Synopsis
An autobiography book about real estate broker (William Zeckendorf) who also owned and developed property in all segments (commercial, industrial, residential).
Key Takeaways
Page 43 – “Bridging the gaps between the need of disparate groups. The greater the number of separate groups (or their needs) that one can interconnect (or satisfy), the greater the profit to the innovator-entrepreneur.”
Create value, solve problems, connect the dots, and help people work together. You will be rewarded.
Page 81 – “If he had been just a little more astute, he would have sent some broker with his heels worn down and the cuff off his pants in shreds, and they would have gotten the property at a bargain rate”
Simple lesson here, never show your cards in a negotiation, price comes last.
Page 105-6 – “The importance to me of being on the heights was that in an hour I could achieve what previously would have taken a year or more of effort to perform. Other than that I found the dwellers on the heights little different from their less advantageously placed brethren. There is a selection process which sees to it that a significant number of upper-level people are smarter, more aggressive, and in some ways more self-assured than the average, but a good many dwellers on the heights got there entirely by accident. They were born there. Other, like lowland birds blown far up a mountain by a sudden storm, found themselves at heights they never expected to reach but which they managed to adapt to. I did find numbers of tough, strong men who had worked their way up from they very bottom, but most had started from a place within hailing distance of the height they reached. I found it possible to join their ranks without discommoding or unsettling them, for one way to succeed is by aiding and supporting the position of others through new or ingenious ideas or projects”
This is an interesting observation saying in general people are more aggressive and astute at the top of the socio-economic ladder however they are not geniuses. At the same time it helps to be up there because it makes it easier do accomplish things. It who you know. And how do you fit in? “aiding and supporting”
Page 145 – The Hawaiian Technique – Break up properties to serve to different parties. A land lease to serve as a preference share. Building lease to serve other investors.
Customise products to suit different needs. Bareboat charter and time charter.
Page 178 – “My observation has always been that after a certain key point you must move ahead as if a project were assured – in order to assure it – because if you wait around for all the pieces of the puzzle to fit before closing a deal, you can wait forever. Counting on own abilities and the evident worth of the project to bring in the additional capital we needed, we let the first construction contracts”
Act as if you have everything you need already.
Thoughts
Some great lessons here but overall, the book is a drag, too many details about property deals and developments. I guess the key takeaway from that is how each and everything was a struggle, so to expect the same when you undertake great ventures. The thing is he did go bankrupt but that’s more a case of bad money management then anything else. I give the book a 7/10.
Stranger in Sydney 