Trump: How to Get Rich

Meredith McIver, who made the writing of this book a 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 into their personal vocabulary.

In other words, try to see beyond a person’s title. You can find talent in unlikely places.

Meredith McIver, Rhona Graff, and Norma Foerderer of The Trump Organization.

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, and 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 hear this ex-change?

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 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.

A 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 learn, 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 learn 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 am a disciplined person, and this thought alone can get me going.

Looking for a raise? Come on in.