PASSION. Commitment. Hard work. they are the driving force and inspiration behind Andrew Vlahov
PASSION. Commitment. Hard work. They may be among the many clichés athletes and sports motivators use to describe the pathway to success, but they are also principles for winning in business.
And they are the driving force and inspiration behind Andrew Vlahov, the managing director of Australia's most successful basketball team, the Perth Wildcats.
While Mr Vlahov is a household name in Western Australia, it's his unwavering commitment to the Wildcats that has helped him excel in the corporate world.
"My motto has always been 'never give up'," Mr Vlahov told WA Business News.
"And I think that came from my father.
"I won't accept anything less than a win - it's a fundamental of life."
It's this determination to win that took Mr Vlahov from the bleachers to the Wildcats' bench, from where he grew into a championship captain and eventually the club's owner.
"In 1983, I was there at the first game the Wildcats played at Perry Lakes. And I became a player in 1991," Mr Vlahov said.
"I became involved in ownership and management in '99, was partners with Luc [Longley] for about four or five years and then by myself for a year and half.
"The interesting part of the transition was that I was part of the ownership and management and still played for three years, so that happened in '99 and I didn't stop playing until 2002."
He describes the dual roles of club captain and club owner as a "workable solution" that was successful due to the respect he had from his teammates and his coach at the time, Alan Black.
"He [Black] was the first person I spoke to after I inked the deal with Kerry Stokes," Mr Vlahov said.
"I said 'Alan, in the morning I'm still your captain and your player and I'll still run through a brick wall. In the afternoon when I put a suit on, our roles are reversed'. He was very accepting of that and it worked quite well for a number of years."
However, there have been a number of challenges in maintaining a winning basketball team while keeping the business in the black.
"Certainly we've had some ups and downs as a company, we've nearly gone to the wall on a couple of occasions but I think through innovation and some assistance we're able to maintain, I think, a very proud record of not only involvement in the league but also involvement in the playoffs.
"I mean, we're the most successful club in basketball history, so we're very proud of that achievement, and I'm certainly proud of playing a role in that."
But keeping the club afloat during some tough times wasn't the hardest obstacle he's had to overcome.
"Probably the greatest challenge was when Luc decided that he wanted to move in another direction and we had some business people come and do an audit to see what our options were," Mr Vlahov said.
"Our options were to close it, which would've meant the end of the team, or find a way to keep going; I chose to find a way to keep going."
He cites his father, Len, Seven Network chairman Kerry Stokes, and the Australia II syndicate head and former deputy chairman of the Wildcats, Warren Jones, as his mentors. And he describes Jack Bendat, the current owner of the club, as an "incredibly generous person".
But considering his management contract expires at the end of next month, what does the future hold for Mr Vlahov and the Wildcats?
Perhaps a stint supporting the national team, the Boomers, is on the cards.
Or his involvement in a start-up company involved in commercialising radio frequency technology for the community may become his focus.
Whatever the next step, Mr Vlahov is certain to keep bringing the lessons he learned on the basketball court into the boardroom.
What's your business mantra?
Be casual but firm. I'm not the sort of executive who looks over people's shoulders all the time and tries to be invasive. I prefer to give people responsibility and reward them for their performance. I really feel that brings out people's strengths and abilities, but it also brings out their creativity and their pride in their work because they have a patch they can call their own, so to speak, and they can go on from there.
What lessons learned on the court have you brought to the boardroom?
A management style [that evolved] because I was a very young captain. I was appointed captain when I was 23 years old and I had in front of me Scott Fisher, James Crawford, Ricky Grace ... some serious players and identities. Figuring out what people's strengths were and how to speak with them, figuring out the right engagement principles, allows you to have that real connection, I suppose, where you can get that message across so that not only do they understand it, but they actually respect it.
Do you have a favourite movie quote?
Mine is by Yoda, it was "Do or do not, there is no try". I can't remember which Star Wars it was from. It's when Luke is trying to get the X-wing out of the swamp and Yoda is telling him stop trying to try, just do it ... that's a favourite.
What do you think makes a good leader?
A good leader is a person of action, someone who actually walks the walk, rather than just talks the talk. And it comes back to my management philosophy, I wouldn't ask my staff to do anything I wouldn't do.
