As Northeast Ohio and, let’s face it, much of the country, sat dumbfounded the night of July 8 after hearing LeBron James say he was taking his talents to South Beach, Dan Gilbert, our beloved Cleveland Cavaliers’ majority owner, went with a different reaction.
He got vocal. He got real. He got passionate.
And he got the attention and allegiance of Cavs fans everywhere as they rallied behind his scathing letter. People liked that he didn’t give the canned PR response. They appreciated that he echoed the sentiments most fans were feeling. And they stood by and defended him as the NBA commissioner handed him a $100,000 fine for that letter – even offering to come together and collectively pay the fine themselves because they believed in his words so much. Gilbert completely embodied what it means to be an effective yet passionate leader.
But this doesn’t come as any surprise. We featured Gilbert on the cover of our Cleveland issue in January 2007, and even after that interview, it was evident that Gilbert has a passion far greater than most leaders. (We also did a video interview with him in 2010). Throughout the pages of Smart Business, we constantly write about how you have to have passion to be an effective leader.
Take Darin Kraetsch of Flip Flop Shops. He will never show up to a meeting wearing dress shoes because he’s so passionate about his brand. Even the employee photos on his company’s Web site are of everyone’s feet in their favorite flip flops.
Then there’s Paul Paris of Aarons Grant & Habif LLC, who calls himself the Jewish rapper as he wears a sideways cap and raps to his employees to get his message across and gain their attention.
Matt Coltharp of The Cyril-Scott Co. makes sure he’s always passionate because he never knows who he may be making that ever-important first impression.
Then there’s Phil Terry of Monarch Beverage, who got so frustrated with his employees leaving a broken case of beer lying around that he decided to throw another case and shatter it in front of them, just to get their attention and make a point.
And Fedele Bauccio was so disgusted by the food served on college campuses and corporate cafeterias that he founded Bon Appétit, where he daily pursues his dream of providing the freshest and healthiest foods possible — and gets all of his employees to do the same – even though it means doing more work.
Let these leaders be an example of how passion can make you a more effective leader. What are you doing to be a passionate leader?
Kristy O’Hara is the former assistant editor for Smart Business. She loves to travel, and the next time she’s in the San Diego area, she’s going to hit up another passionate leader’s restaurant — Rick “Baja Rick” DiRienzo’s Rockin’ Baja Coastal Cantina.
