Michael Ovitz

He said, if they don't get this question in 10 seconds, it's over. And he would throw them out. They do stuff in the engineering community that having come from entertainment. I remember when I first went up to the Valley, I went to see John Donahoe, who was running eBay. And I had two young engineers from MIT that had an unbelievable technology. And I was fresh up there. This is 20 years ago.

He said, if they don't get this question in 10 seconds, it's over. And he would throw them out. They do stuff in the engineering community that having come from entertainment. I remember when I first went up to the Valley, I went to see John Donahoe, who was running eBay. And I had two young engineers from MIT that had an unbelievable technology. And I was fresh up there. This is 20 years ago.

And I called John and I said, I want to bring these guys by. I think you guys should buy this tech before we do this startup. It's a waste of time. We're going to do the startup. It's going to be great. And then you're going to spend a fortune to buy it. And these guys are going to have money and no job. Let's buy them now.

And I called John and I said, I want to bring these guys by. I think you guys should buy this tech before we do this startup. It's a waste of time. We're going to do the startup. It's going to be great. And then you're going to spend a fortune to buy it. And these guys are going to have money and no job. Let's buy them now.

They'll make some money and you'll give them heads of the departments or something. He said, great. So we come into this meeting. We're in a conference room. John's sitting at the end. I'm at the end opposite John. Sitting next to me are my two young MIT geniuses. And John marches in four guys from his engineering department. Two of them were from India.

They'll make some money and you'll give them heads of the departments or something. He said, great. So we come into this meeting. We're in a conference room. John's sitting at the end. I'm at the end opposite John. Sitting next to me are my two young MIT geniuses. And John marches in four guys from his engineering department. Two of them were from India.

And two of them were from, one was from Stanford and one was like from the University of Illinois at Champaign. So all pedigreed guys. And they started asking my guys questions like rifle shots. And my guys are answering them. And finally, I threw my chair back. And I said, this meeting's over. Everyone's looking at me like I'm out of my mind. Even my guys.

And two of them were from, one was from Stanford and one was like from the University of Illinois at Champaign. So all pedigreed guys. And they started asking my guys questions like rifle shots. And my guys are answering them. And finally, I threw my chair back. And I said, this meeting's over. Everyone's looking at me like I'm out of my mind. Even my guys.

And one of my guys turns to me and says, what's wrong? I said, I think this is disrespectful. And he said, what are you, crazy? He said, they're trying to dig into the technology. I turned red as a bead. We finished the meeting. John walks me out, puts my arm around me. He said, welcome to the Valley. I said, is this standard? He said, get used to it. I said, this is how people treat each other.

And one of my guys turns to me and says, what's wrong? I said, I think this is disrespectful. And he said, what are you, crazy? He said, they're trying to dig into the technology. I turned red as a bead. We finished the meeting. John walks me out, puts my arm around me. He said, welcome to the Valley. I said, is this standard? He said, get used to it. I said, this is how people treat each other.

He said, oh, this was nice. And I learned the hard way. And by the way, they bought the business. I learned the hard way that it's not off limits to ask tough questions. And I kind of ask those questions quietly. I don't ask them. I manipulate my way around it in a meeting.

He said, oh, this was nice. And I learned the hard way. And by the way, they bought the business. I learned the hard way that it's not off limits to ask tough questions. And I kind of ask those questions quietly. I don't ask them. I manipulate my way around it in a meeting.

So to directly answer your question, my checklist is a series of things that fit into my cognitive frame of reference that is weighted, predicated on previous experiences, how the person behaves, what their interests are, what their social capacity is. It doesn't have to be great in the traditional way. What their quest for knowledge is. Are they motivated? Do they want to work hard?

So to directly answer your question, my checklist is a series of things that fit into my cognitive frame of reference that is weighted, predicated on previous experiences, how the person behaves, what their interests are, what their social capacity is. It doesn't have to be great in the traditional way. What their quest for knowledge is. Are they motivated? Do they want to work hard?

Do they enjoy working? Why are they working? What's the goal? And what's their raw processing power? In 1999, I got a cold call from Mark Andreessen, and he asked to meet me. And I met him for lunch. I budgeted an hour. I'm not a long lunch guy. And I'm not a long Zoom guy. You're not a long anything guy. I'm not long on anything because I think it's a complete waste of time. It's a podcast.

Do they enjoy working? Why are they working? What's the goal? And what's their raw processing power? In 1999, I got a cold call from Mark Andreessen, and he asked to meet me. And I met him for lunch. I budgeted an hour. I'm not a long lunch guy. And I'm not a long Zoom guy. You're not a long anything guy. I'm not long on anything because I think it's a complete waste of time. It's a podcast.

It's a podcast. But I'm not in control here, Patrick. You are. So I went and met with Mark at some place called Hugo's in West Hollywood. Mark comes rolling in in a pair of shorts, a plaid shirt. and mismatching socks and horrible shoes. And we sat down and I'm saying to myself, oh my God, what have I gotten myself into here? 15 minutes into the conversation, I'm in a state of shock.

It's a podcast. But I'm not in control here, Patrick. You are. So I went and met with Mark at some place called Hugo's in West Hollywood. Mark comes rolling in in a pair of shorts, a plaid shirt. and mismatching socks and horrible shoes. And we sat down and I'm saying to myself, oh my God, what have I gotten myself into here? 15 minutes into the conversation, I'm in a state of shock.

I'm sitting with one of the smartest human beings I've ever talked to. Now, bear in mind, my best friend at the time was a guy named Michael Crichton. You can't get any smarter than that or more curious or more interesting to sit around. I'm sitting with his match, maybe better. And three and a half hours went by in five minutes. And he said at the end, he said, would you like to join my board?

I'm sitting with one of the smartest human beings I've ever talked to. Now, bear in mind, my best friend at the time was a guy named Michael Crichton. You can't get any smarter than that or more curious or more interesting to sit around. I'm sitting with his match, maybe better. And three and a half hours went by in five minutes. And he said at the end, he said, would you like to join my board?