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Chisum said manners and respect are qualities
he looks for when hiring |
Name: Mike Chisum
Position: Chisum Sports & Hospitality Founder
Age: 40
Where I’m from: Abilene, Texas
Where I call home: Plano, Texas
Focusing on right now: Catching up from being at Augusta all week, where cell phones are not allowed on-site.
Best advice: Work hard and always do what you feel is right, and you won’t have any regrets.
Must for a new hire: I’m a West Texas boy -- I’m big into manners, and I’m very picky on the image of how we portray ourselves both in terms of how you look and how you act. They have to be classy, and they have to demonstrate respect for our company and our clients.
Exec I admire most: I’ve been lucky to spend a lot of time with BOB ROWLING, who owns the Omni hotel and Gold’s Gym chains. He is a down-to-earth, genuinely good guy. I really admire him because his success has never gotten to his head.
Best book I’ve read: I’m in the middle of reading Baylor football coach ART BRILES’ book “Beating Goliath.” He’s come a long way and done a lot of amazing things. He talks about continuing to challenge yourself and not getting complacent, which is in line with the best piece of advice that I’ve received.
First thing in the morning: I get up early -- usually around 6:00, 6:15am -- and catch up on e-mails on my phone to see what happened throughout the night. My wife JULIE and I drink coffee together and go over our days, and then when my kids wake up, I make them breakfast.
Talking tech: I am constantly communicating via text messaging since that’s the fastest and most-convenient way to get in touch with my players. A lot of them aren’t able to check their e-mails throughout the day, so it’s really a vital part of staying connected with them.
Must have music: I’m all over the board with my preferences, from ERIC CHURCH to MAROON 5 to NELLY, but I listen mostly to country. We’re going to the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards on Saturday, which is in Dallas this year. I’ll probably be most star-struck by seeing TAYLOR SWIFT -- she’s so talented.
How I unwind: I love going out to our hunting lease, which is just west of Fort Worth. My son goes with me, as do RYAN PALMER, who's one of my players, and his son, who’s also 8 years old. We’ll go quite a bit during deer season in November and December, and we’ll get there when we can throughout the rest of the year.
Food for thought: We have dinner at home as often as we can, at least on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights, which is when my in-laws come over each week. We eat at the country club on Tuesdays because two of my kids -- CONNOR (8) and KATELYN (6) -- have golf lessons, and on Friday nights we’ll go out. My wife is a phenomenal cook; any pasta meal she makes is great. I like to make steaks or anything else on the grill, and she does everything else.
Day in the life: Typically, I spend a couple of days per week at the tournaments that my players are in and the rest of my time on the phone and e-mailing people from the office. I do whatever I can to keep my players on their normal routine in order for them to perform at their peak level. I’ll usually get up early and have breakfast with one of my guys who’s in the tournament field, coordinate things such as helping their families find their houses for the week, and attend any meet-and-greets or corporate dinners that we have with sponsors, just to list a few examples. If there’s anything that would otherwise be a distraction for one of my guys, I’m going to take it off their plate and make it my job.
