Think Like a Champion

Individual commitment to a group

effort—that is what makes a team work.

—Vincent Lombardi

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Work with

People You Like

T

here’s a saying I remember that is appropriate for this sub-
ject: “If you’re going to live in the river, better make friends
with the crocodiles.” That being said, let’s proceed to this topic,
which hopefully will help to make your business life as reptile-
free as possible.
I’ve been fortunate to work with people I like. Some of my
employees have been with me for twenty, twenty-five, even thirty
years. If we didn’t like each other, that would be a long-term sen-
tence of misery. As it is, we work together well, we respect each
other, and we get a lot accomplished. Management becomes a
whole lot easier if you are careful when finding employees or
partners.
People I work well with have to work fast. That’s how I work,
and they follow suit. Allen Weisselberg, my CFO, Rhona Graff,
VP and my chief assistant, and Jeffrey McConney, my controller,
have the ability to distill a lot of information and can explain