be great at. So it's priorities and really simplifying and slowing down to speed up.

AI assessment note: “I think it's really about priorities, and it's much easier, I would say”

Q How do you create an environment of safety where you do have that? But also not an acceptance of continuous losing. You know, if a coach loses 10 games in a row. Yeah. We might need to cut him. But you want him to try. How do you create that balance?

A Yeah, I think it starts at the top, right? We talked about higher and slow. And then it's cultivating that talent. But how you, how do you create an environment? I think it starts with a leader. And the leader has to be, be able to stand up and say, hey, uh, I take full accountability. This is on me. And the more vulnerable you are with your team, hopefully it, it creates, uh, an environment where they feel safe, uh, doing that. It doesn't mean you have to like spill your guts in front of everybody, but it means that, you know, at times there's challenges and to be able to come to your senior, um, report person or to someone, um, like, like myself, you want to have that culture. You want to have that trust. And just like I can tell you, I've had coaches, hitting coaches, managers in baseball, that I knew they had my best interest at heart, and because of that, if they said jump, I would say how high, and I would do it without thought. The opposite, Harry, is also true. I've had coaches that I felt they had my worst interest at heart, so anything they told me, I questioned. So when I take that thought process to the business world, it's exactly the same thing. The first Thing that people that you have to think about is, Harry, if you and I work together, do you really think that I have your best interest at heart? If the answer is no, we're done, right? Uh, so building that trus…

AI assessment note: “the leader has to be, be able to stand up and say, hey, I take full accountability”

Q kind of in the grind, you're an athlete, Alex. Like, I'm not an athlete. I know I look at it, but I'm not. But I'm a grinder. Um, like, it's not that easy to be like, oh, I really appreciate this, and I'm so grateful for this. It's, I want to win. But how do you actually bring it back to that today, and ensure that you do remember that?

A I think it's really about priorities, and it's much easier, I would say, to say this in my forties versus twenties and thirties, because the, the thought that I always share with my team is this whole idea that I see a lot of young people make this mistake where they go wide and shallow, and they try to be experts at all things, and we always talk about, at A-Rod Corp, narrow and deep. And what are the priorities? What are the two or three things that are most important, uh, to me personally, uh, to my family, to my company, right? And you can be great, in my opinion, at 10 things, but if you work really hard at one or two of them, I think you can be great at. So it's priorities and really simplifying and slowing down to speed up.

AI assessment note: “we always talk about, at A-Rod Corp, narrow and deep. And what are the priorities?”