Several years ago, I interviewed Pat O’Conner, then-President and CEO of Minor League Baseball, in an interview originally published in Thrive Global. Here is an excerpt from our interview:

Adam: How did you get here? What failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Pat: This path has been one that began organically, from an internship in 1981, which led to running ballclubs for the better part of the next 12 years and being the Director of Florida Operations for the Houston Astros. And now, I’ve spent the last 26 years in the central office. What has helped me the most is that I’ve been blessed to be with people who allowed me to have my successes as well as my failures and learn from both. The setbacks are experiences and defeats you can learn from. I’m a believer there are losses and there are days you get beat. Losses, to me, imply that we didn’t do everything we could to win that day while getting beat is the circumstances of the day just got the best of you. What’s helped me along the way is to try to stay focused and the biggest lesson from any setback is that while baseball is what I do, it isn’t who I am, and the need to have that separation in my life.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Pat: Good leaders have the ability to listen and communicate. It is very difficult to know everything about everything and good leaders surround themselves with people they can communicate with and who have a defined expertise or knowledge beyond theirs in a certain area of the business. I think it is important to effective to not surround yourself with people who are just like you to get a breadth of opinion, breadth of philosophy, breadth of character, and try to be as diverse and inclusive as you can as you build out your business.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?

Pat: Believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, why should anyone else believe in you? If you are going to dream, dream big. At the end of the day, give the best you had that day and remain true to yourself.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Pat: Measure twice and cut once. That not only applies to woodworking, but making decisions requires thought and forethought and I think that time alone in thought, and time spent with confidants to work things through because once decisions are made, it can be difficult either politically, economically or socially to “un-ring” the bell. So, like my dad used to tell me, measure twice and cut once.

Adam: How can anyone pay it forward?

Pat: Pay it forward! I don’t know anyone who is successful in business that hasn’t had a mentor or hasn’t had an opportunity provided to them by someone who believed in them. I think paying it forward is just that. Help mold and shape the next generation of workers and leaders. Be involved. Be a part of the solution and be extroverted in doing that. Go out of your way to help people as you were helped and go out of your way to create the next generation.

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Pat: Leadership is an acquired skill. There are things you are given by God. What you are is His gift to you and what you become is your gift to Him. There are those that lead and those that follow and we need both in the world. Don’t shy away from leadership and don’t be afraid of leadership and every night before bed, thank God for the opportunity and pray for the strength to get up and do it again tomorrow.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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