How To Become Rich by Donald Trump #Audiobook #donaldtrump

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[Music]
five billion reasons why you should
listen to this audio book a lot has
happened to us all since 1987 that’s the
year the art of the deal was published
and became the best-selling business
book of the decade with over three
million copies in print business rule
number one if you don’t tell people
about your success they probably won’t
know about it a few months ago I picked
up the art of the deal skimmed a bit and
then read the first and last paragraphs
I realized that after seventeen years
they still rang true I could have
written these words yesterday first
paragraph I don’t do it for the money
I’ve got enough much more than I’ll ever
need I do it to do it deals are my art
form other people paint beautifully on
canvas or write wonderful poetry I like
making deals preferably big deals that’s
how I get my kicks last paragraph don’t
get me wrong I also plan to keep making
deals big deals and right around the
clock it’s now 2004 I’m still making
deals around the clock and I still don’t
do it for the money I don’t think you
should do it for the money either money
is not an end in itself but it’s
sometimes the most effective way to help
us realize our dreams so if you’ve got
big dreams and you’re looking for a way
to make them happen this audio book is
for you how to get rich that’s what I
decided to call it because whenever I
meet people that’s usually what they
want to know from me you ask a baker how
he makes bread you ask a billionaire how
he makes money sure there have been
countless how to get rich books written
by millionaires billionaire authors are
harder to find billionaire authors with
interests in real estate gaming sports
and entertainment are rarer still and
billionaire authors with their own
Manhattan
scrapers and hit primetime television
series our rarest of all I’m pretty sure
I’m the only one though Oprah could give
me a run for the money if she ever
decides to write another book and get
into real estate business rule number
two keep it short fast and direct the
following will be straightforward and
succinct but don’t let the brevity of
these passages prevent you from savoring
the pro fund any of the advice you’re
about to receive these stories and words
of wisdom have been distilled from
almost 30 years at the top so here it
comes the scoop from the Donald after
you make your first billion don’t forget
to send me a thank-you note you know the
address
[Music]
Simon & Schuster audio presents Trump
how to get rich by Donald J Trump with
Meredith MacGyver
read by Barry Bostwick with an
introduction by Donald J Trump
part-1
the Donald J Trump School of Business
and management
be a general
I am the chairman and president of the
Trump Organization I like saying that
because it means a great deal to me
there are almost 20,000 members of this
organization at this point I did a print
ad once in which I declared I only work
with the best that statement still
stands more and more I see that running
a business is like being a general
calling the shots carries a great deal
of responsibility not only for yourself
but for your troops your employees lives
to a large extent are dependent on you
and your decisions bad strategy can end
up affecting a lot of people this is
where being a leader takes on a new
dimension every decision you make is an
important one whether there are twenty
thousand people working for you or just
one if you are careful when finding
employees management becomes a lot
easier I rely on a few key people to
keep me informed they know I trust them
and they do their best to keep that
trust intact
for example when I need to know
something about my casinos and hotels in
Atlantic City I know I can call up Mark
Brown my CEO and get a fast and informed
answer if I call Laura Cordova know over
at Trump Park Avenue and ask about sales
she’ll give it to me exactly as it is if
I call Allan weiselberger my CFO he’ll
tell me what I need to know in 20 words
or less my senior counsel and apprentice
adviser George Ross can do it in 10
words or less find people who suit your
business style and you’ll have fewer
problems to deal with as time goes on
good people equals good management and
good management equals good people they
have to work together or they won’t work
together for very long I’ve seen good
management get by with mediocre people
and I’ve also seen excellent people get
stuck in the meijer of bad management
the good managers will eventually leave
followed by the good workers and you
will be left with a team that gets along
because they’re all mediocre save
yourself time by getting the best people
you can sometimes this can mean choosing
attitude over experience in credentials
use your creativity to come up with a
good mix
creative people rarely need to be
motivated they have their own inner
drive that refuses to be bored they
refuse to be complacent they live on the
edge which is precisely what is needed
to be successful and remain successful
one of my former employees was in charge
of a new project he had done a thorough
and acceptable job but I felt that
something was missing it wasn’t
fantastic which knowing his capabilities
it should have been I decided to
challenge his creative ego by mentioning
that it was fine but seemed to lack
inspiration I politely asked him whether
he was genuinely interested in the
project and suggested that perhaps that
might be the problem well the guy went
ballistic on me he was deeply insulted
and as you can probably guess the
revision he turned in was terrific the
difference between the first draft and
the final version was incredible I
didn’t slam the guy because he was
usually demanding of himself and had
never let me down
but I had to give him a jolt
generals motivate their soldiers they
inspire them when it is necessary they
do the same for the highest-ranking
officers we all need a boost now and
then learn how to tailor your method to
the personalities you are managing
keep the big picture in mind while
attending to the daily details this can
seem like a balancing act but it is
absolutely necessary for success in
running a company
stay focused
in the 1980s I was riding high after
learning the essentials of real estate
development for my father Fred a builder
in Queens in Brooklyn I’d become a major
player in Manhattan developing Trump
Tower the Grand Hyatt Hotel and many
other top-tier properties
I had a yacht a plane a best-selling
book one magazine headline said
everything he touches turns to gold and
I believed it I’d never known adversity
I went straight from Morton to wealth
even in down markets
I bought properties inexpensively and
made a lot of money I began to think it
was easy in the late 80s I lost focus
I’d fly off to Europe to attend fashion
shows and I wasn’t looking at the
clothing my lack of attention was
killing my business
then the real-estate market crashed I
owed billions upon billions of dollars
nine point two billion to be exact
that’s nine billion two hundred million
dollars I’ve told this story many times
before but it bears repeating in the
midst of the crash I passed a beggar on
the street and realized he was worth
nine point two billion more than I was I
saw a lot of my friends go bankrupt
never to be heard from again the media
had me for lunch Forbes Business Week
fortune The Wall Street Journal the New
York Times they all published major
stories about my crisis and a lot of
people seem to be happy about it I’ll
never forget the worst moment it was 3
a.m. Citibank phoned me at my home in
Trump Tower they wanted me to come over
to their office immediately to negotiate
new terms with some foreign banks three
of the 99 banks to whom I owed billions
it’s tough when you have to tell a
banker that you can’t pay interest they
tend not to like those words an ally at
Citibank suggested that the best way for
me to handle this difficult situation
was to call the banks myself and that’s
exactly what they wanted me to do at 3
o’clock on a cold January morning in the
freezing rain there were no cabs so I
walked 15 blocks to Citibank by the time
I got there I was drenched that was a
low point there were 30 bankers sitting
around a big table I phoned one Japanese
banker than an Austrian banker and then
a third banker from a country I can no
longer remember
in the art of the deal I had warned
readers never to personally guarantee
anything well I hadn’t followed my own
advice of the nine point two billion I
owed I’d personally guaranteed a billion
dollars I was a schmuck but I was a
lucky shocked and I wound up dealing
with some understanding bankers who
worked out a fair deal after being the
king of the 80s I survived the early 90s
and by the mid to late 90s I was
thriving again but I learned my lesson I
work as hard today as I did when I was a
young developer in the 1970s don’t make
the mistake I did stay focused
maintain your momentum
William Levitt the master builder of
Levittown taught me the true meaning of
momentum in the 1950s he was the king no
detail was too small for his attention
he would personally collect stray nails
and extra chips of wood from building
sites to make sure his construction
crews used all available materials
he sold his company in 1956 to ITT for
100 million which is equivalent to
billions today then he made some
terrible mistakes
he retired he married the wrong woman
he moved to the South of France and
lived on the Riviera with his new boat
and his new wife
one day ITT called the executives in
charge of the conglomerate had no
aptitude for home building they had
bought huge tracts of land but didn’t
know how to get them zoned so they sold
it back to Levitt who thought he’d
gotten a great deal
he went back into business and he
proceeded to go bankrupt
I saw William Levitt at a cocktail party
in 1994 two weeks before he died he was
standing by himself in a corner looking
to feed it I didn’t know him well but I
approached him hoping to acquire some
wisdom from the master mr. Levin I said
how are you doing not good Donald not
good then he said the words I’ll never
forget
I lost my momentum I was out of the
world for 20 years I came back and I
wasn’t the same
no matter how accomplished you are no
matter how well you think you know your
business you have to remain vigilant
about the details of your field you
can’t get by on experience or smarts
even the best surgeons need to be
retrained regularly to stay current on
the latest research and procedures no
matter what you’re managing don’t assume
you can glide by momentum is something
you have to work at to maintain
get a great assistant
surround yourself with people you can
trust I often say it’s good to be
paranoid but not when it comes to your
home team ask God for a great assistant
no joke a great one can make your life a
whole lot easier or in my case almost
manageable Norma for Durer has been with
me for 23 years if you want to know what
a great guy I am just ask her but not on
a Friday
handling me the office and several
hundred calls a week isn’t easy she’s as
tough and smart as she is gracious
she’s also indefatigable which helps a
lot
if you work for me my phones are so busy
that I require two executive assistants
and they never stop they alone handle on
the average more than 1,250 calls a week
they are not only efficient and fast but
they are also very pleasant and
beautiful young women you don’t have to
be beautiful to work for me just be good
at your job I’ve been accused of
admiring beautiful women I plead guilty
but when it comes to the workplace
anyone who is beautiful
I’d better have brains too you need
competent people with an inherent work
ethic I’m not a complacent person and I
can’t have a complacent staff I move
forward quickly and so much they
once I wanted to know how fast a new
employee could work so I told him I was
leaving in 15 minutes and needed
something done within that time I wasn’t
actually going anywhere but sure enough
I had what I needed in 15 minutes
machiavellian maybe but both of us learn
something that day
one final piece of advice on assistance
which I learned from experience in which
I admit may not be as relevant to your
career as it’s been to mine find a
receptionist who can speak English we
had a breathtaking European Beauty out
front who could easily rival Ingrid
Bergman in her heyday but I discovered
that her ability to recognize well-known
people in the United States was limited
to myself and maybe President Bush she
wasn’t so familiar with the likes of
Hugh Grant Reggie Jackson George
Steinbrenner Jack Welch Paul Anka
Mohammed al-fayed
Regis Philbin or Tony Bennett their
calls never got through to me and their
names were placed on her psycho list
but you should have seen her what a
knockout she since moved on to better
career opportunities but will never
forget her neither will anyone who ever
called in or tried to
remember the buck starts here
set the standard don’t expect your
employees to work harder than you do in
my case I don’t have to worry about that
because I work seven days a week and
love almost every minute of it
but also realize that your company will
sometimes function as an extended and
dysfunctional family it’s only natural
considering that people often spend more
waking hours with co-workers than they
do with their families
a visitor in my office once mentioned
that the goings on that reminded him of
a family fight in progress I will admit
that the volume level gets high now and
then and he wasn’t far off in his
assessment but if you want smooth
sailing every day move to the
Mediterranean
winners see problems as just another way
to prove themselves problems are never
truly hardships to them and if you
haven’t got any problems then you must
not have a business to run regard your
company is a living breathing organism
because that’s what it is those figures
you see on your spreadsheets will
reflect the health of that organism
watch out for bad cells while allowing
good cells to flourish
growth is an indication of life so keep
your organization moving forward at all
times having a passion for what you do
is crucial if you can’t get excited
about what you’re doing how can you
expect anyone else to if your employees
can see and feel your energy it is bound
to affect them
don’t intimidate people if you do you’ll
never get a straight answer from anyone
and you’ll be defeating your own purpose
I keep my door open and my people know
I’m available as well as approachable
we don’t have chat fests but whatever
needs to be done gets accomplished and
quickly
remember that your organization is your
organization that sounds simplistic but
bottom line it’s your ballgame the
strategy is up to you and so are the
results remember Harry Truman’s famous
words which he kept on his desk in the
Oval Office the buck stops here I keep a
similar quote on my desk it reads the
buck starts here
don’t equivocate if you equivocate is an
indication that you’re unsure of
yourself and what you’re doing it’s also
what politicians do all the time and I
find it inappropriate insulting and
condescending I try not to do it
fortunately I don’t have to try too hard
at this one because I’ve been known to
be on the blunt and fast side at times
which is good
I once asked an executive in my
organization to give me a synopsis of a
new development we were considering he’d
been to the city in question had spent
some time there and had done some
careful investigating he went on to
describe the merits of the site the
pitfalls the good things the bad things
the pros the cons on and on in great
detail he must have talked for 10
minutes straight judging from what he
was telling me they were just as many
reasons to drop the project as there
were reasons to jump right in and get
going it was like a tied game with no
overtime
I asked him more questions and we ended
up exactly where we were before he was
on both sides of the fence at once and
didn’t seem to want to take a stand
either way this guy had a lot of
experience and a good track record so
finally I asked him what he thought of
the project in ten words or less it
stinks he said he had eight words left
but he didn’t need them
ask yourself two questions number one is
there anyone else who can do this better
than I can that’s just another way of
saying know yourself and know your
competition if your competition is
better than you are you need to offer
some quality they lack number two what
am i pretending not to see we can all
get swept up in the afore you of a
creative moment or what former President
Richard Nixon’s speech writers used to
call the lift of a dream before the
dream lifts you under the clouds make
sure you’ve looked hard at the facts on
the ground
will only get you so far
I think it’s funny that the phrase most
closely associated with me these days is
you’re fired because the truth is
although I’ve had to fire people from
time to time it’s not a big part of my
job
I much prefer keeping loyal and
hardworking people around for as long as
they’d like to be here there’s a
wonderful lady in her 90s
Amy luerssen who worked for my father
and still reports to work every day at
our Brooklyn office here at the Trump
Organization Helen Ray cots has worked
for me from the day I moved to Manhattan
and she still puts in long hours every
week she is 82
once I delayed firing someone for two
years because this guy always had such a
great line of every time I came
close to the topic no matter what was
going on he had some huge deal lined up
that was just about to come through he
managed to string me along for two solid
years and I believed him every time I
wanted to finally I was forced to
realize that his claim for a bogus but I
gave him every chance before finally
asking him unless your boss is a total
sadist he or she doesn’t want to fire
you or cause hardship to your family if
you think you’re in danger of being
fired take control of the situation and
ask your boss for a meeting make sure
you ask for the meeting at the right
time tell your boss you want to make
sure you are communicating and doing
your job to everyone’s satisfaction of
course if your boss is a sadist or just
a lousy communicator you’ve still got a
problem in that case fire your boss and
get a better job there’s no sense in
trying to cope with a bad situation that
will never improve
I never try to dissuade people from
quitting if they don’t want to be here I
don’t want them to be here either no one
has ever come to me with an ultimatum
people see how it works here and if it
doesn’t suit them they move on sometimes
it happens quickly a qualified and
experienced receptionists work here for
a grand total of six hours she realized
right away that the pace just wasn’t
suited to her and she very politely told
us so and left I appreciated her quick
thinking and efficient decision-making
skills she’ll have a successful career
somewhere else
every new hire is a gamble
you’ve said great interviews that you’re
ready to make them vice president’s on
the spot until you realize that they’re
true talent is simply giving a great
interview that’s why in a sense every
new hire is a gamble
impressive credentials don’t always add
up to a great performance or a good fit
non-existent credentials don’t
necessarily mean a no-talent
being circumspect helps a lot and keeps
you from being surprised people can
offer an interesting mix of pros and
cons time will do the weeding out for
you all you have to do is pay attention
what I look for in employees is a sense
of responsibility that goes beyond what
is merely sufficient some people do the
bare minimum and some people will
actually be concerned about the
organization as a whole they see
themselves as having a direct
relationship to the success or failure
of the company they work for
they believe they are important and
their work shows it if you can instill
this sense of worth in your employees
you will have a tip-top team working for
you people who take pride in their work
are the kind you want to have around and
the kind I like to keep around
I especially like employees who spend
and more importantly saved the company’s
money as if it was her own companies
suffer when employees don’t make enough
of an effort to control costs the
employees who feel a personal
responsibility for their budgets who
view the company’s bottom line as an
extension of their own personal savings
account are often the ones who get the
best results if you let your boss know
that you’re watching out for his or her
bottom line
you’ll always be appreciated
I respect employees who can think on
their feet so does George Ross my senior
counsel his assistant Carol Berkowitz
was helping out at the front desk one
day when she received a call from a
stranger who said she was about to
commit suicide Carol deemed the call
credible and took a few moments to
listen to the distressed woman
Carroll asked her where she was from and
the woman replied that she lived in
Southern California not far from the
beach
Carroll responded you live in California
near the beach do you know how cold it
is in New York today it’s eight degrees
outside and that’s without the wind
chill I almost froze just getting to
work if I were you I’d go out right now
take a long walk on the beach and sit in
the Sun for a while that’s what I do if
I were you
the woman instantly calmed down and
thanked Carol for being so nice to her
that’s the kind of person we like to
have around
a certain amount of personal ambition is
necessary but not to the point where it
undermines the common goal of the
company if your group can’t work
together you won’t accomplish much I
don’t like backstabbing it’s not
necessary in it’s insulting to me I have
eyes and ears and instincts too I can
assess people in situations for myself
if people have time to be petty it’s an
indication they’re not busy enough with
their work you can’t expect to be a
valuable employee if you don’t make
yourself valuable think about it
what do you contribute to the welfare of
the organization are you instrumental in
keeping it humming and moving forward
do you work wholeheartedly or
half-heartedly are you just going
through the motions and hoping no one
will notice the only person you ever
fool is yourself
you can’t fool others even though you
might think you can
a lot of people say they’re going
through the motions because their
position isn’t challenging or rewarding
and there’s no room to grow it’s a
dead-end situation that might very well
be if so look elsewhere for a company
that could offer you a promotion in your
particular area of interest or expertise
there are times when you should move on
and situations in which the only way up
is out
ideas are welcome but make sure you have
the right one
if you run a company make yourself
accessible to your employees if they
feel they can bring ideas to you they
will if they feel they can’t they won’t
you might miss out on a lot of good
ideas and pretty soon you might be
missing a lot of employees I allow
people to run their ideas by me I don’t
have a lot of time so they have to be
prepared and succinct I’m sure that’s
the protocol for any busy CEO so if
you’re going to be bold enough to
present your idea make it as clear as
possible and don’t take it casually
think of it as a presentation that could
cost you a lot of money if you were to
lose the client your bosses time is
important and you won’t win any points
by wasting it
learn to recognize the fine line between
being pushy and being intelligently
assertive it can be an issue of timing
pay attention to what’s happening around
you and pace yourself according to that
rhythm I try to develop a tempo when I’m
working
someone who interrupts it is not going
to receive a warm welcome
also remember this the boss has the big
picture you don’t so if your idea
doesn’t meet with Harrah’s it could very
well be that a similar idea is already
in development or that your idea is not
in step with plans that have already
been made this shouldn’t discourage you
because your initiative will always be
noticed but recognize when not to press
an issue and don’t expect a lengthy
explanation of why
I like people who don’t give up but
merely being a pest is detrimental to
everyone once again fine-tune your
discernment know when to ease up keep
your antenna up for another idea and a
more appropriate opportunity sometimes
we hesitate with good reason there was
one former employee who I liked a lot
but he reminded me of a jumping bean he
couldn’t keep still for more than three
seconds at a time even riding in the car
with him became an ordeal because being
in an enclosed space seemed to warm him
up even more and then he’d really get
going I finally learned to avoid him as
much as possible and that’s too bad
because he was a great guy but enough is
enough too much will cause people to
tune you out or wish that you would move
to another state last I heard the
jumping bean was living in Montana I
only hope they have enough space there
to contain him and every time I hear
about UFO sightings in Montana I have to
laugh I know who it is
one last thing if your boss says no to
an idea pay attention most likely
there’s a good reason no one disregards
a terrific idea it just might not be the
right terrific idea for the company
you’re with maybe you’re meant to go off
on your own as an entrepreneur let that
be an indication to you it could be the
beginning of your career rather than the
end of it
focus on the talent instead of the title
people who work for me know there’s a
lot more to me than my public persona
I’m not one-dimensional and if you
realize that the people around you
aren’t either you’ll be utilizing the
hidden potential that just about
everyone has whether they want to use it
or not is up to them to a certain extent
but it’s also up to a leader to
recognize it or at least to give it a
chance to unfold most people don’t like
to stagnate and if you want to keep your
company moving forward look around you
now and then for fresh possibilities
within your organization
never let someone’s job title be the
sole indication of their worth
people at the Trump Organization have
transcended their positions on many
occasions
Matthew calamari the executive vice
president of operations started as a
security guard after getting to know
Matthew I realized he had a lot more to
offer than his job title warranted and
he has proven me right he’s a dedicated
and trustworthy worker and any CEO in
his right mind would want to have him
around as an executive vice president he
is in charge of building operations and
runs my entire security organization he
is in charge of major building projects
with his brother Michael and Andy Weiss
their most notable recent accomplishment
is the new building on the site of the
former Del Monico hotel at Park Avenue
and 59th Street I’m calling it Trump
Park Avenue catchy right
vini Stelio who was hired by matthew
calamari started as my bodyguard and is
now a vice president he has just what it
takes to be an effective executive which
was clear to me if not immediately to
him Vinnie would often drive executives
architects and contractors up to
Westchester to look at developments I
was building now they report to him I am
perhaps the largest owner of land in
Westchester County and now it’s Vinny
who keeps his eye on it all John tulo
president of Trump Model Management our
modeling agency started as a Booker and
now has what many guys would consider a
dream job
Meredith McIver who made the writing of
this book of pleasure instead of a
headache started out as a media
assistant I recognized that her talents
encompassed much more of course it takes
talent to deal with me and everyone else
every day but especially me I could have
hired an outside collaborator to help me
with this book but why spend time
looking outside the organization when
you have all the people you need right
beside you
very often your resources are greater
than you might think
I don’t like it when people
underestimate me and I try not to
underestimate anyone else either people
are multifaceted and it’s important to
let them function in a way that will
allow them to shine most people would
rather succeed than fail but sometimes
the leader has to be the catalyst for
putting success in to their personal
vocabulary in other words try to see
beyond a person’s title you can find
talent in unlikely places
manage the person not the job
I once heard a story about a guy who
owned an advertising agency
there was one writer who drove the other
writers crazy because he would appear to
be doing nothing in his office he made
no attempt to look busy finally his
colleagues complained to his boss about
his laziness the boss suddenly perked up
and asked how long has he been this way
one of the other writers answered for
weeks and weeks he sits there and does
zip it’s like he’s in a coma the boss
said I want all of you to be quiet and
not to disturb him and every now and
then ask if you can get him some coffee
or some lunch or run some errands for
him needless to say the employees were
deflated and started grumbling then the
boss explained his rationale listen the
last time he was acting this way in the
time before that he came up with ideas
worth many millions of dollars so when I
tell you not to disturb him I have a
reason for it
people have different ways of achieving
results I enjoy figuring out how each of
my key employees excels if people are
your resource you’d better try to learn
something useful about them being able
to do so is what makes a good manager a
great one
some people respond well to the fear
factor ever here this exchange question
how long have you been working here
answer ever since they threatened to
fire me
well it applies to some employees
fortunately I seem to attract people who
enjoy working but now and then a few
slugs will show up and the loss of face
or job can be a good motivator for many
that said it will always work against
you to demoralize your employees in any
way I can be tough but most people will
admit I’m fair you can crush people if
you don’t weigh your words carefully
your power as a leader should be used in
the most positive way which sometimes
calls for a great deal of restraint as
well as patience I have to laugh when I
hear people say I can’t wait until I’m
the Big Shot so I can order everyone
around it doesn’t quite work that way
Abraham Lincoln made an appropriate
remark that is pertinent to management
nearly all men can stand adversity but
if you want to test a man’s character
give him power
keep your door open
I’m always taken aback when people say
oh he’s got it made as if that’s the end
of the conversation about a person they
seem to be saying that the person can
just check out and coast because he’s
already arrived to me arriving means
something that is about to begin
graduation from college is a beginning
not an ending each success is the
beginning of the next one learning is a
new beginning we can give ourselves
every day
I know it all is like a closed door
everyone who knows me knows I keep the
door to my office open it’s symbolic of
the way I choose to think and it’s the
way I operate my father was much the
same
he once said to me you know the more I
learned the more I realize I don’t know
I think that has kept me young at heart
more than anything else it was an
offhand comment a quiet realization he
mentioned to me one day while he was
reading but it has stuck with me for
decades every day is a reminder to me of
how much I don’t know everything I
learned leads me to something else I
didn’t know fortunately I don’t pride
myself on being a know-it-all so every
day becomes a new challenge people ask
me what keeps me going and this is
probably the closest answer to the truth
if I end the day without knowing more
than I did when I woke up it makes me
wonder what did I miss out on today
am I getting lazy I’m a disciplined
person and this thought alone can get me
going
we’ve all heard the phrase creature of
habit that can be good or bad depending
on your habits I’ve cultivated the
learning habit over the years and it’s
one of the most pleasurable aspects of
my life everyone in my family knows I’m
big on education not just Ivy League
education but all education and for
people of all ages that also applies to
me and while I got very good grades at
school I do not have time to be a
scholar still it’s something I aspire to
in my quiet time possibilities unfold
the world opens up
my sister Maryanne introduced me to the
writings of Aldous Huxley he was such a
learner that when he was faced with a
near total blindness as a young man he
learned Braille and continued his
studies anyway his description of his
predicament had not a trace of self-pity
in fact he mentioned that it had offered
some benefits he could now read in bed
at night and his hands would never get
cold because he could read with his
hands under the covers learning begets
learning I’d rather be stimulated than
passive
you can’t wear a blindfold in business a
regular part of your day should be
devoted to expanding your horizons
we live in a big world and it’s
important for us to be aware of cultures
other than our own I have always lived
in the United States but I make an
effort to be informed about other
cultures that’s easy to do in New York
City the most diverse and exciting place
on earth
someone who had been living abroad for a
few years told me upon returning home
that a frequent comment about Americans
is that you always know exactly where
we’re coming from the flip side of this
is that we rarely know where anyone else
is coming from we’re very much up to
snuff about our own national events but
we are less aware of what’s happening in
other countries all of us need to pay
more attention to events outside our own
realm we are connected to each other in
so many ways politically commercially
socially perhaps one of the reasons I’ve
been able to sell in rent apartments to
people of so many foreign nationalities
is that I’ve made an effort to
understand where they’re coming from
learn something new whether you think
you’re interested in it or not that’s
the opposite of having a closed mind or
a closed door I can thank my father for
the example he said it was the key to
his remaining young and dynamic into his
nineties it can do the same for you if
you make the effort
think big and live large
this is the final rule of the Donald J
Trump School of Business and management
once you have mastered it you are ready
to graduate
it’s a big world there’s a lot we don’t
know which means there’s still a lot to
be discovered and a lot to be
accomplished the possibilities are
always there if you’re thinking too
small you might miss them in some ways
it’s easier to buy a skyscraper than a
small house in a bad section of Brooklyn
either way you’ll probably need
financing and most people would rather
invest in a great building that a
dilapidated duplex on a dangerous Street
with a skyscraper if you hit at least
you hit big and if you don’t hit what’s
the difference between losing a hundred
thousand dollars or hundreds of millions
of dollars either way you’ve lost so you
might as well have really gone for it
I’ve read stories in which I’m described
as a cartoon a comic book version of the
big city business mogul with a gorgeous
girlfriend in the private plane in the
personal golf course in the penthouse
apartment with marble floors and gold
bathroom fixtures but my cartoon is real
I am the creator of my own comic book
and I love living in it if you’re going
to think think big if you’re gonna live
live large
part to your personal apprenticeship
career advice from the Donald
take control of the job interview
I’ve had some interesting experiences
with job interviews over the years Norma
for Durer is a good example I wasn’t too
sure about her after her first interview
it had nothing to do with her skills but
she seemed a little too prim like she
belonged on some family sitcom as the
ever so proper type I didn’t think she
could handle it here are that she would
fit with my style Norma persisted
seeming to recognize a good match better
than I did
little did I know how deceptive first
impressions could be Norma was actually
as far from fluff as you could get so I
thought okay maybe her abilities were
superior to those of anyone else I’d
seen as it turned out I called her back
on the same day her mother died but
Norma gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse
she’d worked for me for one month at a
low salary just to see whether we
clicked no strings attached I thought
AHA she’ll never last anyway and I can
decide on someone else in the meantime
after one month with me she’ll be out of
here for sure
the hoity-toity type just won’t fly
except out the front door needless to
say I underestimated Norma completely I
was duly humbled and I must add grateful
for being so she was persistent and
committed to getting the job and she did
it with elegance
ask for your raise at the right time
when it comes to your career certain
moves should not be made without careful
consideration of the old and very apt
saying timing is everything for example
if you’ve decided to ask for a raise
look around first so many times
employees who I like very much do the
dumbest things when it comes to
conversations about their salaries
Jason Greenblatt a young and brilliant
lawyer who works for me is terrific at
everything he does but one day I swear
he must have been wearing blindfolds and
earplugs I was having an especially
tough vicious terrible miserable day
that seemed never-ending to me and to
everyone else it was a grand slam rotten
day no one could possibly have mistaken
it for anything else
late in the afternoon by which time I
had had enough I heard a polite knock on
my door I yelled what in my most
exasperated tone
Jason nonchalantly entered my office
completely ignoring my angry welcome and
proceeded to ask me for a raise I could
not believe a lawyer as smart as Jason
could make such a dumb move I use his
real name only because Jason knows how
much I like and respect him despite his
incredible faux pas but I have to tell
you that I was ready to kill him was he
joking it’s amazing but he wasn’t he was
dead serious I couldn’t believe it
he get a raise not that day he almost
got fired for stupidity except that I
told him to get out before I really lost
my temper I also told him that although
he might be brilliant
his timing for certain things needed
work and that maybe he ought to start
paying attention to what was going on
around him I remember thinking to myself
did I really hire such a person but as I
said it had been a rough day
Jason is still with me and he gets lots
of raises because he’s great at what he
does but now he always waits for sunny
days blue skies and puffy white clouds
on the horizon before approaching me I
told you he was smart
the best way to ask for a raise is to
wait for the right time it also
indicates to your boss that you have a
certain amount of discernment and
appreciation for what he might be going
through himself
I need my people to be plugged in to
what’s going on with me
what impresses me most about people is
their work ethic a certain amount of
swagger is okay it’s just another form
of enthusiasm but bottom line I look for
results when I mentioned to a
salesperson that I had to cut her salary
because she’d made no sales in nine
months she just about went nuts but some
things are common sense what would she
do if she had a non-productive sales
person on her roster if you knew your
company was scheduled to give a major
client presentation at 3 p.m. would you
approach your boss at 2:45 to ask for a
raise money like comedy is all about
timing
be tenacious
the art of the deal contained a chapter
called West Side story about my
acquisition of the West Side yards a
hundred acre property fronting the
Hudson River from 59th Street to 72nd
Street the chapter title was a
deliberate double entendre as I knew
that the popular musical West Side Story
had taken 10 years to put together its
creative team had included no less than
Leonard Bernstein Jerome Robbins Stephen
Sondheim
and Arthur Lawrence so whenever I
experienced setbacks or delays on my
Westside project I would remind myself
that I had some very illustrious company
it’s now 17 years later and it’s still a
work in progress but the example set by
the architects of West Side Story has
served me well you don’t create a
classic overnight
I’m calling it Trump place it’s a five
billion dollar project the biggest
development ever approved by the New
York City Planning Commission when it’s
done
Trump place will have 5700 residential
units and more than five million square
feet of commercial space so far four
towers have been completed and are
occupied and two additional buildings
are under construction when we’re done
there will be a total of 16 buildings on
the site
Trump place is a good example of white
tenacity is crucial in business I bought
the property in 1974
we’ve hit snags along the way and made
many changes over time but for more than
30 years we’ve persisted at times just
about every executive will appear
impatient but to build something that
endures you have to take the long view
recently an employee told me that the
pastor of her church had used Trump
place as an example of what a firm
foundation should be whether it be in
faith family or is in my case buildings
the pastor whose church was near the
construction site would watch each
building go up and marvel at the
immensity of the work each building
could be a hundred stories high he said
considering the meticulous foundation
work
my publisher sent me an inspiring book
by Bill Shore called the Cathedral
within which celebrates the commitment
and hope necessary to build something
that endures it might be a cathedral
like the one in Milan which took five
hundred years to build or it might be a
community organization or a business
Paul Davis the man developing Trump
place for me and my partners is a true
cathedral builder I have rarely seen
anyone worked so hard or so diligently
Saturdays Sundays he’s there at all
hours paying close attention to every
impeccable detail of the layouts room
sizes and the quality of the fixtures
he’s one of the big reasons for our
success
some things are worth waiting for for me
Trump place is one of those things 16
beautifully designed buildings on the
Hudson River a 25 acre park the Upper
West Side has a backyard this could
prove to be my finest contribution to
the city of New York time will tell but
I’m in no rush and I won’t stop until
I’m done
play golf
I made a lot of money on the golf course
before I ever went into golf as a
business I found solutions to problems
new ideas for ventures and even a new
career Golf has a way of giving you an
equilibrium that you can’t always find
in the office doing what you love will
always make you a winner and after
spending many happy hours on golf
courses I decided to build some of my
own I am now one of the busiest golf
course developers in the United States
with two award-winning internationally
acclaimed courses fully operational and
two more in the works
my first course the Trump International
Golf Club in Palm Beach Florida has been
home to the ADP LPGA championships for
three years when I first decided to
develop the most beautiful golf course
as possible I did some research and got
in touch with the most respected
designers in the business the Fazio
family just as Michelangelo had an
affinity for sculpting marbles some
people have an affinity for sculpting
land in this case Jim and Tommy Fazio
designed a dream come true for any
golfer not only visually but in terms of
playability
the course opened in 1999 with its
waterfalls and landscapes unique to
Florida Trump International Golf Club is
already a landmark course in the state
and the best course in Florida
my second course was Trump national at
Briarcliff Manor in New York we moved
three million yards of Earth the largest
land excavation ever in Westchester
County and it was worth it
we were also dealing with stone which
was used for walls and a spectacular
waterfall on the 13th hole a hundred and
one foot cliff a black granite quarried
from the property which pumps 5,000
gallons a minute the walls were built by
my very talented stonemasons Frank sands
Oh membership costs $300,000 I think
it’s a bargain
my third golf course is trump National
Golf Club in a sumptuous area of New
Jersey known as Bedminster it is being
designed by the master golf course
architect himself Tom Fazio three times
Golf Digest has named Fazio the best
modern-day golf course architect and
when you see this course you’ll know why
it will be long big and beautiful and I
am involved daily in the design and
construction additional plans for this
property formerly owned by automaker
John DeLorean and located in the heart
of New Jersey’s horse country will
include a second course and a world
class clubhouse designed in the colonial
mansion style
I don’t want to limit my golfing to the
East Coast so in 2002 I bought a course
along two miles of the Pacific Ocean
what was formerly known as ocean trails
in Palos Verdes will now be known as
trump National Golf Club Los Angeles the
course had fallen into disrepair under
its previous owners the 18th hole fell
into the ocean so I’m rebuilding it with
legendary golf course architect Pete Dye
we’re also planning to build luxury
estate homes on the property when
completed this course will be the best
in California
when we announced the deal the Los
Angeles Times reported as he has so many
times before Trump has spotted a trend
to tap true but mostly I was following
my instincts and my interests building
golf courses is not a big business for
me and it’s unlikely that I will ever do
another one I only want the best
sometimes I will sell memberships while
I’m hitting balls on the practice range
people approach me and hand me checks
one recent day at my Florida course a
group of four wealthy friends came to me
with checks of $300,000 each I said to
myself not bad I’m playing a game I love
and going home with 1 million two
hundred thousand dollars in my pocket
I realize that some of you don’t care
much about golf
Golf is one of those things that has
aficionados just as opera has diehard
fans who will fly around the world to
catch a certain performance to people
who don’t know or like opera that seems
absurd I can’t make you love golf
but believe me once you’ve had the
opportunity to play on a beautiful
course it could turn you into an
enormous fan or even a passionate player
no matter how poorly you hit the ball
if anyone had told me 20 years ago that
I’d become a dedicated golf course
developer I would have sent them out of
the room for being ridiculous
but Golf has a transforming power it’s a
brain game yes there is skill and
technique involved but just as important
it requires concentration and assessment
it’s a great way to improve your
business skills to learn how to maneuver
it can even be equated with learning how
to negotiate which is an art in itself
Golf is also in essence a solitaire game
being an entrepreneur even within a
large company is a solitaire game
ultimately the rule here is not just to
visit one of my golf courses though you
and be wise to do so but to turn your
passion into profit the results of that
passion will reward you in more ways
than you ever could have expected
passion is enthusiasm on a big scale it
is all encompassing and consuming people
with passion never give up because
they’ll never have a reason to give up
no matter what their circumstances may
be it’s an intangible momentum that can
make you indomitable take out the
passion and you will have a fizzle or
perhaps an okay product at best add the
passion and you will be in a rarefied
realm that every other passion II still
will recognize and one that every person
would like to enter
a friend of mine is a member of what I
call the lucky sperm Club born into a
wealthy family he followed his father to
Wall Street but he was a total failure
he didn’t like it and he couldn’t do it
meanwhile he became increasingly
involved in his Connecticut Country Club
he was named the head of the greens
committee and took on the lead role in
rebuilding the golf course he loved it
and was great at it
the club held a dinner for him out of
gratitude for his volunteer work I asked
him why don’t you do this for a living
you’re not for Wall Street you’re
getting eaten alive there he told me his
family wouldn’t understand if he quit a
serious job to work on golf courses well
two years later he took my advice quit
the Wall Street job and is now working
full-time at renovating golf courses he
says he loves getting up in the morning
and he’s doing better than ever
of course you don’t have to learn how to
play golf to have a satisfying career
but no matter what you do you must be
passionate about it
brand yourself and toot your horn
I was originally going to call Trump
Tower by another name
Tiffany tower for the famous jewelry
store next door I asked a friend do you
think it should be Trump Tower or
Tiffany tower he said when you change
your name to Tiffany call it Tiffany
tower
we’ve all seen the power of a brand name
especially quality brand names Coco
Chanel became world famous 80 years ago
by naming her first perfume Chanel
number five and it’s still going strong
in a fiercely competitive market her
fragrance as well as her name has become
timeless she proved that the right
ingredients can create a legend
Trump has become a great brand name due
to my rigorous standards of design and
quality
we all admire rolls-royce cars and I see
every one of my ventures as being just
that elite being a stickler has paid off
because my buildings are considered to
be the finest in the world that may
sound like bragging but it’s also affect
I’ve never been one to confuse facts
with fiction in 2003 Chicago Tribune
real estate columnist Miriam Berger
attributed the sales for Trump
International Hotel and Tower in Chicago
to the Trump factor Umberger reported
the sales velocity surprises even
experienced real estate players who told
me at the sales inaugural that they
doubted Trump would gain enough momentum
because Chicago’s luxury market was and
is in a lull
some people have written that I’m
boastful but they’re missing the point I
believe in what I say and I deliver the
goods if you’re devoting your life to
creating a body of work and you believe
in what you do and what you do is
excellent you’d better damn well tell
people you think so
subtlety and modesty are appropriate for
nuns and therapists but if you’re in
business you’d better learn to speak up
and announce your significant
accomplishments to the world nobody else
will
what I’m setting the price for a luxury
apartment I consider a lot of factors
the market the location and the
competition then I set my own standards
once when some top-of-the-line
apartments weren’t selling I up the
prices way over the competition they
started selling immediately
I view my work as an art form and
approach it with the same intensity and
ego as any ambitious artist would I
never planned on becoming a brand name
but the fit of my aesthetic nature with
each product I became involved with has
resulted in an expanding network of
interests the success of the Trump name
worldwide has been a surprise it’s been
a good surprise for example using my
name on a building carries with it a
promise of the highest quality available
and at least a five million dollar price
tag that’s just for the name because it
will be worth it to the developers and
they know it that building will be up to
my standards when I remember the line
from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
what’s in a name I have to laugh what’s
in a name can be far more than either
the bard or I ever could have imagined
we’ve all noticed the ascendancy of
brand names and the power they have from
Levi’s to louisvil tall some people are
against this widespread branding seeing
it as another form of labeling I see it
as a viable outlet for creativity if
you’re on the brink of success in your
career some snob might ask you
dismissively you don’t want to become a
brand name do you anyone who asks you
that does not have the big picture in
focus and they are usually just envious
a project off the ground in no time now
where as an unknown developer would
require many months if not years to get
something going the number of people I
employed to get a project finished
reaches into the thousands and those
people would not have a building to work
on without a developer to give them a
job Commerce and art cannot function
independently they must work together
that is the beauty of a successful brand
name
if there is a downside to being a well
known name it is that you become an easy
target the media needs to tear down what
it builds up that’s just part of
journalism stories are about heroes and
villains or success and failure if
you’re a brand name they’re gonna take a
shot at you it comes with a territory
and I’ve learned to live with it
as we say in The Apprentice it’s not
personal its business
fortunately if you have the critics who
matter on your side reading the
newspaper can be a lot of fun Herbert
Musab the architecture critic for the
New York Times is a scholar and an
authority when it comes to buildings to
receive a compliment from him has an
intrinsic value that will never diminish
when he wrote an article on Trump World
Tower and described it as a handsome
hunk of a glass tower I was very
honoured here’s more of what he wrote
although Donald Trump prefers to
publicize the aggressive side of his
nature
it’s the manly thing to do he is also
the only Beauty freak at large in New
York City real estate development it’s
not surprising that unofficial approval
of Trump’s buildings should come by way
of the Museum of Modern Art the tower
embodies the mici an aesthetic through
which the moderns design departments
taste was initially formulated I hope
Trump sticks with this material Trump
does better when he ignores his critics
than when he pays attention to them
so don’t be afraid to toot your own horn
when you’ve done something worth Tooting
about and don’t believe the critics
unless they love your work
you
[Music]
five billion reasons why you should
listen to this audio book a lot has
happened to us all since 1987 that’s the
year the art of the deal was published
and became the best-selling business
book of the decade with over three
million copies in print business rule
number one if you don’t tell people
about your success they probably won’t
know about it a few months ago I picked
up the art of the deal skimmed a bit and
then read the first and last paragraphs
I realized that after seventeen years
they still rang true I could have
written these words yesterday first
paragraph I don’t do it for the money
I’ve got enough much more than I’ll ever
need I do it to do it deals are my art
form other people paint beautifully on
canvas or write wonderful poetry
I like making deals preferably big deals
that’s how I get my kicks last paragraph
don’t get me wrong I also plan to keep
making deals big deals and right around
the clock it’s now 2004 I am still
making deals around the clock and I
still don’t do it for the money I don’t
think you should do it for the money
either money is not an end in itself but
it’s sometimes the most effective way to
help us realize our dreams so if you’ve
got big dreams and you’re looking for a
way to make them happen this audio book
is for you how to get rich that’s what I
decided to call it because whenever I
meet people that’s usually what they
want to know from me you ask a baker how
he makes bread you ask a billionaire how
he makes money sure there have been
countless how to get rich books written
by millionaires billionaire authors are
harder to find
billionaire authors with interests in
real estate gaming sports and
entertainment are rarest
and billionaire authors with their own
Manhattan skyscrapers and hit primetime
television series our rarest of all I’m
pretty sure I’m the only one though
Oprah
could give me a run for the money if she
ever decides to write another book and
get into real estate business rule
number two keep it short fast and direct
the following will be straightforward
and succinct but don’t let the brevity
of these passages prevent you from
savoring the pro fund any of the advice
you’re about to receive these stories
and words of wisdom have been distilled
from almost 30 years at the top so here
it comes the scoop from the Donald after
you make your first billion don’t forget
to send me a thank-you note you know the
address
[Music]
Simon & Schuster audio presents Trump
how to get rich by Donald J Trump with
Meredith MacGyver
read by Barry Bostwick with an
introduction by Donald J Trump
part-1
the Donald J Trump School of Business
and management
be a general
I am the chairman and president of the
Trump Organization I like saying that
because it means a great deal to me
there are almost 20,000 members of this
organization at this point I did a print
ad once in which I declared I only work
with the best that statement still
stands more and more I see that running
a business is like being a general
calling the shots carries a great deal
of responsibility not only for yourself
but for your troops your employees lives
to a large extent are dependent on you
and your decisions bad strategy can end
up affecting a lot of people this is
where being a leader takes on a new
dimension every decision you make is an
important one whether there are twenty
thousand people working for you or just
one if you are careful when finding
employees management becomes a lot
easier I rely on a few key people to
keep me informed they know I trust them
and they do their best to keep that
trust intact
for example when I need to know
something about my casinos and hotels in
Atlantic City I know I can call up Mark
Brown my CEO and get a fast and informed
answer if I call Laura Cordova know over
at Trump Park Avenue and ask about sales
she’ll give it to me exactly as it is if
I call Allan weiselberger my CFO he’ll
tell me what I need to know in 20 words
or less my senior counsel and apprentice
adviser George Ross can do it in 10
words or less find people who suit your
business style and you’ll have fewer
problems to deal with as time goes on
good people equals good management and
good management equals good people they
have to work together or they won’t work
together for very long I’ve seen good
management get by with mediocre people
and I’ve also seen excellent people get
stuck in the meijer of bad management
the good managers will eventually leave
followed by the good workers and you
will be left with a team that gets along
because they’re all mediocre save
yourself time by getting the best people
you can sometimes this can mean choosing
attitude over experience and credentials
use your creativity to come up with a
good mix
creative people rarely need to be
motivated they have their own inner
drive that refuses to be bored they
refuse to be complacent they live on the
edge which is precisely what is needed
to be successful and remain successful
one of my former employees was in charge
of a new project he had done a thorough
and acceptable job but I felt that
something was missing it wasn’t
fantastic which knowing his capabilities
it should have been I decided to
challenge his creative ego by mentioning
that it was fine but seemed to lack
inspiration I politely asked him whether
he was genuinely interested in the
project and suggested that perhaps that
might be the problem well the guy went
ballistic on me he was deeply insulted
and as you can probably guess the
revision he turned in was terrific the
difference between the first draft and
the final version was incredible I
didn’t slam the guy because he was
usually demanding of himself and had
never let me down but I had to give him
a jolt
generals motivate their soldiers they
inspire them when it is necessary they
do the same for the highest-ranking
officers we all need a boost now and
then learn how to tailor your method to
the personalities you are managing
keep the big picture in mind while
attending to the daily details this can
seem like a balancing act but it is
absolutely necessary for success in
running a company
stay focused
in the 1980s I was riding high after
learning the essentials of real estate
development for my father Fred a builder
in Queens in Brooklyn I’d become a major
player in Manhattan developing Trump
Tower the Grand Hyatt Hotel and many
other top-tier properties
I had a yacht a plane a best-selling
book one magazine headline said
everything he touches turns to gold and
I believed it I’d never known adversity
I went straight from Morton to wealth
even in down markets
I bought properties inexpensively and
made a lot of money I began to think it
was easy in the late 80s I lost focus
I’d fly off to Europe to attend fashion
shows and I wasn’t looking at the
clothing my lack of attention was
killing my business
then the real-estate market crashed I
owed billions upon billions of dollars
nine point two billion to be exact
that’s nine billion two hundred million
dollars I’ve told this story many times
before but it bears repeating in the
midst of the crash I passed a beggar on
the street and realized he was worth
nine point two billion more than I was I
saw a lot of my friends go bankrupt
never to be heard from again the media
had me for lunch Forbes Business Week
fortune The Wall Street Journal the New
York Times they all published major
stories about my crisis and a lot of
people seem to be happy about it I’ll
never forget the worst moment it was 3
a.m.
Citibank phoned me at my home in Trump
Tower they wanted me to come over to
their office immediately to negotiate
new terms with some foreign banks three
of the 99 banks to whom I owed billions
it’s tough when you have to tell a
banker that you can’t pay interest they
tend not to like those words an ally at
Citibank suggested that the best way for
me to handle this difficult situation
was to call the banks myself and that’s
exactly what they wanted me to do at 3
o’clock on a cold January morning in the
freezing rain there were no cabs so I
walked 15 blocks to Citibank by the time
I got there I was drenched that was a
low point there were 30 bankers sitting
around a big table I phoned one Japanese
banker than an Austrian banker and then
a third banker from a country I can no
longer remember
in the art of the deal I had warned
readers never to personally guarantee
anything well I hadn’t followed my own
advice of the nine point two billion I
owed I’d personally guaranteed a billion
dollars I was a schmuck but I was a
lucky shocked and I wound up dealing
with some understanding bankers who
worked out a fair deal after being the
king of the 80s I survived the early 90s
and by the mid to late 90s I was
thriving again but I learned my lesson I
work as hard today as I did when I was a
young developer in the 1970s don’t make
the mistake I did stay focused
maintain your momentum
William Levitt the master builder of
Levittown taught me the true meaning of
momentum in the 1950s he was the king no
detail was too small for his attention
he would personally collect stray nails
and extra chips of wood from building
sites to make sure his construction
crews used all available materials
he sold his company in 1956 to ITT for
100 million which is equivalent to
billions today then he made some
terrible mistakes
he retired he married the wrong woman
he moved to the South of France and
lived on the Riviera with his new boat
and his new wife
one day ITT called the executives in
charge of the conglomerate had no
aptitude for home building they had
bought huge tracts of land but didn’t
know how to get them zoned so they sold
it back to Levitt who thought he’d
gotten a great deal
he went back into business and he
proceeded to go bankrupt
I saw William Levitt at a cocktail party
in 1994 two weeks before he died he was
standing by himself in a corner looking
to feed it I didn’t know him well but I
approached him hoping to acquire some
wisdom from the master mr. Levin I said
how are you doing not good Donald not
good then he said the words I’ll never
forget
I lost my momentum I was out of the
world for 20 years I came back and I
wasn’t the same
no matter how accomplished you are no
matter how well you think you know your
business you have to remain vigilant
about the details of your field you
can’t get by on experience or smarts
even the best surgeons need to be
retrained regularly to stay current on
the latest research and procedures no
matter what you’re managing don’t assume
you can glide by momentum is something
you have to work at to maintain
get a great assistant
surround yourself with people you can
trust I often say it’s good to be
paranoid but not when it comes to your
home team
ask God for a great assistant no joke a
great one can make your life a whole lot
easier or in my case almost manageable
Norma for Durer has been with me for 23
years if you want to know what a great
guy I am just ask her but not on a
Friday handling me the office and
several hundred calls a week isn’t easy
she’s as tough and smart as she is
gracious
she’s also indefatigable which helps a
lot if you work for me my phones are so
busy that I require two executive
assistants and they never stop they
alone handle on the average more than
1250 calls a week they are not only
efficient and fast but they are also
very pleasant and beautiful young women
you don’t have to be beautiful to work
for me
just be good at your job I’ve been
accused of admiring beautiful women I
plead guilty but when it comes to the
workplace anyone who is beautiful I’d
better have brains too
you need competent people with an
inherent work ethic I’m not a complacent
person and I can’t have a complacent
staff I move forward quickly and so much
they
once I wanted to know how fast a new
employee could work so I told him I was
leaving in 15 minutes and needed
something done within that time I wasn’t
actually going anywhere but sure enough
I had what I needed in 15 minutes
machiavellian maybe but both of us learn
something that day
one final piece of advice on assistance
which I learned from experience in which
I admit may not be as relevant to your
career as it’s been to mine find a
receptionist who can speak English
we had a breathtaking European Beauty
out front who could easily rival Ingrid
Bergman in her heyday but I discovered
that her ability to recognize well-known
people in the United States was limited
to myself and maybe President Bush she
wasn’t so familiar with the likes of
Hugh Grant Reggie Jackson George
Steinbrenner Jack Welch Paul Anka
Mohammed al-fayed
Regis Philbin or Tony Bennett their
calls never got through to me and their
names were placed on her psycho list
but you should have seen her what a
knockout she since moved on to better
career opportunities but will never
forget her neither will anyone who ever
called in or tried to
remember the buck starts here
set the standard don’t expect your
employees to work harder than you do in
my case I don’t have to worry about that
because I work seven days a week and
love almost every minute of it but also
realize that your company will sometimes
function as an extended and
dysfunctional family it’s only natural
considering that people often spend more
waking hours with co-workers than they
do with their families
a visitor in my office once mentioned
that the goings-on that reminded him of
a family fight in progress I will admit
that the volume level gets high now and
then and he wasn’t far off in his
assessment but if you want smooth
sailing every day move to the
Mediterranean
winners see problems as just another way
to prove themselves problems are never
truly hardships to them and if you
haven’t got any problems then you must
not have a business to run
regard your company is a living
breathing organism because that’s what
it is those figures you see on your
spreadsheets will reflect the health of
that organism watch out for bad cells
while allowing good cells to flourish
growth is an indication of life so keep
your organization moving forward at all
times having a passion for what you do
is crucial if you can’t get excited
about what you’re doing how can you
expect anyone else to if your employees
can see and feel your energy it is bound
to affect them
don’t intimidate people if you do you’ll
never get a straight answer from anyone
and you’ll be defeating your own purpose
I keep my door open and my people know
I’m available as well as approachable
we don’t have chat fests but whatever
needs to be done gets accomplished and
quickly
remember that your organization is your
organization that sounds simplistic but
bottom line it’s your ballgame the
strategy is up to you and so are the
results remember Harry Truman’s famous
words which he kept on his desk in the
Oval Office the buck stops here I keep a
similar quote on my desk it reads the
buck starts here
don’t equivocate if you equivocate is an
indication that you’re unsure of
yourself and what you’re doing it’s also
what politicians do all the time and I
find it inappropriate insulting and
condescending I try not to do it
fortunately I don’t have to try too hard
at this one because I’ve been known to
be on the blunt and fast side at times
which is good
I once asked an executive in my
organization to give me a synopsis of a
new development we were considering he’d
been to the city in question had spent
some time there and had done some
careful investigating he went on to
describe the merits of the site the
pitfalls the good things the bad things
the pros the cons on and on in great
detail he must have talked for 10
minutes straight judging from what he
was telling me they were just as many
reasons to drop the project as there
were reasons to jump right in and get
going it was like a tied game with no
overtime
I asked him more questions and we ended
up exactly where we were before he was
on both sides of the fence at once and
didn’t seem to want to take a stand
either way this guy had a lot of
experience and a good track record so
finally I asked him what he thought of
the project in ten words or less it
stinks he said he had eight words left
but he didn’t need them
ask yourself two questions number one is
there anyone else who can do this better
than I can that’s just another way of
saying know yourself and know your
competition if your competition is
better than you are you need to offer
some quality they lack number two what
am i pretending not to see we can all
get swept up in the afore you of a
creative moment or what former President
Richard Nixon’s speech writers used to
call the lift of a dream before the
dream lifts you into the clouds make
sure you’ve looked hard at the facts on
the ground
will only get you so far
I think it’s funny that the phrase most
closely associated with me these days is
you’re fired because the truth is
although I’ve had to fire people from
time to time it’s not a big part of my
job
I much prefer keeping loyal and
hardworking people around for as long as
they’d like to be here there’s a
wonderful lady in her 90s
Amy luerssen who worked for my father
and still reports to work every day at
our Brooklyn office here at the Trump
Organization Helen Ray cots has worked
for me from the day I moved to Manhattan
and she still puts in long hours every
week she is 82
once I delayed firing someone for two
years because this guy always had such a
great line of every time I came
close to the topic no matter what was
going on he had some huge deal lined up
that was just about to come through he
managed to string me along for two solid
years and I believed him every time I
wanted to finally I was forced to
realize that his claims were bogus
but I gave him every chance before
finally asking him unless your boss is a
total sadist he or she doesn’t want to
fire you or cause hardship to your
family if you think you’re in danger of
being fired take control of the
situation and ask your boss for a
meeting make sure you ask for the
meeting at the right time tell your boss
you want to make sure you are
communicating and doing your job to
everyone’s satisfaction of course if
your boss is a sadist or just a lousy
communicator you’ve still got a problem
in that case fire your boss and get a
better job there’s no sense in trying to
cope with a bad situation that will
never improve
I never try to dissuade people from
quitting if they don’t want to be here I
don’t want them to be here either no one
has ever come to me with an ultimatum
people see how it works here and if it
doesn’t suit them they move on sometimes
it happens quickly a qualified and
experienced receptionists work here for
a grand total of six hours she realized
right away that the pace just wasn’t
suited to her and she very politely told
us so and left I appreciated her quick
thinking and efficient decision-making
skills she’ll have a successful career
somewhere else
every new hire is a gamble
some people give such great interviews
that you’re ready to make them vice
president’s on the spot until you
realize that their true talent is simply
giving a great interview that’s why in a
sense every new hire is a gamble
impressive credentials don’t always add
up to a great performance or a good fit
non-existent credentials don’t
necessarily mean a no-talent
being circumspect helps a lot and keeps
you from being surprised people can
offer an interesting mix of pros and
cons time will do the weeding out for
you all you have to do is pay attention
what I look for in employees is a sense
of responsibility that goes beyond what
is merely sufficient some people do the
bare minimum and some people will
actually be concerned about the
organization as a whole they see
themselves as having a direct
relationship to the success or failure
of the company they work for
they believe they are important and
their work shows it if you can instill
this sense of worth in your employees
you will have a tip-top team working for
you people who take pride in their work
are the kind you want to have around and
the kind I like to keep around I
especially like employees who spend and
more importantly save the company’s
money as if it was their own company’s
suffer when employees don’t make enough
of an effort to control costs the
employees who feel a personal
responsibility for their budgets who
view the company’s bottom line as an
extension of their own personal savings
account are often the ones who get the
best results if you let your boss know
that you’re watching out for his or her
bottom line you’ll always be appreciated
I respect employees who can think on
their feet so does George Ross my senior
counsel his assistant Carol Berkowitz
was helping out at the front desk one
day when she received a call from a
stranger who said she was about to
commit suicide Carol deemed the call
credible and took a few moments to
listen to the distressed woman
Carroll asked her where she was from and
the woman replied that she lived in
Southern California not far from the
beach
Carroll responded you live in California
near the beach do you know how cold it
is in New York today it’s eight degrees
outside and that’s without the wind
chill I almost froze just getting to
work if I were you I’d go out right now
take a long walk on the beach and sit in
the Sun for a while that’s what I do if
I were you
the woman instantly calmed down and
thanked Carol for being so nice to her
that’s the kind of person we like to
have around
a certain amount of personal ambition is
necessary but not to the point where it
undermines the common goal of the
company if your group can’t work
together you won’t accomplish much I
don’t like backstabbing it’s not
necessary and it’s insulting to me I
have eyes and ears and instincts too I
can assess people in situations for
myself if people have time to be petty
it’s an indication they’re not busy
enough with their work you can’t expect
to be a valuable employee if you don’t
make yourself valuable think about it
what do you contribute to the welfare of
the organization are you instrumental in
keeping it humming and moving forward
do you work wholeheartedly or
half-heartedly are you just going
through the motions and hoping no one
will notice the only person you ever
fool is yourself you can’t fool others
even though you might think you can
a lot of people say they’re going
through the motions because their
position isn’t challenging or rewarding
and there’s no room to grow it’s a
dead-end situation that might very well
be if so look elsewhere for a company
that could offer you a promotion in your
particular area of interest or expertise
there are times when you should move on
and situations in which the only way up
is out
ideas are welcome but make sure you have
the right one
if you run a company make yourself
accessible to your employees if they
feel they can bring ideas to you they
will if they feel they can’t they won’t
you might miss out on a lot of good
ideas and pretty soon you might be
missing a lot of employees I allow
people to run their ideas by me I don’t
have a lot of time so they have to be
prepared and succinct I’m sure that’s
the protocol for any busy CEO so if
you’re going to be bold enough to
present your idea make it as clear as
possible and don’t take it casually
think of it as a presentation that could
cost you a lot of money if you were to
lose the client your bosses time is
important and you won’t win any points
by wasting it
learn to recognize the fine line between
being pushy and being intelligently
assertive it can be an issue of timing
pay attention to what’s happening around
you and pace yourself according to that
rhythm I try to develop a tempo when I’m
working
someone who interrupts it is not going
to receive a warm welcome
also remember this the boss has the big
picture you don’t so if your idea
doesn’t meet with Harrah’s it could very
well be that a similar idea is already
in development or that your idea is not
in step with plans that have already
been made this shouldn’t discourage you
because your initiative will always be
noticed but recognize when not to press
an issue and don’t expect a lengthy
explanation of why
I like people who don’t give up but
merely being a pest is detrimental to
everyone once again fine-tune your
discernment know when to ease up keep
your antenna up for another idea and a
more appropriate opportunity sometimes
we hesitate with good reason
there was one former employee who I
liked a lot but he reminded me of a
jumping bean he couldn’t keep still for
more than three seconds at a time even
riding in the car with him became an
ordeal because being in an enclosed
space seemed to warm him up even more
and then he’d really get going I finally
learned to avoid him as much as possible
and that’s too bad because he was a
great guy but enough is enough too much
will cause people to tune you out or
wish that you would move to another
state last I heard the jumping bean was
living in Montana I only hope they have
enough space there to contain him and
every time I hear about UFO sightings in
Montana I have to laugh I know who it is
one last thing if your boss says no to
an idea pay attention most likely
there’s a good reason no one disregards
a terrific idea it just might not be the
right terrific idea for the company
you’re with maybe you’re meant to go off
on your own as an entrepreneur let that
be an indication to you it could be the
beginning of your career rather than the
end of it
focus on the talent instead of the title
people who work for me know there’s a
lot more to me than my public persona
I’m not one-dimensional and if you
realize that the people around you
aren’t either you’ll be utilizing the
hidden potential that just about
everyone has whether they want to use it
or not is up to them to a certain extent
but it’s also up to a leader to
recognize it or at least to give it a
chance to unfold most people don’t like
to stagnate and if you want to keep your
company moving forward look around you
now and then for fresh possibilities
within your organization
never let someone’s job title be the
sole indication of their worth
people at the Trump Organization have
transcended their positions on many
occasions
Matthew calamari the executive vice
president of operations started as a
security guard after getting to know
Matthew I realized he had a lot more to
offer than his job title warranted and
he has proven me right he’s a dedicated
and trustworthy worker and any CEO in
his right mind would want to have him
around as an executive vice president he
is in charge of building operations and
runs my entire security organization he
is in charge of major building projects
with his brother Michael and Andy Weiss
their most notable recent accomplishment
is the new building on the site of the
former Del Monico Hotel at Park Avenue
and 59th Street I’m calling it Trump
Park Avenue catchy right
vini Stelio who was hired by matthew
calamari started as my bodyguard and is
now a vice president he has just what it
takes to be an effective executive which
was clear to me if not immediately to
him Vinnie would often drive executives
architects and contractors up to
Westchester to look at developments I
was building now they report to him I am
perhaps the largest owner of land in
Westchester County and now it’s Vinny
who keeps his eye on it all John tulo
president of Trump Model Management our
modeling agency started as a Booker and
now has what