Peter Guber joined Chicago Tribune Live Friday afternoon and chatted with David Kaplan about several things. Guber is the owner of the Golden State Warriors and is now part of the ownership group -- along with Magic Johnson -- that bought the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Guber discussed his leadership style as a businessman and his new book, "Tell to Win." He also sounded off on a myriad of different topics on the business end of sports, including the Marlins' recent salary shedding trades.
"They've won and lost with all the different strategies," Guber said. "There's no one clear path to success certainly in sports or in life, but one thing that's for certain is, you better be acutely sensitive to the fact that if you're failing, you have to make a change. And the question is if it's really a failure or just a speed bump.
"And for them, they decided they weren't going to get there, so they cut their losses. One of the things you learn in business is when you have a failed proposition, you want to move off it as quickly as possible...It's a business, after all."
The Ricketts wowed the sports world when they purchased the Cubs for 845 million, but Guber was part of a group that bought the Dodgers for more than 2 billion.
While Ricketts and the Cubs are dealing with potential renovations to Wrigley Field, Guber is facing similar issues with Dodger Stadium -- what do you do with a historical, popular stadium that needs to be updated and modernized? Can you continue to win with a stadium like Wrigley?
"You can continue to win on the field, but everything is a part of the process now," Guber said. "The venue is an important factor. Clubs that don't have good training facilities, good medical facilities, good clubhouses, as well as good bathrooms for women -- a very important issue -- different kinds of food, they compete less favorably...There's different models that have worked different ways. You have to look at your marketplace and decide what you can do."
MLB
"The Cubs are a tradition. Going to that park has become part of the culture, it's been venerated. And that's what the Red Sox also did. Is Dodger Stadium that way? Maybe. Maybe not. It's a different kind of fanbase. I think the truth is, at the end of the day, we compete against home entertainment. And as a location-based entertainment venue, you better be up to snuff, cause over time, it'll eat your lunch if you're not."