Jerry Jones embodies the spirit of resilience and risk-taking in business. From selling fruit as a child to drilling for oil with stunning success, his journey is a rollercoaster of high-stakes decisions. Against financial advice, he purchased the Dallas Cowboys, which had just posted significant losses. His bold moves turned the team's fortune around, leading to a staggering increase in value. The podcast dives into his unique leadership style and the transformative changes he brought to the franchise.
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Efficiency on the Golf Course
Jerry Jones, known for efficiency, closed deals quickly, even on the golf course.
He would leave after the first hole if the deal was done, maximizing his time.
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Pat Jones's Advice
After a tough football loss, a young Jerry Jones went to bed feeling defeated.
His father, Pat Jones, told him to get up and contribute, even if it meant being the water boy.
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Risk-Taking Philosophy
The Jones family were naturally inclined to take risks.
Jerry Jones believes that to achieve significant success, one must be willing to make big plays.
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This book provides an inside look at the life of Jerry Jones, the larger-than-life owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Based on interviews with Jones, his friends, colleagues, and competitors, it covers his hardscrabble upbringing, his financial successes, his purchase of the Cowboys, his firing of Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson, and his hiring of Barry Switzer. The biography offers a detailed and sometimes critical view of Jones' career and personal life.
Jerry Jones rolled the dice until his knuckles bled. He started working at 7 years old. Jerry could sell, sell, sell. He sold fruit at his father’s grocery store in grade school and sold shoes out of the trunk of his car in college. After failing to sell pizza franchises he tried real estate and insurance. He never met a high risk deal he didn’t like. Jerry got pitched a deal to drill for oil that everyone else had already said no to. Jerry said yes. That well made $4 million. He hit again on the next 14 wells. Jerry decided to drill for natural gas next. He drills 200 wells. He hit on 199 of them. He sells that company for $175 million. He has $90 million in the bank. He buys the Dallas Cowboys for $140 million. 75 other people had the opportunity to buy the team and said no. He empties his bank account and borrows $50 million at steep interest rates. The year before Jerry bought the team the Cowboys lost $9 million. Financial advisors told Jerry that the Cowboys were ridiculously overpriced and that he was committing financial suicide. Within a few years the team is printing $30 million a year in profit. The Dallas Cowboys are worth $10 billion today.
Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here.
Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work. Get access to Founders Notes here.
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