29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Advice ranging from the pithy to the useful, August 3, 2004
This review is from: Trump: The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received (Hardcover)
You can't tell a book by its cover, a firm by its balance sheet, but perhaps you can tell a corporation by its leadership. At first, I bypassed this book, thinking it was a diatribe by an obsessively adolescent PR-hound CEO. But I was wrong. Trump, with his attorney, Bernard Diamond, and coordinator, Norma Foerderer, has leveraged contacts, friendships and clout, and collected pearls and 'zirconias' of wisdom from over 153 business leaders. Most are a single paragraph or two, and are arranged alphabetically; it starts with George Abercrombie (CEO of Roche NA Pharmaceuticals Operations) and ends with George Zimmer (CEO of the Men's Wearhouse). Trump implores the readers to learn from their own experiences, as well as the experiences of these leaders.
Abercrombie, who started as a Pharmacist, reminds the readers to put themselves in the shoes of the customer, be honest, and don't sugar coat the truth. Adam Aron of Vail Resorts advice is to deal with honorable people (easier said than done), since not even good contracts will shield you from bad people with bad intentions. The head of 1-800-mattress says "trust but verify" and tells the story of what happens when you believe your own ad copy and you don't actually go to see your products up close and personal.
The one failure of the book is it fails to get deep into the leaders' businesses; it skims the surface, like a skipping stone on a lake of advice. George Arpey of American Airlines, for example, says to be "leary of loans." Why? There is no discussion of how loans and debt loads affected American Airlines' balance sheet and its ability to compete. Cathie Black of Hearst Magazines correctly tells the reader to fugure out who they are and be true to "who you are all the time." I have read that she definitely is. But the book doesn't mention that since she is herself all the time, and what you see is what you get, that she has a had long string of successes coupled with a long line of enemies and casualties.
Some advice is useful, other bits if wisdom are, well, less so. Fatima Goldman advices you to "say good morning." Simon Bergson learned from his father (who survived 3 death camps before coming to America) to "work hard." Mark Brown of Trump Casinos says to bet on people, not on strategies. Good advice. But given the loses at his casinos, some strategy wouldn't hurt. The late McDonald's CEO, Jim Cantalupo, wrote that Ray Kroc told him to focus on the customers' desires, satisfaction, and top line, and the bottom line will take care of itself. Barbara Corcoran contributes a 10 page essay that is worth the read.
Some of the best lines are: Terry Lundgren (Federated Dept Stores) to "bloom where you are planted:; Brad Martin's (Saks) to :tell the truth and keep it simple," Parker Kennedy (First American) that everyone should "have the skills of a salesman" since nothing happens til the sale is made; and Fred Smith of FedEx who imparts the best advice, saying, "The secret of having a good business is to be in a good business."
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Trump is a genius!!!, May 20, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Trump: The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received (Hardcover)
You can not deny that Donald Trump is a genius-he is able to make money in television with "The Apprentice", real estate deals,books, and the most important asset-the Trump name.
This book, which is not as impressive as his last(How To Get Rich)could have been written by anyone. It is simply a compilation of advice from other business super-minds, skimping on advice from 'The Donald'. It is a very good read, but will only be on the bestseller list because of his most valuable asset-the Trump name.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Most of the advice are advice you've heard before, March 6, 2005
This review is from: Trump: The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received (Hardcover)
The book is easy to read... but most of the business advice are advice you've heard before or are common-sense.
It's a good, light read... but after reading it... you will probably not know any more than you did before picking it up.
Common-sense principles like: "Treat others as you would like to be treated" and "Work hard" are repeated over and over by different contributors of this book.
My advice: Buy it if you have a few bucks to spare.
My advice on getting to the top: Be good to your parents, work smart, work hard, treat everybody as how you would like to be treated, sleep your way to the top. hehe
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