Lesson #2: Play To Win

“I came in to win,” says Combs. “This is why I stay up late while other people are sleeping; this is why I don’t go out to the Hamptons.”

Never one to shun hard work, Combs was willing to do whatever it took to get his business off the ground and keep it there. He was a workaholic from even his early entrepreneurial days at Howard University, and always made his business ventures his number one priority. Eager to succeed at Uptown Records, Combs often sacrificed both his academics and his social life in order to rise in the ranks of the business world. He frequently shuttled back and forth between New York City and Washington, D.C., trying to balance both school and work. It was his dedication and hard work that marked his rise to the top, which was one of the most rapid ascents in the history of the music industry.

“I've never been surprised about what happened to me,” says Combs, reflecting on the success of his career. “I've put in hard work to get to this point. It's like when you become a lawyer – if you're busting your ass, you're not surprised when you get your degree.” Just one year after starting as an intern at Uptown, he had been promoted to the position of Director of Artists and Repertoire, making him, at the age of 21, responsible for the scouting, signing and promotion of new musical talent. Combs had become one of the city’s driving forces in the hip-hop scene.

“This is my plan,” says Combs. “When I’m in the studio making a hit record, I’m not trying to make a hit record; I’m making one. This is what I studied. This is why I stay up twenty hours a day.” In those twenty house a day, Combs has no problem filling up the time with interviews, meet-and-greets, photo opportunities and any other public relations gimmicks he can conjure up. If it’s not in the studio or the boardroom, Combs is keeping himself busy with promotion and thinking about his next big idea.

But, the busy pace at which Combs has been working has been slowing down of late. With his hands dirty at play in more than one extremely competitive industry, Combs is now beginning to think like a true businessman. No longer is he trying to get as big as he can for the moment. Now, Combs is trying to assess his holdings and ensure that he is taking advantage of all the synergies that are possible. “I’m taking the time to slow down, to strategize, to figure out where I want to be in five years,” he says. “The company had been like a train speeding down the track; if you don’t manage the velocity, the train will eventually crash.”

Despite the success that Combs has achieved, he sees an even brighter future ahead of him. He doesn’t think that he has maxed out his time just yet and continues to play the game to win. “I'm trying to be somebody,” he says. “I didn't come into this business saying, I'm going to look like the biggest black music man; I was like, I'm going to be the biggest. I'm going to go down in history as being one of the best music men and businessmen in entertainment.”



Lesson #2: Play To Win

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