IT IS OFFICIAL!   Robert Boudwin Enterprises is making money.  Just received  my first payment.  I won’t be framing this one, I’ll be cashing it 😉.  Thank you NCAA!  I look forward to seeing you in a couple weeks on September 28th & 29th.  NO, inappropriate high schoolers on career day, I won’t be telling you the amount.  Twenty-two years ago, I used to say I wanted to GO PRO.  Now I’m happy to say GO COLLEGE! AND GO anyone else who I can add value to.  Engagement #2 is booked.  Who will be engagement #3?  #LeavingTheFurBehind #DeadMascot

This shortened talk was for the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce back in April, 2016.  Email me at robert@robertboudwin.com to schedule me to present at your next business function or other special event.  In the full presentation pulling from a 21 year journey as the NBA’s Houston Rockets Mascot Clutch the Bear you will hear; a little bit of a behind the scenes looks at the sports entertainment business, a little bit of sales and marketing, a little bit of building a brand from ground zero, a little bit of my family’s experience with the life saving effects of organ donation, a whole lot of perseverance and persistence along the road less traveled in spite of odds stacked against success, and ton of funny anecdotal true stories that will inspire, motivate, and entertain you all while making you laugh.  I hope to hear from you soon!

Key ownership is a strange paradox. Keys grant you access and grant the holder power. However the more keys you possess, the less powerful you are. Janitor = Lots of Keys. CEO = No Keys. CEO to Janitor, “Hey Janitor, come unlock this door.” Janitor to CEO, “Yes Sir.”

I believe that arguing or let’s just say at least discussing opposing view points is a healthy activity and leads to better decisions in business and life when being debated truly for pure and honest reasons.  Varying perspectives generated by individual backgrounds, different upbringings and a multitude of experiences are what usually creates true difference of opinions.  I don’t discourage people from speaking with conviction.  Quite the contrary.  I encourage them to passionately state their beliefs, but in a way where they are actually internally 100% sure about nothing and always allow for a little doubt since in truth some things a just a matter of subjective thought and no one is right on facts 100% of their life.  So with that juxtapose I ask you, WILL SOMEONE PLEASE ARGUE WITH ME???  Here are what I believe the top 10 best movies of all time.  HA!  Suckered you in with a bunch of my philosophy just in an attempt to debate a little cinema with you:)  Please tell me where I am wrong and what I am missing.

1. Love Actually
2. Forrest Gump
3. The Contender
4. The Sting
5. Warrior
6. The Prestige
7. Seven
8. Shawshank Redemption
9. Inglorious Bastards (Tarantino version)
10. Usual Suspects

When providing positive feedback to anyone whether it be employees downwardly, co-workers laterally, management upwardly, or children in your personal life, it should be specific, immediate, and concerning something under their direct control. Vague and delayed feedback like, “You did a good job!” delivered at the end of business cycle or end of a sporting event is not that valuable or motivating since it is received as insincere as if the feedback provider is only saying so because he feels obligated to provide positive feedback. It also does not direct the receiver specifically what to do more of in an effort to receive more positive feedback. Rewarding people for things that are more innate traits out of their direct control is also not that valuable. Saying things like you are so pretty/handsome or smart is much less valuable than rewarding someone’s effort. It is much more beneficially to say something like, “I’m impressed that you took the extra time to figure that out!” or “I can tell that you worked really hard on that project and it paid off”. If you are going to provide positive feedback and encouraging verbal rewards, you should make sure you are doing it properly and sincerely and not just so you can check it off your do to list. If you don’t provide people positive feedback and see the need for it, you need to seriously check yourself! Some of the biggest downers in the world feel that providing people positive feedback is inefficient and unnecessary, rationalizing that they would rather spend time focused solely on what is wrong and can be fixed or improve upon. Try to avoid these people. They are black holes of energy and will zap the energy right out of you.

Measuring things in business is only valuable to a certain point, mostly as a tool to decide what not to continue doing in the immediate future. However, when it comes to moving forward past the immediate future, the past becomes what was and not what is going to be. Once something becomes measurable, it immediately becomes less valuable in that it is replicable and can be copied by anyone else in the market place. True value is created by leaps of faith predicated on educated, experienced, and gut making decisions. Measuring the past is merely a record of what has happened, not where things are going. To simply do what has worked and succeeded in the past is a surefire way to be left behind by your competitors’ drive for innovation and customers’ desire for new things to hold their attention. True value is created by deciding what to do next and figuring out what your customers want before they know they want it. Giving them more of what they have already got is simply doing what someone else has already laid out for you and can be done by anyone who takes proven direction. This is the majority of people. If the majority of people can provide a service or product then there is no scarcity or opportunity for increased value. What got you here isn’t what is going to get you there due to the fact that the only constant is change itself. Innovating and becoming a rule breaker in your own career is not only important, but a necessity if you wish to become truly valuable at a high level. Why would you want to settle for less with your professional toils?

I have no philosophy. Philosophy equals the never-ending pursuit of unanswerable questions that have neither a right nor a wrong answer, but just an endless number of different perspectives. You end up being a dog chasing his tail in circles and going crazy like Niche. I’d rather delude myself into thinking I’m right about something than to keep asking the question why until I go crazy. I feel crazy just writing about this. To put it simply philosophy equals the pursuit of insanity while psychology is the pursuit of sanity. Study psychology not philosophy. Be sane not insane. So what do I believe in? That sounds like a question that still won’t be answered after writing several books so let me just say this. In business, I believe in creating first, marketing second and selling third. In my personal life I believe in: over spicing and under cooking EVERYTHING, never eat your pizza with a knife & fork, never wear a digital watch, and always put on too much cologne on each day. And for the very serious people: we are meant to be individuals so you should always strive to be yourself especially when it is inconvenient, but at the same time the only reason we are all ‘here’ is to try to help each other through IT ALL. Follow this ‘philosophy’ and I believe you will be relatively successful and more importantly HAPPY!

While performing a bit in my inflatable alter ego “AIR” Clutch years ago, I was accidentally punched in the face by Mark Cuban bloodying my mouth and loosening my two front teeth.  Let me explain.  Despite my blog “headline” it was actually quite innocent, but humorous at the same time.  I was performing my usual routine where I “bop” people on the head with my inflated costume head when I chose Mark Cuban to “bop” who was standing on-court near his team’s huddle during a time out and goading me a little by pointing at his Maverick logo.  Cuban decided to have some fun and play back by punching my “AIR” character in his inflated chest which under normal circumstances would not be a problem.  His fist would just hit a big air bag causing no one any injury and we would get a quick laugh from it.  However, Cuban struck right after “AIR” Clutch had just “bopped” him while the costume was recoiling backwards which placed my face right up against the front panel.  Cuban’s fist struck me square in the mouth and nose almost knocking me out. I mean I saw stars!  Blood spurted out all over the inside front of the costume.  After a little break and aid in the back I was fine, but I wasn’t sure that Cuban ever figured out why that costume was so hard.  My two front teeth tightened up a few days later and I didn’t need any dental work. A few years later in an email I wrote to Cuban about another matter concerning a potential skit at NBA All-Star 2010 I mentioned the incident to him and explained what really had happened that night.  He was very apologetic and said he had no idea.  It was honestly no one’s fault, but rather just one of those freak accidents.  I’m glad in retrospect that it happened because it made me and still makes me laugh.  That is my, “I got punched in the face by a billionaire story!”

This is what the last 21 years looks like boiled down to a 3 minutes:)  This video was presented to me today at a Houston Rockets All Team Member meeting along with a family photo session (for my family of 7 now), plaque & fine bottle of 25 year old scotch as parting gifts at a retirement ceremony held earlier at Toyota Center.  Thank you Taylor French for the amazing editing job!  This trip down memory lane was fun!  Thanks for all the talented Rockets employees that played a part in every clip.  I didn’t do any of it alone.  Especially thank you to Dominic Davila my loyal full time assistant for 15 years!

I have experienced many special moments in my life that I hold near and dear to my heart including the birth of both sets of my twins and my wedding day.  I have several accomplishments and milestones which I have achieved that I am proud of, however this is my greatest most proud moment to date!  I would like to thank all the family, friends, supporters, teachers & mentors that have made this possible.  Through commitment, dedication, discipline, saving, help and a clear vision dreamt many years ago I have been able to make this dream become a reality.  Finally at long last my goal has been realized!  I have set a new personal lifetime record for myself and my family!!!  I have amassed…

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OVER 4,000 DIAPERS!!!  This is roughly 1/2 of what my new born twin girls will use in their life time.  Thank you to ALL who made this momentous triumph happen!!!