Am I Being Too Subtle? Quotes

“My big-picture goals were all about creating liquidity by monetizing assets, fund-raising for opportunities on the horizon, and doing great deals.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Up until then, our investment decisions had been based on buying broken companies on the cheap, below replacement cost, and building them from there.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Find the NOLs, add profitable business subsidiaries, and, ultimately, maximize the value of an asset we didn’t pay anything for in the first place.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Among my most salient takeaways was the value of optionality. Arthur was the king of optionality. Quite often, the longer he could wait to commit, the longer he could retain the power of free will.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“My takeaway was a whole new respect for simplicity. Development required multiple steps, and every step meant one more chance for something to go wrong.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Cash on cash. Income earned on cash invested. Not dependent on appreciation, just cash. And”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“I believe the fundamentals of business—supply and demand, liquidity equals value, good corporate governance, and reliable partners, to name a few—apply across the board.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Don’t depend on people unless you understand their motivations and you are confident that your interests align with theirs.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Frankly, there’s no substitute for limited competition. You can be a genius, but if there’s a lot of competition, it won’t matter.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“being the lead dog is not just a business strategy. It’s a mind-set. And I think that mind-set is uniquely American.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Adams grew from $14 million in sales in 2003 to $332 million in sales in 2007. We took it public in 2005. In 2007, Adams was sold to Reckitt Benckiser for $2.3 billion. We realized $380 million in proceeds from our initial investment of $26 million, nearly 15 times our investment.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“By nature, the immigrants who came here were self-selective.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“chairman of everything and the CEO of nothing.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Sentimentality about an asset leads to a lack of discipline.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“In exchange for their capital, I made a commitment to give them the best return possible on their investment. That was my primary obligation. Nothing stood before that.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Real estate isn’t just about buildings as inanimate objects. It often reflects the pulse of the nation.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“This bit of hyperbole revealed a very important fact: At its heart, grave dancing was an opportunity to resurrect those assets deserving of a fresh start. It was a bet on my ability to affect a turnaround. And the low entry price paid for the risk I was taking to do it. Grave dancing involves confidence, optimism, conviction, and no small amount of courage. All the opportunity in the world means nothing if you don’t actually pull the trigger.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“The wisdom of crowds sometimes means finding the lowest common denominator.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“I didn’t know where I was headed, but, as always, I was very eager to get there.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Prudence was his mantra; he was always deeply respectful of risk.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel

“Shortly before we closed the deal, Randy Michaels and Terry Jacobs, who were running Jacor, came to me to finance the acquisition of a Denver station. Jacor already owned one of the other FM stations in Denver, and this one was losing money and available cheap. They showed up in Chicago carrying a thick book of details, prepared to make their pitch. “This is a great deal,” Randy assured me. He thumped the book on the table, ready to take me through it. “Wait a minute,” I said. “Do you understand the scope of the deal—why we should buy it?” “Yes,” he replied. “All the details are right here in this book.” He added that he and Terry had worked feverishly night and day to prepare it. I picked up the book and tossed it into a corner of my office, where it landed with a thud. Randy and Terry stared at me wide-eyed. “If you really understand it, you don’t need a book,” I said. “You could put it on a single piece of paper.” They looked uncertain. “I assume this says things are going to be great, right?” They nodded. “What happens if you’re wrong? How do I get out of the room?” “What do you mean?” Randy asked. “How bad can it get?” “Well,” he said, “it’s pretty bad now, and if we fail to fix it you could lose some operating capital. But I don’t see a station in Denver ever being worth less than $4 million. I mean, the building, the transmitter—the physical assets alone are worth close to that.” “Okay, great. How good could it get?” The answer, in short, was very good. So I said, “Go do it.”
― Sam Zell, Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel