The Practical Way » Property

“Think Big and Kick Ass! in Business and Life” by Donald Trump and Bill Zanker

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:11:06 +0000

This is one of the latest books of Donald Trump that he wrote together with Bill Zanker from the Learning Annex. They draw from their experiences in life to provide practical advice on how to think big in your life and achieve what you want. Donald gives many examples from real estate and his experience with dealing with famous people. Bill’s prospective is different. He draws his examples from the struggles that he had in starting the Learning Annex and transforming it into a successful company.

They recommend that is very important to find your passion and follow it. Do not do something for money, but because you are passionate about it. Then the money will follow. You need to go after your passion with 150% focus and to focus on the solutions to the problems that you will encounter and do not be dishearten by the problems. They say that you should follow and listen to your instincts because many times they will guide you through difficult situations. Their discussion of luck is very interesting. They point out that luck is created by hard work and not waiting for something to come to you.

There is a large portion of the book that is focused on been very competitive, gaining respect from your colleagues and going after people who are trying to hurt you. They talk about the jungle of the business world and that you need to be the strongest to survive, because people will always try to bring you down. What is very important as well is to build momentum and not to stop when you start to achieve things. Slowing your momentum will cause you to relax and you will lose your edge.

Their final advice is that if you want to think big you also need to act big. You need to show it in your everyday life. You need to have friends who have big dreams like you and learn from them.

In general the book is very interesting and discusses many personal characteristics that successful people have that you can easily copy. The examples that Bill gives from running the Learning Annex are very remarkable and show how big his thinking has helped him to grow his business.

Follow the practical way,
George

The formula for valuing assets

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:21:15 +0000

In one of his letters to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett told them what is the formula to value any assett.

The formula for valuing all assets that are purchased for financial gain has been unchanged since it was first laid out by a very smart man in about 600 B.C. (though he wasn’t smart enough to know it was 600 B.C.).

The oracle was Aesop and his enduring, though somewhat incomplete, investment insight was “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” To flesh out this principle, you must answer only three questions. How certain are you that there are indeed birds in the bush? When will they emerge and how many will there be? What is the risk-free interest rate (which we consider to be the yield on long-term U.S. bonds)? If you can answer these three questions, you will know the maximum value of the bush ¾ and the maximum number of the birds you now possess that should be offered for it. And, of course, don’t literally think birds. Think dollars.

Alas, though Aesop’s proposition and the third variable ¾ that is, interest rates ¾ are simple, plugging in numbers for the other two variables is a difficult task. Using precise numbers is, in fact, foolish; working with a range of possibilities is the better approach.

Usually, the range must be so wide that no useful conclusion can be reached. Occasionally, though, even very conservative estimates about the future emergence of birds reveal that the price quoted is startlingly low in relation to value. (Let’s call this phenomenon the IBT ¾ Inefficient Bush Theory.) To be sure, an investor needs some general understanding of business economics as well as the ability to think independently to reach a well-founded positive conclusion. But the investor does not need brilliance nor blinding insights.

At the other extreme, there are many times when the most brilliant of investors can’t muster a conviction about the birds to emerge, not even when a very broad range of estimates is employed. This kind of uncertainty frequently occurs when new businesses and rapidly changing industries are under examination. In cases of this sort, any capital commitment must be labeled speculative.

Follow the practical way,
George

Be successful like Donald Trump, part 5

admin — Thu, 14 May 2009 07:45:17 +0000

I finished watching the fifth series of “The Apprentice” recently and it is time to write the usual summary about Donald’s advice to be successful. The people who are regular readers of this blog should know by know the main themes from the previous series. Series five moves on similar lines. The focus of Donald Trump should be clear by now.

Donald’s advice follows again the main lines of the previous four series. I think that he has made his point in the previous episodes and now he just repeats it over and over again. That is good in a way, because you can understand which points he stresses a lot and which ones are not so vital. And as the ancient Greeks used to say “Repetition is the mother of learning”.

His advice on series five is the following:

Change the team – If the team can not perform, you have to change the players.
People are strange – Sometimes people do strange things and you must be prepared for it.
Plan B – Always have a Plan B, even if you are sure you will not need it.
Keep it simple, stupid – Try to implement a simple solution and not try to do complicated things.
Listen to your people – Listen to what your team has to say. After all you have selected them because they are the best.
Respect – You need to respect the people who are around you.
Be decisive – As a leader you must be able to make decisions and not vote for everything.
Know your customer – Before you provide a service to your customers, you must know what they want.
All in the family – You must surround yourself with a loving family that support you and love you.
Watch your back – As you climb the ladder of success, many people will try to undermine you. Be careful.
Deliver the goods – You must deliver on your promises.
Death to traitors – You must make sure that you eliminate traitors from your team. If someone was disloyal once, they will be again.
Work vs. friendship – You must make sure to distinguish between business and friends. There is nothing wrong with working with friends, but you must make sure they understand the difference.

I will follow up in a future post with the advice from the the final series. Till then have fun and be a winner.

Follow the practical way,
George Traganidas

Be successful like Donald Trump, part 4

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:31:23 +0000

The fourth season of “The Apprentice” was one of the best. The candidates were very strong and you are glued to your couch till the last minute. The final 2 are very both great and there is a little twist at the end of the series.

Donald here repeats his valuable advice through the series again. The topics are similar as the previous ones and you start to understand how he thinks. He focuses again on the importance of money, always thinking big and having a winning team around you. You can see that this is how Donald has built his empire. He combined these 3 elements (and a few more) and he built his empire. The tasks that the teams perform follow similar concepts as the previous series. They range from marketing, to selling, to creating ideas and of course teamwork and leading people.

Here is the advice given from Donald Trump in the fourth series:

Can’t we just get all along – Sometimes you will work with people that you do not like. You need to put your personal differences to the side and focus on the goal.
Be flexible – Your plans must not be rigid. You must be able to adapt as you go along.
Inspire – You must inspire the people who are working for you.
Maximize potential – You must know your team and play each team member to their strengths.
Money matters – You must always looks at the costs.
Take it to the limit – You must push yourself and your ideas to the limit. Do not compromise.
Get to the point – You must get to the point quickly. Do not lose time fluffing.
Loyalty – You must surround yourself with people who re loyal to you. If someone is not loyal once they will never be loyal.
Creative Balance – You must be creative and at the same time focus on your goal.
Be a gladiator – You must fight for your team and for yourself.
Family – You must surround yourself with a loving family that will support you.
Responsibility – You are responsible for the success or failure of the team.
Respect – You must win the respect of your team and you must respect them.

I will follow up in a future post with the advice from series five. Till then have fun and be a winner.

Follow the practical way,
George Traganidas

Be successful like Donald Trump, part 3

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:32:31 +0000

After watching Series 1 & 2 I was really looking forward to watch the third one. I find the advice that Donald gives valuable and I think it can help people become winners.

The third series of “The Apprentice” is full with more advice on the same topics. By now you will start to see certain topics repeating themselves. Donald is big on thinking big and leading with authority. This is where Donald places his focus and what has helped him to build his empire.

It is surprising that Donald refers to the same topics again and again. The candidates in the series keep doing the same mistakes. Please make sure that you do not repeat your mistakes. Learn from them and improve.

Here is the advice from Donald Trump give in the third series:

Perseverance – Go ahead and do not give up when things get tough.
Respect comes from winning – The people around you will respect you more when you show them that you are a winner.
Lead with authority – When you lead you must have authority
Never settle – Do not settle for the second best. Push for the best.
Instinct – Listen to your instinct.
Shut up and listen – You must listen and value your team’s opinion.
Play golf – Be social and get to know the people you deal with.
Go big or go home – Think of big ideas and go for them.
Sell your ideas – You must be able to successfully sell your ideas.
Know when to fold – Know when a plan is not working and cut it and move on.
Let nothing get in the way – When you are moving towards your goal do not let other things distract you.
Pulling all-nighters – Many times you need to push yourself very hard to achieve you goal.
Take control – Be in control of the project and not let others wander aimlessly.
Keep your eyes on the prize – Keep focused on your goal and go after it.

I will follow up in a future post with the advice from series 4. Till then have fun and be a winner.

Follow the practical way,
George Traganidas