Trump: How to Get Rich: Big Deals from the Star of The Apprentice

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 twenty thousand 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 Cordovano over at Trump Park Avenue and ask about sales, she’ll give it to me exactly as it is. If I call Allen Weisselberg, my CFO, he’ll tell me what I need to know in twenty words or less. My senior counsel and Apprentice adviser, George Ross, can do it in ten 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 mires 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 ac-\ ceptable job, but I felt that something was missing. It wasn’t fantastic, which, knowing his capabili- ties, 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 proj- ect 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 their 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.

\ Library JournalAuthor and financial mogul Trump (The Art of the Deal) shares secrets on how he achieved his amazing financial success. These highly personal tips include how to impress a boss and get a raise; how efficiently to manage a business; how to hire, motivate, and fire employees; how to negotiate anything; and how to maintain the quality of a brand. These inside stories are based on the author's experiences, including lessons learned from the hit reality TV show The Apprentice. Listeners will admire The Donald's ability to recover from his now famous near financial ruin when the real estate market bottomed out in the late 1980s and rebound to remain one of the world's most colorful entrepreneurs. Narrator Barry Bostwick's solid reading adds further power to the already substantive contribution by the multibillionaire. Highly recommended for all public libraries. Dale Farris, Groves, TX Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Soundview Executive Book SummariesBig Deals From the Star Of The Apprentice\ Still glowing from the success of his hit TV show The Apprentice, real estate mogul, beauty pageant impresario, and bestselling author Donald J. Trump has once again released another creative venture that embodies his unique style and larger-than-life persona. In Trump: How to Get Rich, The Donald has compiled the wisdom and tactics he has used to become a billionaire. Of course being born to a wealthy builder is not something everyone can do after the fact, but beyond that, he's got plenty of short, to-the-point lessons to deliver that contain the essentials he feels can make any poor "schmuck" a rich person in no time at all. \ The most fascinating element of Trump: How to Get Rich is the enormity of his stories. This is not a guy who talks about small things. He dashes off statements like, "I owed billions and billions of dollars - $9.2 billion to be exact," as if dealing with billions of dollars were as normal as returning an overdue book to the library.\ Big Stories\ That's the fun of Trump's latest book about making it big. His stories are gargantuan, and he pokes fun at himself (and even his unique hairstyle) as often as he tosses out profound introspections like, "I was a schmuck, but I was a lucky schmuck, and I wound up dealing with some understanding bankers who worked out a fair deal." Who needs exact details when you can explain getting out of a $9.2 billion debt with such simple eloquence?\ \ Stay Focused. Don't make a mistake like The Donald did when he lost his focus in the late '80s: "I'd fly off to Europe to attend fashion shows, and I wasn't looking at the clothing."\ Remember: The Buck Starts Here. "Don't intimidate people. If you do, you'll never get a straight answer from anyone, and you'll be defeating your own purpose."\ \ \ \ \ The advice found throughout Trump: How to Get Rich must be taken with a grain of salt, otherwise some might get confused by the often vague or contradictory statements Trump makes throughout. For example, after teaching that one should not intimidate, he goes on to offer these tidbits of personal growth:\ \ If You Have Them by the Balls, Their Hearts and Minds Will Follow. "Most negotiations should proceed calmly, rather than in a hostile manner. However, sometimes a negotiation works best after a few screams and some table pounding."\ Sometimes You Have to Hold a Grudge. If you are mad at someone, even if it is the governor of New York, scream, "You son of a b----! For years I've helped you and never asked for a thing, and when I finally need something, and a totally proper thing at that, you aren't there for me. You're no good. You're one of the most disloyal people I've known and as far as I'm concerned, you can go to hell." Now, Trump explains, whenever he sees Mario Cuomo at a dinner, he refuses to acknowledge him, talk to him, or even look at him. That's how you get rich! (But never intimidate.)\ Every New Hire Is a Gamble. "If people have time to be petty, it's an indication they're not busy enough with their work."\ \ \ \ \ Restraint and Patience\ \ \ Manage the Person Not the Job. "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." (Except when you're pounding on the table and screaming.)\ Think Big and Live Large. Responding to the accusation that he is a comic book version of the big-city business mogul, Trump writes, "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 going to live, live large."\ \ \ \ \ Trump: How to Get Rich captures Trump's management, career and financial advice as well as his personal secrets to negotiation and the "Trump Lifestyle." In this section, he provides readers with an inside peek at the many decisions he makes, the celebrities with whom he hobnobs in a single week, and his favorite soft drink (Diet Coke).\ Trump: How to Get Rich also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the first season of The Apprentice and those who made it happen. In this section, Trump offers the four qualities he looks for in an apprentice: An outstanding personality, brains, creativity, and loyalty and trust.\ A photo album of his holdings rounds out the book.\ Why We Like This Book\ Trump: How to Get Rich not only provides a close glimpse of the wealthy deal maker beneath the indescribable hair, but also allows readers to climb inside his brain and see how it works as he keeps his business running on a daily basis. Although his advice is often glib, the value of many of his points is clearly apparent in his own amazing success. Copyright © 2004 Soundview Executive Book Summaries\ \ \