TECH THURSDAY: Mickey’s Mantra

maurer

EDITOR’S NOTE: BizVoice® has featured technology/innovation stories throughout its 18-year history. Look for these flashbacks each Thursday. Here is a 2011 favorite.

Michael S. “Mickey” Maurer says a common piece of advice for entrepreneurs is “find something you do well, you like, and do that forever.”

But all entrepreneurs do not fit into a nice, neat, one-size-fits-all package. The definition of the term, after all, typically includes the words “initiative” and “risk.”

Maurer follows his initial comment with this self-description. “I just don’t seem to follow that good advice. I have a short attention span, a big curiosity and I like to do things I’ve never done before. What I try to do is find something I’ve never done, do that and learn all I can, and then move on and do something else I’ve never done. And that makes every deal fascinating … and it makes every deal fraught with risks if you’re doing everything for the first time.”

Maurer’s business career has included cable television, racquetball facilities, film production, radio broadcasting, newspaper publishing, banking and much more. He served in the early days of the Daniels administration, making deals for the state as leader of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

In one 30-minute conversation, Maurer offers these recollections and pieces of advice.

Read the full story online.

And learn more about the Indiana Chamber’s new Technology & Innovation Council. Want to participate? Contact Mark Lawrance at mlawrance(at)indianachamber.com.

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Celebrating the Grand(est) Award of All

Awards are cool. It’s always nice to be recognized for one’s work. We’re fortunate at the Indiana Chamber’s BizVoice magazine to fairly routinely (but never taken for granted) earn accolades for writing, design and overall publication excellence.

The latest of the 60 national and state awards is a big one – a Grand Award in the APEX Awards for Publication Excellence. 

The winning entry was “Let’s Make a (Business) Deal,” a five-article package written by Rebecca Patrick and Tom Schuman in the September-October 2011 edition. Stories included a focus on deals involving the Colts’ move to Indianapolis, different paths to growth for Franklin Electric and Herff Jones, information and analysis from authorities in the "business deal" world and a one-on-one interview with Mickey Maurer,  leading dealmaker in both the private and public sectors.

There were nearly 3,400 APEX entrants with only 100 earning the Grand Award, a first for BizVoice in this competition. In the writing categories, BizVoice earned one of 10 Grand Awards among 580 entrants. Although this was a writing category, kudos also go to creative director Tony Spataro for his design work on this package. The words shine a little more when there is a strong look to the articles and publication.

The judges’ comments on the winning entry: "Superbly researched, interviewed and written articles on the ‘art of the business deal.’ A range of valuable information from case histories to anecdotes to specific tips makes this series a worthwhile read."

Check out the stories under “Deal or No Deal.” If you are not receiving BizVoice®, subscribe today. Finally, special advertising opportunities in Indiana’s leading business magazine are available by contacting Jim Wagner at jwagner@indianachamber.com.

In addition, the work of Matt Ottinger (and others who contribute to this Building a Better Indiana blog) earned an Award of Excellence in the blog category. 
 

Mickey Speaks; You Should Listen

One can learn a lot in a 30-minute conversation with Indiana entrepreneur extraordinaire Mickey Maurer. The summary:

  • He doesn’t follow his own advice to "find something you do well, you like, and do that forever." Maurer’s career has taken him from cable television and racquetball facilities to banking, newspaper publishing and more.
  • He refutes any description of aggressiveness, but embraces the label of competitive. "That’s essentially the game we play, the game of entrepreneurism. We keep score with money. … I  do like to play the game — and win."
  • Barriers to entry is a business principle that is learned through experience.

For a complete understanding of the importance, or lack thereof, of barriers and the full story with Maurer, check out our current BizVoice magazine.