I’ve seen some people get completely swallowed up by failures. The worst thing you can do to yourself is to believe that bad luck is your due. It isn’t! It’s not just intelligence or luck that gets us places, it’s tenacity in the face of adversity. Some people see problems as bad luck, but I don’t. Problems are a part of life and a big part of business. The bigger your business, the bigger your life, the bigger your problems are likely to be. Being prepared for that will save you a lot of emotional turmoil, unnecessary deliberating, and even illness.
I’ve known people who have come back not just from adversity but from tragedy. There’s adversity and then there’s tragedy. Thinking about both is a good way to get an objective view of what you may think your problems are. Your situation may be tough, but you can bet others have had far worse things to deal with. One way to pave your way for a comeback (or for a first victory) is to read about people who have been courageous against long odds. My guess is they felt they had an obligation to succeed, and in some cases, an obligation to survive. That’s how I feel. I had the privilege of a great family and a great education, and I am serious about honoring those privileges—which means expecting the best from myself.
You can have the same attitude, no matter what your situation or background. When failure comes your way, you must believe that you matter, that you can overcome it, and most importantly, that success is what is expected of you. You’d be surprised at what you can accomplish when that’s your attitude. It’s not just survival, it’s not just success, it is your obligation. A sense of duty toward wholeness will go a long way toward your personal and professional success.
What I learned at the time of my worst financial problems is that I was resilient and that I had this indomitable sense of success that couldn’t be taken from me no matter what the newspapers said. That brings me to another level of thought, which is faith. Faith is a bit like wisdom. People can help you along the way with it but above all you have to develop it yourself. Faith in yourself can prove to be a very powerful force. Work on it daily. Sometimes when you’re fighting a lonely battle, keeping yourself company with positive reinforcement and faith in yourself can be the invisible power that separates the winners from the losers. Losers give up.
In summary: Strive for wholeness, believe in yourself, keep your momentum at full throttle, and be strong and tough in your resilience. Don’t expect anything less than that from yourself, and I can assure you that success will become a permanent situation for you, even when your external circumstances may not show it.
Never Give Up!
3
THE APPRENTICE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A BIG MISTAKE
Get the Best Advice You Can, Then Trust Your Gut
When reality shows hit the scene a few years back, I found the premise interesting but I definitely wasn’t interested in doing one. Even when I had been approached multiple times to do a show, I found the ideas boring and stupid. To have cameras following me around, to watch me brush my teeth, comb my hair, conduct meetings, and eat lunch at my desk seemed like an unnecessary interference. I turned them all down without a second thought.
Then a couple of years later, I was asked by Les Moonves, the head of CBS Entertainment, for permission to film the live finale of Survivor at Wollman Rink in Central Park. (After I renovated Wollman Rink, I took control through a long-term lease.) I thought it sounded like an interesting idea, so I said yes. When I arrived to see the skating rink transformed into a jungle, I have to admit I was surprised. Then suddenly a young man appeared and introduced himself to me. It was Mark Burnett, and I told him I knew who he was so the introductions weren’t necessary. Mark quickly went on to ask me for a meeting to discuss a new idea he had. I said fine.
About a week later, he came to my office, and after some preliminary chat, told me he had an idea for a new jungle reality show, only the jungle would be the canyons of New York City and the world of big business. There would be a 13-week job interview, and the winner would become my apprentice in real life—they would get a job at the Trump Organization. There would also be an educational subtext, which appealed to me immediately. A reality show with some substance could be a new concept for everyone. I told Mark I was interested.
Then what we had to do was pitch the project to the top networks. Everyone wanted it, and they too loved the concept. We went with NBC, who also broadcasts my Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA pageants; we already had a strong relationship, so that was a done deal.
Now for some of the challenges. First, not one single person except Mark Burnett and NBC was enthusiastic about The Apprentice and my participation in it. All my advisors thought it was a risk, that it would bomb, that my credibility as a businessman would be jeopardized, that my focus would be lost, and that I was making a huge and ultimately very public mistake. When I look back, it’s pretty amazing how dead set against it they were. “The biggest mistake you’ll ever make” was a common phrase I heard. I didn’t feel a lot of support. I reviewed their considerations and thought, I hope they’re not right because I already told Mark Burnett I was going to do it. My gut instinct told me it was the right thing to do, without consulting anybody.
The next problem was that Mark Burnett told me that the most time they would need from me each week to film the show was three hours. Three hours for a prime time show! Amazingly, I believed him. When it turned into more like 30 hours, I had some concerns, namely, I was running a huge organization, and already worked about 12 hours a day. How would I handle this? For once, I thought I’d probably overextended myself, big time.
What I decided to do was to take it week by week, realizing it would probably need more time initially and that I could live with that for a short time. What happened is that it gradually did become part of my daily routine, but my days were definitely longer. I adjusted, everyone adjusted, and it gave me a new form of energy as well. If you are faced with a situation that is demanding of your time, give it a chance to settle in. You’ll be surprised at how much you can actually do each day.
THE LOW POINT
The week before The Apprentice aired for the first time, in January 2004, I remember wondering if that would be the last week of my well-respected life. I couldn’t help but think that, considering all the negative advice I’d been given, although the electric energy we seemed to capture during the shooting was strong. Was it just because it was something new for me? Was it really going to be good? What if it was a disaster? How long would it take to recover? There was a huge amount of media attention already. Having a show bomb in that environment wouldn’t be easy to handle. These predebut thoughts were the low point for me because they were justified concerns, not just nerves or negativity. What got me through was remembering my gut instinct that said, “This is a great idea—go for it!”
Fortunately, the show was a sensation. It became the number one show very quickly. Everyone was excited about it and so was I—but I was also relieved. It was a big chance to take. It’s one thing if you’re not well known and your show tanks, but if you’re already famous, the sting is worse. If I hadn’t decided to take the risk, go against my advisors, and do the show, none of this would have happened. One side effect is that my brand became far better known around the whole world, and there was an amazing media interest in everything I did. That’s another form of free advertising. It worked to my benefit as a businessman as well. So when I advise you to take risks, there’s a reason for it.
COACH TRUMP
MAKE IT HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE
I often tell people that I listen to everyone, but the decision will ultimately be mine. That’s a good way to be in life and in business. Listen to others, but never negate your own instincts. If I’d listened to everyone, The Apprentice would have never happened. We’ve had six great seasons, and we’re getting ready to tape the seventh now. It continues to be a tremendous experience for me and for everyone involved. Not bad for a big mistake! However, when you do take risks, since they won’t always work
out, you better make sure the upside is big.
4
IS THIS A BLIP OR A CATASTROPHE?
Be Prepared for Things That Happen Outside Your Game Plan
THE SECOND-TALLEST BUILDING IN NORTH AMERICA
We’ve all heard of the Chicago Sun-Times. What you might not know is that they had the best site in the city, right on the river at North Wabash, next to the landmark Wrigley Building. I wanted it for my Trump International Hotel & Tower/Chicago, and I got it. It’s a fantastic location, and if you visit Chicago and take the architectural boat tour of the city, you will see what I mean. When the building comes into sight, it can take your breath away, and that’s whether it’s windy or not—even though it’s only partially finished and won’t be completed until 2009. Because of the fantastic asymmetrical shape, the building dominates the view from the Michigan Avenue Bridge and nearby West Wacker Drive. If you visit it, you’ll see why we’ve spent so much time and effort on this building.
Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago
My plan for the Chicago building began in 2000, and it was announced that it would be the world’s tallest building. I was very excited about this prospect and knew I could get it done, and get it done brilliantly. However, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I had the plans scaled down. Much as I wanted to build the tallest building, I don’t think making a building a potential target is a smart idea. So we changed the plan a bit.
That was the beginning of a few changes, in fact. We had Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as the building’s architect, and they built over 50 models before we decided on something we all liked. Then this design was further refined after comments from the Department of Planning, community groups, and architectural critics of Chicago, who were a big consideration. The revisions were done in 2002, and it was approved. Later, in 2004 we changed 10 floors from offices into hotel rooms and condominiums, based on marketing considerations. We finally began construction on March 17, 2005, five years after I announced the project. You can see by the time line that things don’t happen overnight, even if your name is Donald Trump.
This building will be a big beauty. It will be 2.7 million square feet, 92 stories, and will incorporate a health club and spa, a five-star luxury hotel, condominiums, executive lounges, retail shops, and garages. The penthouses will occupy the three top floors. It will be the tallest concrete structure and the second tallest building in North America (after the Sears Tower). The hotel is slated to open in December 2007, with the entire building to be finished by the spring of 2009. The cost will be around $800 million. This is a huge project.
THE LOW POINT
There have been some problems—some big ones, naturally. Three months after we began foundation construction, we discovered that water had begun leaking into the building site from the Chicago River. Since the foundation was being laid below the level of the river, it was always a possibility that the old river bulkhead that was already in place wouldn’t hold. However, that wasn’t the problem—water was coming in through a corner where the bulkhead and the Wabash Avenue Bridge meet. This could be a serious problem—so we dealt with it seriously, and it was taken care of. After a while, it is possible to take problems in stride—if you have the right attitude and know what you are doing.
Another element of the building that took an odd turn was the structural design. In the original concept, the base and first 14 floors of the building were designed to be a structural steel frame, with a reinforced concrete building above. Very late in the design process, as we were bidding the work, we found that there was a huge spike in the world commodity prices for steel due to industrial growth in China absorbing so much of the world’s supply. We went back to the drawing board and redesigned the building as all concrete, saving several million dollars in the process and simplifying the construction logistics.
We also had to consider that the rock caissons (supports) for the tower, which are sunk into the bedrock, make a lot of noise during construction and we hoped that our Chicago neighbors could put up with 241 of them being pounded into the bedrock. About a fourth of the supports had to go down 110 feet into the limestone, so you can see that this alone was a tremendous project. We got it done and didn’t make too many enemies in the process. Because each of the columns carries 14 million pounds, the support system has to be carefully and meticulously thought out and implemented.
We had another problem much earlier in the game when we lost our partner, Conrad Black and the Chicago Sun-Times, to a corporate scandal and indictment (and I hope he hangs tough, he’s been through a lot). We made a deal to buy out their interest in the project. More recently, we lost our architect at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill when he resigned from the company. These can be big losses, but you know what? We just dealt with them and kept moving forward. We are prepared for problems along the way, and like good soldiers we just keep on going. As the general, I have to admit and take responsibility for the fact that things work out as they will, no matter how prepared you are, but we still do our best to plan and focus—then have the resiliency to immediately regroup from setbacks. Our plans and our resolve were strong enough to continue our work without giving in to any interruptions.
There are bright sides to things, too. For example, we saved over a million dollars by reusing the old river bulkhead from the Sun-Times building. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that we had less site cleanup because the newspaper had switched to soy-based ink from petroleum-based ink back in the 1970s, so there was much less ground pollution than we had expected. Sometimes when you start thinking about all the problems you’ve got, it’s a good idea to focus a little on some of the positives in the situation.
COACH TRUMP
MAKE IT HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE
When things happen that might be outside the outline of your game plan, ask yourself, “Is this a blip or is it a catastrophe?” We had some blips along the way with our Chicago building, and we’ll probably have a couple more, but it’s still been a fantastic development and experience. Will you have problems when you tackle something big? Yes. Will you let them derail you? You absolutely should not.
Let your passion for your work carry you through all the setbacks they can throw at you. Be it wind, water, resignations, scandals, whatever—you can prevail. Your insurance for overcoming these perils is free—it’s called never giving up!
After a while, it is possible to take problems in stride—if you have the right attitude and know what you are doing. Have the resilience to immediately regroup and change course if you need to after you hit a setback.
5
I LOVE A GOOD FIGHT j
The Trump SoHo Hotel Condominium
SoHo has been a chic neighborhood for some years now, and I waited a long time to enter it as a developer. I knew it’d be a fight to get anything going there because most of SoHo is made up of low-rise buildings and is subject to strict zoning laws. I doubt if any of you would think of or refer to SoHo as a manufacturing center, but for historical reasons, that’s how much of it is zoned. So, building a residential structure in the locations I wanted is not permitted. However, you can build a hotel there. When I learned that, I decided to build a condominium hotel in SoHo—a tall one.
SoHo is considered a mecca for art, film, and fashion buffs, with over 250 art galleries, 100 designer stores, and over 200 restaurants. In other words, it’s a great area to visit and an even greater area to stay. I believed SoHo deserved—and was ready for—a first-rate, twenty-first-century hotel.
The 45-story, $450 million tower I hoped to build with my partners, Bayrock Group and the Sapir Organization, was, of course, met with a fury of opposition from local community activists and the politicians that represent them. I wouldn’t let that stop us. I announced my intention on June 6, 2006, on The Apprentice. Despite everything that ensued, on May 8, 2007, I’m pleased to report, we were approved by city officials to erect this condo hotel. Along the way, we had a few problems to deal with, which w
as not a huge surprise.
The biggest obstacle was the height of the building. SoHo is a low-rise neighborhood, and this project would significantly alter the skyline. It would be the tallest building between midtown and the financial district. It’s not that SoHo isn’t zoned for tall buildings—it is—but none have ever been built. We wanted to change that. There were “air rights” laws—the right to build higher—already in place that made it perfectly legal to build a high-rise. In fact, we added several floors to the hotel’s design by buying the air rights from the neighboring properties.
Trump SoHo Hotel Condominium New York
Although we had the right to build a hotel with the height we wanted, the fact that no one had done it before worked against us. This project was the first time New York City’s Department of Buildings had to consider a condominium hotel in one of New York City’s manufacturing districts, which do not permit residential use. The City’s antiquated zoning laws and the local residents, together, created formidable obstacles.
New York City (unlike many other major U.S. destination cities) had never before been confronted with a hotel comprised entirely of condominiums. The key zoning consideration for the City was that the units would not be residences for the owners, but would be for transient occupancy. That meant we had to prove to the Department of Buildings that Trump SoHo would not be a residential building, but a building for short-term stays—and I firmly believed we could convince the City officials of this.
Trump Never Give Up Page 2
