Trump: How to Get Rich

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.