I respect employees who can think on their feet. So does George Ross, my senior counsel. His assistant, Carole 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. Carole deemed the call credible and took a few moments to listen to the distressed woman.
Carole asked her where she was from, and the woman replied that she lived in Southern California, not far from the beach. Carole 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 windchill. 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’d do if I were you. The woman instantly calmed down and thanked Carole 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 and 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 halfheartedly? 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 mightthink 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 of 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 boss’s 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 hurrahs, 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
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 antennae 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
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 VP, 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 Delmonico Hotel at Park Avenue and Fifty-ninth Street. I’m calling it Trump Park Avenue. Catchy, right?
Vinnie Stellio, 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 Vinnie who keeps his eye on it all.
With Matthew Calamari, an executive vice president at The Trump Organization.
John Tutolo, 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 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
