Adoration of the Magi, err, Magic

For 15 seasons Earvin “Magic” Johnson entertained and delighted fans of the Michigan State Spartans and Los Angeles Lakers. His leadership, presence and playmaking propelled teams to six championships and he earned MVP honors many times over.

He retired from the game in 1991 when he was diagnosed with HIV. Most people thought he was through. Finished. Stick a fork in him. Instead, he treated the disease like any other opponent and prevailed. He even played again in the NBA, answering his detractors and winning over even more fans.

Everywhere Magic goes – from courtside to the C-suite – his charm is a constant companion. There was little doubt he would leverage that charisma into business success. When Magic and Guggenheim Partners bought the Dodgers, people in LA were like “well … sure!” After all, the guy opens doors and builds bridges.

So I wondered if landing Magic for a panel discussion at the Milken Global Conference was a big coup, or if he actually seeks out opportunities like this? (Finding a target-rich environment is akin to hitting your teammate cutting toward the basket with a perfectly timed skip pass.)

As I sat down to my steak salad several hundred feet from the stage in the Beverly Hilton ballroom I also wondered if everything they say about the guy is true. Does he always make a positive impression? Is the million-dollar smile a put-on or is it genuine? Does he blow smoke, or does he mean what he says?

By the first sip of iced tea, I was feeling the Magic Love. The other guys on the panel didn’t stand a chance. Everyone wanted to hear Magic’s take on the issues of the day.

On Donald Sterling: Magic applauded the Clippers for staying focused and winning a playoff game the day after the story broke that their owner told his girlfriend not to bring her black friends to the games. Johnson said NBA commissioner Adam Silver made the only decision that could be made, dismissing Sterling from the league. Anything else would have provoked a walkout, he said.

“Racism has no place in our society, in sports or in the NBA,” he said, to generous applause. Of his playing days, he said “We didn’t care what color the guy on our team was, as long as he [could] get the job done. If his ass couldn’t get the job done, he’s got to go. All I wanted to do was win the NBA championship, that’s it.”

Magic knows. He suffered racism in his day. And he knows Sterling; he’s been a guest in his house and even advised him in the past, so the whole nasty incident seems a bit surreal.

Now more than ever, he said, teams and their athletes need to recommit to reaching out to their communities.

At one point Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals – no slouch himself – said something about the upside and downside of social media. But nobody paid much attention. We were basking in the glow of The Magic Hour.

Everyone wanted to know if Magic will buy the Clippers. His response: “I will own an NBA team sometime. If the Clippers is the right situation, then ... " followed by a pause and an ear-to-ear grin that spoke volumes.

At one point Brian France, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR, said something about the economy and TV hurting attendance. But we were still thinking about Magic reinventing himself into a business man.

This was the Adoration of the Magic.

People wanted to hear Magic talk about the resurgence of the Dodgers since his group rescued the team from the evil Frank McCourt.

“Everything we said we would do, we have done. We improved the stadium, improved the team. Now the Dodger brand has exploded because of social media.”

He proclaimed that Dodger Stadium is the 8 most Instagrammed landmark in the world; in fact, the Dodgers are tops in social media by several different measures. It’s great for the sport and the fans, he said.

All this talk of baseball led moderator Jim Gray to ask “Are you a basketball guy or a baseball guy?” His reply: “I’m a business man.”

Another panelist, Patrice Motsepe, a South African business man and legendary soccer owner, said something about sports galvanizing a community. No one will remember it.

Even when Magic wasn’t speaking, the others were speaking for him. Fitzgerald paid Magic a high compliment, saying he’s a great example for players who want to make a successful transition into life after the game.

And that’s how it went for most of the hour: The Magic Show.

Toward the end, NASCAR’s France said he once asked Johnson “How can you be so nice, so affable to everybody?” And Magic answered with a story about a man and his son at a Lakers game who were asking players for a photo. All the players shrugged them off, except Magic. Years later, he encountered this man in a business setting and against some pretty big odds the man chose to partner with him because he remembered his gracious act from many years ago.

Even in the hard-bitten business world, generosity and humanity win the day.

(Photos: Milken Institute)

From Brown to Green

The Milken Global Conference attracts A-list panelists and speakers like Tony Blair, Deepak Chopra, Matt Damon, Magic Johnson, Bob Iger, Les Moonves, Janet Napolitano, Hank Paulson, Leon Panetta, Sean Penn, T. Boone Pickens and Charlize Theron. It’s a crazy spectrum and the range of topics is no less broad.

But for every session on Redefining the Middle East, Global Capital or Entrepreneurial Leadership there’s a diamond in the rough. Like the breakout on impact investing. Every year Morgan Stanley challenges MBA students to come up with a compelling proposition that combines returns and growth with a passion for values.

Three students from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management emerged as the winners of the competition and pitched an investment opportunity called Fresh Coast Capital. It was a full-on dress rehearsal in front of a discerning audience.

Now, I worked several years for Swiss Re, an early adopter of sustainable business practices, so I’m drawn to anything that seeks to generate returns and leave the world a better place. However, I don’t claim to know much about environmental issues, so when the panelists begin throwing around the term “brownfields” I knew I was in for an education.

The concept behind Fresh Coast Capital is simple:

Step 1. Lease toxic land cheap

Step 2. Remediate land by planting poplar trees

Step 3. Sell the timber, pulp and paper

Step 4. Harvest and sell biomass for energy production

Step 5. Collect a percentage of land appreciation, or charge land owner for remediation services

Brownfields are prevalent – there are nearly 450,000 of them in the US, according to the GAO. Imagine the combined land area of 60 of our largest cities; that’s how much land we’re talking about. And the possibilities are limitless. Fresh Coast co-founder Nicole Chavas told of a site in Elkhart, Indiana – a vacant railroad roundhouse that today yields lumber for nearby manufacturing facilities, including the wood paneling in motor homes and RVs!

The genius in successful investing is diversification, and investors of a large scale (e.g. pension funds, insurance companies) are always looking for instruments that aren’t correlated with the rest of their portfolio. If I were in their shoes I’d kick the tires on this one.

Watch the session.

Steve Wynn Learned Something About Fear From Michael Jackson

The most-read blogs are the ones full of fast facts, tidbits of helpful information and quotes. Here are some great observations from yesterday’s closing session at the Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles.

Panelists were Steve Wynn, Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, Janet Napolitano, former head of Homeland Security and now President of the University of California system, and Howard Marks, Chairman of Oaktree Capital. Michael Milken moderated.

Steve Wynn, Wynn Resorts

Wynn on leadership and taking risks: “I like the idea of pushing the envelope but I don't like being reckless.”

Wynn on taking bets: “When things get complicated I back off. I operate largely on instinct.”

Napolitano: “Everything you say and do should be an energy source for the people who work for you.”

Janet Napolitano, President, University of California system
and former director of Homeland Security

Howard Marks on investing and business in general: “Outperformance often comes from having a variant perception."

Wynn on failure: “You’ve got to give up the fiction of infallibility. When you fail, it's an opportunity to define yourself. That's leadership.”

Wynn: Leadership is persuasion. It’s about raising the self-esteem of the people you're leading and helping them feel good about what they’re doing. (paraphrased)

Napolitano: Taking risks is a way to exercise leadership. (paraphrased)

Napolitano said going from Homeland Security to the University of California was like going from defense to offense.

Wynn said he once had an intimate conversation with Michael Jackson, during which Jackson asked him a disarming question: “Don’t you ever get scared?” Wynn said by the time he breaks ground on a hotel, he’s vetted it thoroughly with everyone, over and over, reviewed and re-reviewed the economics, so he’s confident.

Napolitano said she didn’t have time to vet everything at Homeland Security, where decisions had to be made in the heat of the moment, often as a situation was unfolding. That demands a different type of leadership skill.

Only Steve Wynn calls Buzz Aldrin "Buzzy." They're neighbors in Sun Valley. Wynn said he told Aldrin next time he lands on the moon, get off first.

This was the 17^th annual conference, which “attracts 3,000 leaders in business, finance, government, public policy, academia, philanthropy, law, science, news media and more. These individuals represent some of the world's top firms, organizations, universities and governments.” (from the web site)

Here's the playback.

I’ll share more from the conference in the next few days.