The story goes that at 17, Mumbaikar Vivek Ranadive
camped outside the RBI governor's office until they authorized the $50
he needed to get through one semester at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. The 55-year old CEO of Tibco Software Inc, a $4-billion
software company, showed the same resolve while bidding for basketball
team Sacramento Kings. The first person of Indian descent to own an NBA
team, he tells Ruhi Batra his plans for the game in his birth country and why he set up TopLink, a Facebook for the rich and famous.
You're a software entrepreneur, and now majority owner of an NBA team. Why get into a new game?
I got a taste of what it means to be an owner when I was co-owner and
vice-chairman of the Golden State Warriors (another NBA team). But there
were a number of factors that led to my becoming an NBA team owner. I'm
a huge sports fan but till a few years ago I had never even touched a
basketball. It changed when I had to coach my daughter's basketball
team. I fell in love with the game and the girls did incredibly well. I
believe that basketball is the greatest sport on earth. It is THE
premier show of the 21st century. It doesn't need a lot of space, just a
rectangular floor with baskets at either end. You can play it inside or
outside. To me, basketball is a metaphor for all things in life.
It's actually interesting how I came to own Sacramento Kings. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, was leading a group of investors in an attempt to relocate the Kings to Seattle. I feel a lot of gratitude towards the State of California, who asked me if I could help keep the team in Sacramento. (Sacramento Kings are the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues located in Sacramento). I had to give up my stake in the Golden State Warriors, but this was too good an opportunity to miss.
A team owner of Indian descent can help the NBA push the game in India. Are you planning to work in tandem with them on that?
David Stern, NBA commissioner and Heidi Ueberroth, president of NBA International, are extremely focused on India and I fully expect to be involved in spreading the game there. I've already planned a few activities, like exhibition games in Delhi and Mumbai. Maybe have Sacramento Kings play another NBA team or maybe a team from Spain or China. Things will start rolling out in the next 12-18 months. I'm really excited about the potential of basketball in India.
You've said in the past that you love to hire prima donnas because they deliver great value when they have the goods to back it up.
Show me a company where everyone gets along and there's no friction and I'll show you a company that's going down. My industry, which is software, is packed with geniuses, creative people. And they will have egos. The job of a leader is to pull all of them together. It's like a basketball team. You have five gifted players and they will all have egos. And why not?
So you apply your learnings in business to sport.
The e-model that I've always believed in is that not everyone marches to the same beat. I follow more of a jazz model, where I make everyone feel important and let them do their thing. It's like a jazz orchestra where there's a bit of everything. My model of leadership is based on a jazz band because the same rules apply in business too. You get the best people, give them their freedom. Let them improvise and they will deliver.
It's actually interesting how I came to own Sacramento Kings. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, was leading a group of investors in an attempt to relocate the Kings to Seattle. I feel a lot of gratitude towards the State of California, who asked me if I could help keep the team in Sacramento. (Sacramento Kings are the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues located in Sacramento). I had to give up my stake in the Golden State Warriors, but this was too good an opportunity to miss.
A team owner of Indian descent can help the NBA push the game in India. Are you planning to work in tandem with them on that?
David Stern, NBA commissioner and Heidi Ueberroth, president of NBA International, are extremely focused on India and I fully expect to be involved in spreading the game there. I've already planned a few activities, like exhibition games in Delhi and Mumbai. Maybe have Sacramento Kings play another NBA team or maybe a team from Spain or China. Things will start rolling out in the next 12-18 months. I'm really excited about the potential of basketball in India.
You've said in the past that you love to hire prima donnas because they deliver great value when they have the goods to back it up.
Show me a company where everyone gets along and there's no friction and I'll show you a company that's going down. My industry, which is software, is packed with geniuses, creative people. And they will have egos. The job of a leader is to pull all of them together. It's like a basketball team. You have five gifted players and they will all have egos. And why not?
So you apply your learnings in business to sport.
The e-model that I've always believed in is that not everyone marches to the same beat. I follow more of a jazz model, where I make everyone feel important and let them do their thing. It's like a jazz orchestra where there's a bit of everything. My model of leadership is based on a jazz band because the same rules apply in business too. You get the best people, give them their freedom. Let them improvise and they will deliver.
You set up TopLink, a private social network for the powerful and wealthy. How did that happen?
It really was borne out of conversations with people at (the World Economic Forum) Davos. Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda couldn't have prevented the tsunami
but he could've stopped what happened after it. He told me that had he
met or spoken to the right people he could've helped his country and his
people recover a lot faster. My thought process is, the right
information at the right time at the right place makes the world a
better place and this should include the right people as well. If people
could collaborate with each other, they could help millions. They could
prevent epidemics or prevent markets from collapsing. TopLink is a just
a tool to facilitate co-operation and collaboration between global
leaders in a secure fashion. I know it has been positioned as a Facebook
for the rich and powerful but really it's a platform for people to get
ahead of the curve, to change the world, make it better.
The prime objective of the network is still business, isn't it?
Business isn't the primary objective but it was launched at the WEF at Davos where global leaders will always have agendas.
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