Original published on LinkedIin, March 21, 2016
“My style of deal- making is quite simple and
straight forward. I aim very high, and then just keep pushing and pushing and
pushing to get what I’m after. Sometimes I settle for less than I sought, but
in most cases I still end up with what I want.” (1987: p. 45)
These
are the opening lines of chapter 2 of Donald Trump’s book, The
Art of the Deal. A clearer statement of a man’s
guiding philosophy cannot, I feel, be found. Today (March, 2016), it seems
strange that anyone would be surprised by Trump’s success so far in his
campaign for the Republican nomination for the Presidency.
Trump
states, “I think deal-making is an ability
you are born with. It is in the genes. I don’t say that egotistically. It is
not about being brilliant. It does take a certain intelligence, but mostly it’s
about instincts.” (p. 45)
So
what are the elements of a deal that one should be intuitively tuned into?
- THINK
BIG - “I like thinking big.” (46)
- PROTECT
THE DOWN SIDE AND THE UPSIDE WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF -- “I believe in the
power of negative thinking.” (p. 48)
- MAXIMIZE
YOUR OPTIONS – “I protect myself by being flexible.” (p. 50)
- KNOW
YOUR MARKET – “Some people have a sense of the market and some people
don’t. (p. 51)
- USE
YOUR LEVERAGE – “The best thing you can do is deal from strength, and
leverage is the biggest strength you have.” (p. 53)
- ENHANCE
YOUR LOCATION – “Location … has a lot to do with fashion. You can take a
mediocre location and turn it into something considerably better just by
attracting the right people.” (p. 54-55)
- GET
THE WORD OUT – “You can have the most wonderful product in the world, but
if people don’t know about it, it is not going to be worth much.” (p. 56)
- FIGHT
BACK – “Much as it pays to emphasis the positive, there are times when the
only choice is to be confrontational.” (p. 58)
- DELIVER
THE GOODS – “You can’t con people, at least not for long. … If you can’t
deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on.” (p. 60)
- CONTAIN
THE COST – “I believe in spending what you have to. But I also believe in
not spending more than you should.” (p. 61)
- HAVE
FUN – “Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way keeping
score. The real excitement is playing the game.” (p. 63)
This
is the basic outline of the Trump strategy. It has been around for almost 30
years. It should come as no surprise to anyone. As one who has conquered the
real estate game, and the celebrity reality TV business, why not turn to the
political market and test yourself. Isn’t becoming the Presidency of the USA
the biggest prize of all? Trump’s success to date follows the 11 rules he laid
out in The Art of the Deal.
To understand why he is running as a Republican has little
to do with political philosophy, it has to do with Principle 6. Look at the
Republican Party/brand and what it has promised and what it has failed to
deliver. Tax cuts for the wealthy, corporation ownership over people and
human rights, wars of aggression, a failing financial system, higher public
debt, deteriorating nation infrastructure, squandered international leadership,
etc. throughout the 21st century.
These
are the lesson from the Tea Party movement in 2010. The Republican brand is not
an attractive piece of property. Now look at what the Trump candidacy has done
for this second rate brand.
Hitler
laid out his vision in Mein Kampf long before he came to power but the ruling
establishments around the world either never read it or thought they could use
him for their own purposes. But see what the Establishment of the time gave us,
WWII.
I
know there are those who draw parallels between Trump and Hitler, but that is
not my goal here. My goal here is to point out that to understand the candidate
you should read what he has said and how that has guided his success over time.
Source: TRUMP:
The Art of the Deal, 1987, New York, Ballantine
Books by Donald Trump with Tony Schwartz
