Stephanie McMahon On Working In The Family Business, Vince McMahon’s Listening Skills, Being Willing To Admit A Mistake

In a conversation with Gary Vaynerchuk in July, Stephanie McMahon discussed working in the family business, Vince McMahon’s listening skills, and much more. The Gary Vee team released the part of the interview on Monday as part of a new YouTube series. Here are some of the highlights.

Stephanie McMahon on working in the family business with Vince McMahon: “Family business is super complicated, especially when your boss has such a strong personality and is such an icon. My dad grew up in a trailer park and he truly lived the American Dream and turned a regional territorial business and turned it into this global phenomenon in 808 countries and 28 languages. We have the WWE Network – one of the first to launch an OTT service behind Netflix and Hulu because he took a calculated risk betting on himself and his business. That’s because of him and his vision – someone strong who makes quick decisions. But he’s truly driven and also truly listens.

On Vince’s listening skills: “He listens to fans, he listens to the live audience, he listens on social media, but he also listens to our employees. He always said ‘You never know where a great idea is going to come from.’ So he solicits that opinion. He talks to people, he really does.”

On whether they’re willing to admit being wrong about something: “I’m very transparent, and I own mistakes. I think that’s really important. I think there’s a difference between being wrong and making mistakes, but I think human psychology plays into that. Again just going back to Vince – he believes in some cost, so if you’ve made a mistake, stop throwing money after that and just move on. Learn the lesson you’re supposed to learn and then apply it. You can always make mistakes, but don’t make the same mistake twice.”