GET THE BEST PEOPLE TO WORK FOR YOU BUT DON'T TRUST THEM, SAYS DONALD TRUMP

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 17 (Bernama) -- "Pick the best people but you don't have to trust them, while you do your job," renowned real-estate mogul and reality show host Donald Trump advised participants of the Youth Engagement Summit 2009 (YES 2009) here Tuesday.

Speaking via live video conferencing from his office at the Trump Tower, New
York, to the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, Trump said it took much
effort to become a great entrepreneur as "Rome was not built in a day".

"It is a must for individuals to master their subjects more than anybody
else does, to get to play their cards well.

"There were some great athletes who came to me to seek advice. They were
at the end of their career, yet they didn't have any money as their manager(s)
had stolen all the money they used to have or had invested the money poorly by
doing the wrong business.

"So I told them, 'go out and know your subjects very well, hire good people
to work for you but do not trust them," he said.


Often, Trump said, individuals who came with a good package -- a good brain
and enthusiasm -- but not blessed with good tools as in good workers and
strategies, chose to quit and surrender to the challenges.

"This is a big mistake as a quitter can never be successful.

"You must remember, no matter what happens, thou shall not quit. When I was
about to start The Apprentice, I was told that a television series like that
would never work during prime time in the US market. But it has become a number
one show ever since and has reached most countries in the world.

"When the show became successful, my agent came to ask me for his commission
and I told him off, 'Jim, you are fired!' We must not quit. I didn't quit when
my agent told me that, instead the show has become successful as I have planted
all my enthusiasm in it."

Trump said he "ain't King Midas who can turn everything into gold by only
one touch, thus a combination of discipline, focus and self-belief are must-have
factors in every action taken.

"Stay focused, it is very important. When the market crashed, quite a number
of my friends were badly affected. Some of them even went bankrupt but I never
did. I worked harder than ever before and I was totally focused.


"Your ability to stay focused, however, will be totally useless if it does
not come with discipline. The bottomline, however, is our ability to handle work
under pressure."

He also said that some of the greatest and happiest persons did not own an
empire but working for other great people instead.

"Some people are not born with a talent to become a great entrepreneur, but
that is not a barrier in leading a successful life."

Trump who ranks 368th in Forbes' list of The World's Billionaires in 2008
with a net worth of US$3 billion also stunned the YES 2009 audience with his
blunt advice.

"There's something I always tell people, but they don't really like it. If
somebody 'screws' you, you 'screw' them back and never let them get away with
it. Life is nasty," he said followed by thunderous applause from the
participants.

In the Q&A session, Trump who is known as a firm and sometimes "cruel"
decision-maker, believes in only giving second chances if the mistake is done
honestly by an individual who is willing to admit and work hard to overcome it.

"I do believe that you can give people a second chance under a few
conditions, but not to someone who has cheated you.

"In this world, the reality is people won't change that much. If he is
disloyal to you now, he will be disloyal again," he said.

-- BERNAMA