In one of the exercises Mitch Ried likes to do with the teams he manages, he takes a sheet of paper and divides it down the middle. On the left side, he put the names of the members in the group. On the right, he adds a label that reads, "Strengths & Weaknesses."

The exercise is simple. Each person is tasked with labeling the strengths and weaknesses of every member of the team, themselves included. Ried wasn't sure what to expect when he used the process in his first leadership position as the Senior Director of New Business & Membership Development for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was 2014, and the Cavs were in the first of their non-LeBron James stages in the 2010s. The National Basketball Association (NBA) star was finishing up a championship run with the Miami Heat and eyeing another jump into free agency.

Ried's timing with the Cavs culminated the perfect storm with his career. Coming off consecutive seasons of having the No. 1 pick (Kyrie Irving, 2011; Anthony Davis, 2012; Anthony Bennett, 2013; and Andrew Wiggins, 2014), the Cavs were a model of ticket sales and promotions efficiency. Everything Ried had down until he accepted that job—which included a number of "nos" before he finally said "yes"—prepared him for that moment. Ried had worked his way up the ladder in a number of learning experiences, including stints with the Toledo Mud Hens, Ball State Intercollegiate Athletics, Macon Knights Arena Football and the Atlanta Spirit (Hawks and Thrashers), where he learned under sports marketing icon Bernie Mullin, and executive search and team consulting guru Lou De Paoli.

Everything I had ever learned was about building a cohesive team. I understood what it was like to have everything clicking. So, when I pulled everyone together and asked them to tell me what they needed everyone in the group to do better so they could get better individually, it knew it was a bold move."

"I wish all problems came with a Staples Easy Button.

Some challenges happen no matter how hard you try to avoid them, and many take a lot of personal sacrifice in order to tackle.

They are called challenges because that is exactly what they are."

Ried saw fear in their eyes. But that fear, Ried says, is what made each of them stronger. "What they were most afraid to say, it turns out, was their biggest weaknesses. So I told them to start with me. What did I need to be better at to help them do their jobs better? It was such an amazing bonding moment."

Every second of every minute that Ried spent learning how to lead, how to motivate and how to strengthen the weakest links in the chain went into constructing the exercise. Not bad for a person whose journey into the world of sports was inspired by the words every sports fan can recite by heart today, "Show me the money." It was the movie "Jerry Maguire" that set his sports-oriented career into motion. Heading to Ball State University, he created a path for sports management studies when none existed, taking a variety of classes in marketing, athletic administration and accounting (which he admits he didn't last long in) to round out his experience.

By the time he made his way to what would be a dream job with the Atlanta Spirit in 2004, Ried was ready to take his talents to the next level. Eventually becoming Director of Group Sales and Services, where he recruited, trained and developed the group sales staff, he left behind a trail of sales and promotions that still exist today. The "Group Sales and Service Executive of the Year" in 2006. Finished each sales campaign in the Top 5 in the Ticket Sales and Service Department Weekly Sales Report as a seller. Generated more than $2.5 million in revenue in personal sales. Set an all-time NBA record for a single game group sales gate receipt with $801,465, and the Hawks' record of $5.2 million in generated revenue in 2012-2013—which was No. 1 in the NBA in overall group sales revenue. And the list actually goes on. 

"What they were most afraid to say, it turns out, was their biggest weaknesses. So I told them to start with me. What did I need to be better at to help them do their jobs better? It was such an amazing bonding moment."