Page 199 - Midas Touch

We’ve been talking about the big and the small, and I often refer to
difficult circumstances as being either blips (small) or catastrophes (big).
On one hand, every detail is important, but it’s also prudent to see that
catastrophes include wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, and terrorist attacks, so
that our perspective remains intact. Part of our IQ is being able to identify

which is which.

If I see our profits taking a big dip, that’s not a minor detail by any means,
and it would take precedence over negotiating for sinks. But it’s also not a
tsunami. It has to be dealt with and can be dealt with. It’s often been said
that being able to prioritize is a skill worth developing.

Cruise Control

I was scheduled to make a short appearance on a boat that was filled with
people taking an evening cruise around Manhattan. I arrived at sunset,
made some introductory remarks, and did a meet-and-greet with the guests
on board. I was busy into conversation when I turned around and realized
we had left the dock and were heading down the Hudson River. No one

notified me of the departure, and I wasn’t too pleased. I hadn’t planned on
a three-hour cruise around Manhattan! But since there wasn’t much I
could do about it at that point, I decided to relax, enjoy the great views of
the city as well as the nice crowd. It was a very pleasant and inspiring
evening for me. Manhattan lit up at night is really worth seeing from the
Hudson River. It was a pretty big detail to miss leaving the boat on time,
but this was one blip I didn’t mind.

Talk About a Detail!
Being able to see locations is also a skill worth having, especially if you
are a developer or entrepreneur. Talk about a detail! I remember when I
had an option on the property where the Javits Convention Center in New

York City now stands. I was instrumental in the development of the Javits
Center and knew the project could be done by my company at a cost of
$110 million. It ended up costing the city between $750 million to $1
billion.

I offered to take over the project at cost, but my offer was not accepted,
which was a huge loss to the city and its visitors on many levels. First of
all, the cost was ludicrous, but the result was even more startling. The