The Relentless Pursuit of Excellence: LinkedIn Speaker Series with Golden State Warriors’ Joe Lacob

“Good enough” may be “good enough” for some people, but not for Joe Lacob.

As the Owner and CEO of the Golden State Warriors, Lacob has always refused to settle for the status quo. Whether it was in his youth when he was hawking peanuts at the now Angel Stadium of Anaheim or when he purchased the Golden State Warriors in 2010 for a then record-breaking sum, Lacob’s strategy has always been the relentless pursuit of excellence and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

As a former partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, Lacob knows a thing or two about building a business from the ground up. In his conversation with Mike Derezin, VP of Sales Solutions at LinkedIn, Lacob candidly discussed how his VC experience helped him create a mission for the Warriors and innovate strategies to relentlessly pursue excellence.

He shared stories of how it was patience and persistence that helped him land Steve Kerr as the head coach, how they built their team around the three point shot and Stephen Curry, how the addition of Kevin Durant will continue to push their pursuit of excellence, and how the Warriors aren’t just a basketball team, but a media and entertainment company that is redefining the future of sports.

As many of the LinkedIn employees who were in the audience can attest to, watching Lacob discuss the greatness that can come from hard work and redefining what good looks like was inspiring. So how does Lacob build a company whose employees are all relentlessly pursuing excellence? Be an incredibly good listener, surround yourself with the best and smartest people you can find, and when you fail (which you will), be sure you’ve learned something from it, pick yourself up, and continue on your path of relentless excellence.

Watch the full LinkedIn Speaker Series video below, or listen to the podcast, for the entire story.