“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary’s latest venture, WonderAds, aims to revolutionize the industry by making television advertising more accessible to small businesses.
However, O’Leary emphasizes that selecting an “effective” leader is crucial when starting a new business. According to him, it’s one of the most significant decisions a business owner will face.
“The distinction between effective and ineffective managers is quite straightforward,” O’Leary tells Entrepreneur. “It’s about the ability to focus and distinguish the signal from the noise. No matter how a business plan looks today, especially for a startup, it will likely evolve significantly over the next 24 months.”
O’Leary stresses that the ability to execute is critical — and rare.
“Ideas are plentiful,” O’Leary notes. “But execution skills are nearly impossible to find. When you discover exceptional skills, you can place that individual in almost any business and achieve success.”
Key execution skills, according to O’Leary, include the capacity to pivot, maintain focus, and listen. He also emphasizes that dismissing naysayers and negative opinions is an essential aspect of leadership.
“The naysayers are irrelevant,” he says. “They don’t matter at all.”
Aspiring to work with O’Leary? Be prepared for some tough love. True leaders are indifferent to others’ opinions about them.
“If you’re a manager concerned about what others think, feel, or say about you, you’re wasting your time; you’ll never please everyone,” O’Leary says. “It doesn’t matter to me whether you like me or not; I don’t care.”