Welcome to Leadership Lab, a column dedicated to biopharma executives aiming to enhance their leadership skills and advance their careers. Every other month, Michael Pietrack, the practice lead for Kaye/Bassman’s pharma and biotech recruiting team and host of “The Pharmaverse Podcast,” shares a valuable leadership insight. 

In this column, Michael shares what he learned about leadership from a recent conversation with businessman and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, widely known as a minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks and former “shark” on reality TV show “Shark Tank.”

If you had the chance to talk to Mark Cuban about leadership, what would you ask him? I recently had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and distinct privilege to interview Cuban on my leadership podcast, “The Pharmaverse Podcast.” I asked him three questions about leadership, and what I learned was too good not to share in the Leadership Lab, as they’re applicable to biopharma executives.

Why are Cuban’s insights among the most credible in the business world? Consider his expansive career. By 1999, he was a billionaire after having created and sold two major companies. Since then, Cuban has owned numerous successful businesses spanning various industries.

For instance, he became the majority owner of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks in 2000, transforming the team into on