How to Win at the Sport of Business summary

When Mark Cuban moved to Dallas at the age of 24, he was looking for three things: sunshine, job opportunities and women. He had a broken-down car and a few polyester suits, and started off sleeping on the floor of an acquaintance's tiny apartment.

Cuban had several jobs, which he knew would help his career because they all represented opportunities to learn. While many people assume they need to find the perfect job right after college and commit to it, that’s not necessarily the best way to start your career. Rather, it’s better to build and develop a variety of skills first.

As a young man fresh out of college, Cuban spent a few months at Mellon Bank, where he learned about computer systems. As a budding entrepreneur, he also endeavored to improve the company without consulting his boss first – which got him fired.

After moving to Dallas, he got another job working with software. He bought himself a computer for $99 and started teaching himself programming. He devoted his time to this new pursuit rather than returning to university, as it was an opportunity to get paid while learning.

When working a number of temporary jobs, there’s another valuable lesson to be learned: other people’s methods won’t always be best for you.

Working a variety of jobs helps you learn about yourself, your skills and your ambitions, but it can also teach you a lot about where businesses or bosses go wrong.

When Cuban found that his bosses weren’t open to their employees’ ideas, he decided that he simply couldn’t work there any longer. So he left and founded his own company, MicroSolutions, which sold PC software and configured computers.

Microsolutions had its share of problems – at one point, a secretary stole nearly all the company’s money – but Cuban was able to grow it into a strong company that eventually brought in revenue of over $30 million.