Thursday, August 13, 2009

DRD continued

Don is a very, very tough businessman in the sense that he very seldom, maybe never, just bought something. Almost always he got bids or checked prices at several places before buying anything. And, he taught us to do the same. Once when he was overseas, we had an inspection at a property and got in trouble for not having a First Aide Kit. So, I bought one from Zee Medical, a well known brand name. When the bill came in after he got back, I thought I was going to loose my job because he knew of at least 3 other places that had basically the same thing cheaper. I never made that mistake again. I may have had the degree but he had the brains for business. That is not to say he did everything on the cheap. On the contrary, he knew what he wanted and looked around until he found it at a good price.

Once we went to a hotel/motel auction in a very nice but relatively small town in Oklahoma. He always was in a position of strength at an auction because he had cash to back up his bid and could prove it to the auction people. He bid and won the property. As soon as the bidding was over a man came over and offered him $50,000 for the contract. Don did it on the spot. I told him that he was passing up a good deal the property could be really good. He said, "But I have $50,000 right now and I know that is good"! I learned a valuable lesson, never be greedy. He was never greedy in anything, Even when selling properties, he tried to make the best deal that he could and then he would sell. Some people might have said he could get more, but he knew what he needed and probably what he wanted to spend on a new property and would list the property and sell it and never look back.

Don, bless him, had the crassest, crudest mouth anywhere. His reputation was for being a jerk, being fowl mouthed and for being crude to everyone. But you should have seen him in action around people he needed to influence and people he respected very highly. I told him once that when you swear like he did, nobody listened to what he said only how he said it. He said that was pure BS and then proceeded to get a call from the President of Holiday Inn because he sat on their advisory board, and he was amazing and oozed confidence and knowledge about their product and what was in development. Although he was never short of crass joke or two, people in high places had learned that it was just Don and, usually, did not take offense. Sometimes they did. I never heard him apologize. Did that keep him from doing deals. I do not think so. In the 27 years I have known Don, I have seen some really upset people especially lenders. But you know what? They lived with it, generally, because they knew that no matter what, they would be paid and paid on time. Usually, almost always, loans were paid off early.

Another thing. Don required accurate books and as much automation as possible. In an era when computers were relatively new, Don wanted to latest and the best. He wanted accounting and management software that was really good and comprehensive. He wanted numbers when he wanted numbers so he could apply his "Rules of Thumb" daily, sometimes hourly. He was really ahead of his time in that regard. The same with CPA's, attorney's and insurance people. They were advisers. They did not tell him (and do not tell me) how to run his business. He would always ask if what he was doing was legal, moral and ethical and if if was, even if it walked the edge of envelope, he did it. He was right. Those guys give great advice but none of them could run a real business and usually could not run their own. Sorry for you guys out there doing those jobs, but it is the truth!

What do you think now?

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