" MAGIC " STRATEGIES CONT ...
the show . The number of hot dogs he sold in one night took suburban theaters an entire month to sell . “ Understanding your customer , knowing your customer , overdelivering to your customer brought me back the returns that I was looking for and that Loews Theaters was looking for ,” Magic said .
When the first theater came in the top ten highestgrossing theaters in the nation , it was easy for Magic to get others to buy in and build more theaters after that . ( Magic and his partner Ken Lombard sold Magic Johnson Theaters to Loews Cineplex Entertainment in 2004 .)
He repeated the same strategies when he started building Starbucks . Replacing scones with desserts minorities enjoyed and playing music that minorities liked , revenue skyrocketed . He built 125 Starbucks before selling his share in the company .
# 7 LET YOUR PLAYING DO THE TALKING .
Magic Johnson brought Howard Schultz to urban America to get the deal with Starbucks .
Howard showed up on the day that Whitney Houston ’ s movie Waiting To Exhale came out . People were lined up around the block . The lobby was loud , not quiet and reserved . Every show was sold out , and 5,000 women were waiting to see the show . “ Twenty minutes into the movie , every woman in there thought they were Whitney Houston personally ,” Magic said . “ They ’ re talking to the screen , ‘ Girl , why are you still with him ?’”
Howard nudged Magic and asked him to step outside and said , “ I ’ ve never had a movie-going experience quite like this . You know what , Earvin ? You got the deal . I ’ ve seen everything I need to see . I see they embrace your business , they support your business , and they spend money in your business , and I can see the same thing happening at Starbucks .”
# 8 CHAMPIONS LEARN FROM FAILURE .
There were business failures too . A TV show called The Magic Hour was canceled after only two months due to low ratings . When he opened Magic 32 Retail Chain , he sold nothing for three or four months and lost $ 200,000 because he tried to be the buyer and pick out the merchandise to sell himself . Although he didn ’ t get the results he was looking for , it inspired him to be successful .
Plus , he learned lessons that he says made him a better CEO . For example , he learned “ to stick to what you know and what you can do best ,” “ to hire the best people ,” and that he was “ too much of a control freak and trying to make all the decisions .” He also reflected on what went wrong , asking himself , “ Why did I fail ?” and figured out what he could do better the next time . “ I looked myself in the mirror ,” Magic said . “ Selfevaluation is hard . . . but I ’ m going to stay motivated and move that motivation , passion , and love into another area where I will hopefully excel , because I didn ’ t excel at late-night hosting .”
# 9 RIVALS MAKE YOU BETTER .
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird ’ s heated rivalry is famous and well documented and added fuel to the long-standing feud between the Celtics and the Lakers . “ I disliked the Celtics and Larry because you have to in order to beat them ,” Magic said . “ But your competitor can make you better . I knew Larry Bird was taking 1,000 shots a day , so I had to make 1,000 shots a day . I knew he was working on a new move , so I had to work on a new move . I knew he was going to come back better , so I knew I had to come back better . So , I owe Larry Bird a lot because he made me better . And it ’ s the same in business . Your competitor can make you better . You ’ re going to work harder . They ’ ll keep you up at night sometimes because you wonder what they are going to do next .”
Later , the two became great friends after shooting a Converse TV commercial together at Larry Bird ’ s house in Indiana . “ Larry ’ s mom made lunch , and he invited me up to the house for lunch ,” Magic said . “ She brings out all the food and they aren ’ t talking , and Larry ’ s mom says , ‘ Did you tell him yet ?’ to which Larry says , ‘ No , you tell him , mom .’ And Larry Bird ’ s mom says , ‘ Magic , you are my favorite basketball player .’ That broke the ice , and we found out we had so much in common .”
# 10 ELEVATE YOUR GAME .
“ It takes the same amount of time to do a million-dollar deal as a billiondollar deal ,” Magic said .
His point is that you must have guidelines on what deal fits within your brand , within your system , and within your company . “ I ' ve given everybody the guidelines on what I ’ m looking for in a deal ,” Magic said . “ And if you can check only five of the ten boxes , then we shouldn ’ t be doing a deal .”
For Magic , when the brands are aligned , the core values are aligned , and the revenue that they both want is aligned , along with a component to give back , then that is an indication that a deal will work out .
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