Page 148 - Midas Touch

Likewise, when I met Robert, I knew he was a good guy, and a smart one,
too. I was impressed with his background story and the amazing number of
books he has sold. I thought he’d be a great guy to write a book with,
which was a good idea. He was my first collaborator. Our book was a big

success and was just recently on the bestseller list in Shanghai again,
which is saying something since it came out in 2006.

I am a fighter if people come after me. When people know you fight back,
it makes them think twice about messing with you. That can save a lot of
time and legal fees for everyone. I don’t enjoy going after people, but
sometimes it’s necessary. I agree with Robert that success is the best
revenge.

One thing that saved me from a lot of trial and error is the benefit I had
from working with and watching my father from an early age. It was such
a great education, and I remain grateful for his example. Robert didn’t
have that to the same extent in his life and he’s learned some tough lessons
—yet he’s succeeded and credits his difficulties as his pathway to success.
I’ve had my share of difficulties, but I think I learned to assess people

from an early age due to my father’s influence.

Learning to Manage a Team
When I was first starting out, I did a deal during college with my father in
Cincinnati, Ohio. We found a federally financed housing foreclosure,
Swifton Village, which was a 1,200-unit apartment development with 800
vacant apartments. It was in such a state of deterioration that no one else

was bidding. It would be a big job, but we put in a minimal bid and it was
accepted.

To make a long story short, within a year the place was beautifully
refurbished and we had rented all the apartments. My point is that we had
to go through about six different project managers before we found the
right one. Some of the managers were honest, but not really bright. One of
them actually painted himself into the corner of an apartment. I had to

continually size them up and some just didn’t have what it takes, like
managerial smarts, for example. We eventually found the guy who would
work out. He was actually a great bullshit artist and con man, but he had
real talent as a manager. I could see he did a good job—most of the time. I
just had to know how to handle him. I knew he wasn’t completely