Enterprise Issues
With Siaka Momoh
People who aren’t doing what they love can be unhappy or depressed.
This piece, by yours sincerely, was originally published in BusinessDay in 2008, under the title ‘Digest of Success Stories’, long before Trump made the White House.
When you, as the boss, spend most of your time hanging out, expect that your staffers will follow suit. When all the CEO of a company does most of the time is receive visitors that do not add value to his business, such a CEO will not see anything wrong in those working with him or for him, if they do same. Such a CEO lacks one important trait that is required for success. That trait is, focus.
Donald J. Trump, billionaire real estate developer, television celebrity, author and icon is a well known businessman in America. He has a knack for finding a happy balance between working hard and enjoying life with his family, an interview with Success magazine reveals. How does he do this? The answer is in the word, focus.
Says he: “I’ve learned to balance it by focusing on what I am doing at that moment. When I am with my family, they have quality time with me. When I am working, I am working.” Additionally, he has passion for what he is doing. “People who aren’t doing what they love can be unhappy or depressed. That is a problem I don’t have to worry about. I consider myself very fortunate,” he says.
Focus is a poorly appreciated quality yet ranks among the most critical factors in professional success and personal satisfaction, Trump says. He prides himself on his own powers of concentration and insists that anyone he hires shows evidence of the same. Says he,” I work efficiently, and so must they, which requires focus. Many people underestimate the importance of focus, but it is something I observe, and I can tell who has it and who doesn’t.”
For Trump, the essence of leadership is setting example, and in a business setting, the best way for leaders to ensure a positive response is recruiting likeminded employees. “Your people should be a reflection of aspects of yourself. I work fast, I’m disciplined, I’m a positive person and I expect those around me to be that way, too,” Trump says. “I also look for the hidden talents in people – never label someone by his or her job title. People often have abilities beyond their positions, and a good leader will recognize that and give them a chance. It serves everyone well.”
He rises early in the morning, reads voraciously and avoids staff meetings. These are habits Trump has adopted to minimize downtime and maximize his productivity. For him, lack of information can be a disaster.
No long lunch way from office, it’s on-the-desk lunch for 5- 10 minutes. No ‘staff meetings’, it’s a one-on-one meeting with staff. And he relies on a large circle of advisers to guide his decision-making; but relies even more on his own instincts and information.
“Asking is a way to find out, an easy one. I listen to my advisers, but the decision is always mine. So is the responsibility. That’s part of being an entrepreneur.”
It is interesting that Donald Trump’s three adult children share his passion for business. Says he, “I wanted my children to do what they wanted to do – whether it had anything to do with my interests or not. It would be pointless to coerce them, and I didn’t.”
One hopes parents who push their children into what they consider juicy courses will learn from this. I have seen graduates of electrical engineering dumping their certificates and launching full blast into publishing. There are cases of lawyers turned shoe-makers.
“There is no question that all of us share my father’s passion for the business,” stresses Eric, 24. “Hard work and the love of real estate is simply part of the Trump genetic code.”
You would recall at the commencement of these series (if you have been on board with us) that Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles said these principles have not only worked for him but have also helped hundreds of thousands of his students achieve breakthrough success in their careers, greater wealth in their finances, greater aliveness and joy in their relationships, and greater happiness and fulfilment in their lives. The principles are 64 in all. His Principle 2 is ‘Be clear why you are here’.
This is the principle that Donald J. Trump is applying. Canfield quotes Elisabeth Kubler-loss, M.D., psychiatrist and author of the classic On Death and Dying as saying, “Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in life has a purpose.” Canfield believes each of us is born with a life purpose. For him, identifying, acknowledging, and honouring this purpose is perhaps the most important action successful people take. “They take the time to understand what they are here to do – and then they pursue that with passion and enthusiasm.”
Canfield argues without a purpose in life, it is easy to get sidetracked on your life’s journey… But with a purpose, everything in life seems to fall in place. “To be on purpose means you are doing what you love to do, doing what you are good at and accomplishing what is important to you,” he says.
Trump has done exactly this and this is why he is a bundle of success.
Would you say Donald Trump is applying this principle to his political engineering? I will appreciate your comments. Let’s debate this.
