Am I Being Too Subtle?: The Adventures of a Business Maverick
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- Create Date：2021-05-10 11:53:08
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Sam Zell
- ISBN：1591848237
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Summary
Self-made real estate billionaire Sam Zell reveals the story behind his success and lays out a road map for entrepreneurs seeking to follow in his footsteps。
No one has ever accused Sam Zell of being conventional。 One of the savviest， most mysterious， and most controversial investors today， he built his real estate empire by zigging when everyone else zagged。 Despite a few notable failures， most famously that of the Tribune Media Company， his success with his own investment firm Equity Group， and his ownership of cmpanies like Sealy， Sant Fe Energy Resources， and Schwinn Bicycles is undeniable， and he remains one of the few truly self-made multi-billionaires in the United States
Zell takes readers inside his world， where the screts of success are embedded in the dramatic and often surprising stories of his youth and business life。 He tells the remarkable story of how the son of Holocaust survivors was able to grow the Equity Group network， one of the nation's largest real estate enterprises， and expand across industries - from real estate and railcars to energy， logistics， and others -- amassing enormous wealth from nothing。
Instead of handing out the same old advice， Zell cuts the bull and talks straight about how to make it in business。 The books i packed with his characteristic nuggets of insight， such as:
。 Tryingtoberight100%ofthetimeleadstoparalysis。
。 Businessisnotabattletobewaged。It'sapuzzletobesolved。
。 Keepitsimple。
。 Liquidityequalsvalue。 Whenothersgoleft， lookright。"
No one has ever accused Sam Zell of being conventional。 One of the savviest， most mysterious， and most controversial investors today， he built his real estate empire by zigging when everyone else zagged。 Despite a few notable failures， most famously that of the Tribune Media Company， his success with his own investment firm Equity Group， and his ownership of cmpanies like Sealy， Sant Fe Energy Resources， and Schwinn Bicycles is undeniable， and he remains one of the few truly self-made multi-billionaires in the United States
Zell takes readers inside his world， where the screts of success are embedded in the dramatic and often surprising stories of his youth and business life。 He tells the remarkable story of how the son of Holocaust survivors was able to grow the Equity Group network， one of the nation's largest real estate enterprises， and expand across industries - from real estate and railcars to energy， logistics， and others -- amassing enormous wealth from nothing。
Instead of handing out the same old advice， Zell cuts the bull and talks straight about how to make it in business。 The books i packed with his characteristic nuggets of insight， such as:
。 Tryingtoberight100%ofthetimeleadstoparalysis。
。 Businessisnotabattletobewaged。It'sapuzzletobesolved。
。 Keepitsimple。
。 Liquidityequalsvalue。 Whenothersgoleft， lookright。"
Reviews
Mark Bunch
，
One of the best real estate books I have ever read。 Sam Zell explains the traits that made him great。 Simply a great book from a knowledgeable real estate investor。 read a about the REIT industry - the maturing of mobile home communities， office building ownership in every major market， international real estate ， companies in a variety of industry。 Become a fan of Zells Angels The best part understand real estate economics from the master。
Chris
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The Skinny: A fast， fun read that summarizes the story of an investing legend and his dispositions and beliefs。 Disclosure: I am a real estate professional so I have a huge interest in the subject so I may love it more than most。The Good: This was just straight up entertaining to read because he has had so many big wins in his career， and he covers all of the big ones in decent detail and in a fun way。 He clearly explains his overall rationale on investing and it becomes ingrained in your mind b The Skinny: A fast， fun read that summarizes the story of an investing legend and his dispositions and beliefs。 Disclosure: I am a real estate professional so I have a huge interest in the subject so I may love it more than most。The Good: This was just straight up entertaining to read because he has had so many big wins in his career， and he covers all of the big ones in decent detail and in a fun way。 He clearly explains his overall rationale on investing and it becomes ingrained in your mind by the end of the book。 Often leaves you nodding in agreement with his philosophy。 Lots of great little anecdotes throughout the way。 A true page turner as well since it just keeps flowing。The Bad: I honestly do not have much to complain about。 May have been a little high level and random at times but that is really it。 May not be as compelling to non RE folk。 。。。more
Ajay Kumar
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Pretty good book about how Sam Zell built his real estate and business empire。 He talks a bit about how he sourced and financed his early deals， and built his wealth。Worth a read if you're interested in these domains。 Pretty good book about how Sam Zell built his real estate and business empire。 He talks a bit about how he sourced and financed his early deals， and built his wealth。Worth a read if you're interested in these domains。 。。。more
Alex
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Unique mindset， always deep understanding of human， big picture of world， straight cutting to business fundamental， clear and simple expression。 Very enjoyable to read。 Well recommended！
Mert Zorlu
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I enjoyed the journey a lot and his advice but I was expecting a little bit more in other areas than real estate
Kevin W。
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Awesome book for PERE professionals
Nick Harris
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I don't know much about real estate， so reading about the different deals Sam made and his opinions on the market was interesting。 Sam is also just a crusher in general with some very cool experiences。 I don't know much about real estate， so reading about the different deals Sam made and his opinions on the market was interesting。 Sam is also just a crusher in general with some very cool experiences。 。。。more
Michael Evnin
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Even at my level of project business this is difficult to follow。
Abhishek Arora
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A poorly written autobiography of one man's ego and how great he thinks of himself。 Sam Zell might be good at business deals but clearly fails at forming good sentences。 The books is filled with "I believe。。"， "I did this。。" ， "I'm good at this。。" kind of short sentences and gets boring real fast。 The book is about how he sees himself。 A rebel， an iconoclast， a good businessman etc。 Wasn't worth my time。 A poorly written autobiography of one man's ego and how great he thinks of himself。 Sam Zell might be good at business deals but clearly fails at forming good sentences。 The books is filled with "I believe。。"， "I did this。。" ， "I'm good at this。。" kind of short sentences and gets boring real fast。 The book is about how he sees himself。 A rebel， an iconoclast， a good businessman etc。 Wasn't worth my time。 。。。more
Dick
，
I am aware that it’s easy to get cynical when you read someone’s autobiography， especially from billionaires。 They tend to tell you they came from nothing， worked hard and smart ， accomplished a great deal and list out what they have done in philanthropy。 While I truly believe most of them genuinely want to share the wisdom they accumulated on their road to riches and power， a lot of them are their ego talking， which is nothing wrong。 You have to be extremely lucky to find one that doesn’t come I am aware that it’s easy to get cynical when you read someone’s autobiography， especially from billionaires。 They tend to tell you they came from nothing， worked hard and smart ， accomplished a great deal and list out what they have done in philanthropy。 While I truly believe most of them genuinely want to share the wisdom they accumulated on their road to riches and power， a lot of them are their ego talking， which is nothing wrong。 You have to be extremely lucky to find one that doesn’t come across this way。 Phil knight’s the shoe dog， or bob iger’s the ride of a lifetime。 This book， however is not。 It is a slightly compacted version of steve schwarzman’s book but not as well written。 It is written more like a summary on his deals and progress over the year。 I am actually a little disappointed partly because I expected Sam Zell to be a good writer and also the title “ straight talk from a busines rebel” sort of implying the story to be a little different from typical autobiography from wall street guys。 Anyway， I did learn a little about how he structures his real estates business to achieve maximum leverage in the bull market and maintain liquidity in the bear market。 I do wish he would elaborate a lot more about each of his deal though。 Simply telling readers he manages to buy low sell high every time doesn’t help all that much isn’t it。 Anyway， a fine read but it wont help a lot if you are set out to understand more about the real estates market。 。。。more
Vijay Marolia
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Required reading for anyone SERIOUS about a LIFE-LONG career in CRE。。。
Vitalijus Sostak
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Author has a charming， appealing personality and his （business） life story is definitely a recommendation to read。His parents escape from Poland just before WW2 - breathtaking。I also fully enjoyed many little business stories and deal anecdotes。 Yes， they sound sometimes a bit one-sided， but they still had many interesting insights on how his investor's mind works。 For me， this book does not provide enough of details and numbers on every deal （to get the context better）， but that's my complaint Author has a charming， appealing personality and his （business） life story is definitely a recommendation to read。His parents escape from Poland just before WW2 - breathtaking。I also fully enjoyed many little business stories and deal anecdotes。 Yes， they sound sometimes a bit one-sided， but they still had many interesting insights on how his investor's mind works。 For me， this book does not provide enough of details and numbers on every deal （to get the context better）， but that's my complaint with every book on investing :]At the end of the book - a list of basic business tenets with short elaboration， loved it。 It's really a must for every autobiography， imo。Overall， a solid business book。 One star gets subtracted because from time to time there are long passages where author sounds a bit too full of himself or promoting his business too hard。 。。。more
Diego Leal
，
Very interesting if you are passionate about real estate， some good gems。
Zhou Fang
，
I listened to this on audiobook。 Sam Zell's life is absolutely fascinating。 The story of his parents' escape from Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland alone is probably worth reading the book for。 Sam details the way he was raised by his parents， and how those values translated to his business success。 Zell's entrepreneurial spirit started out in college when he managed a set of properties。 That continued throughout law school--his success was so significant that a partner at a well-known law firm I listened to this on audiobook。 Sam Zell's life is absolutely fascinating。 The story of his parents' escape from Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland alone is probably worth reading the book for。 Sam details the way he was raised by his parents， and how those values translated to his business success。 Zell's entrepreneurial spirit started out in college when he managed a set of properties。 That continued throughout law school--his success was so significant that a partner at a well-known law firm refused to hire him on the grounds that he was already too good at making deal。 However， the partner did do a smart thing by keeping Sam within the purview of the firm and taking a cut of all the deals that he brought in。 Zell gives the reader a complete account of how he thinks about business， which includes many successes in real estate （such as several instances in which he correctly exited the market near the top and then subsequently got back in near the bottom such as in the '70s and the '08 crisis which earned him the nickname "The Gravedancer"）， as well as some failures （such as his purchase of Tribune newspapers）。 It also details some innovative realizations on Zell's part， including his discovery of the value of NOLs after the 1981 tax reforms the market was ignoring。 Throughout all of these examples， Zell continued to emphasize the fundamental economic principles of supply and demand。 Zell focuses on personal aspects as well， such as his relationships with his partner Bob Lurie， Jay Pritzker， his （3） wives， and his focus on work being fun。 There are a lot of things to be learned from this book， all the while being a fascinating， short， and enjoyable read。 。。。more
John Pena
，
Interesting guy with an interesting career， though a lot of it felt like a right place， right time story。 Worth reading if you’re interested in the history of real estate investing/REITs， otherwise not much to be learned beyond your typical tropey business bio - work hard， be tenacious， etc etc。
Alain Van Rijn
，
If you have seen a few of Sam's interviews， you know what this book is about。 Much respect for Sam。 If you have seen a few of Sam's interviews， you know what this book is about。 Much respect for Sam。 。。。more
Juan Scanlan
，
Great perspective on how a very successful business man "made it"。 Great perspective on how a very successful business man "made it"。 。。。more
Stealth Journals
，
I very much enjoyed all the nuggets of wisdom interspersed within all the war stories。 A legend！ Notes from a reading journal: P。 84: "We believed the real money in real estate came from borrowing long-term， fixed-rate debt in an inflationary scenario that ultimately depreciated the value of the loan and increased the position of the borrower。"P。 94: "Don't depend on people unless you understand their motivations and you're confident that your interests align with theirs。" P。 104: "A leader can' I very much enjoyed all the nuggets of wisdom interspersed within all the war stories。 A legend！ Notes from a reading journal: P。 84: "We believed the real money in real estate came from borrowing long-term， fixed-rate debt in an inflationary scenario that ultimately depreciated the value of the loan and increased the position of the borrower。"P。 94: "Don't depend on people unless you understand their motivations and you're confident that your interests align with theirs。" P。 104: "A leader can't let his emotions impact his stability。 You have to have methods that keep you steady。"P。 179: "I believe in the radius theory of business， where your ability to succeed is ultimately limited by the number of people between you and the decision。" That's because the farther from you the decision is made， the less you control the risk。 History shows that businesses get buried when they don't delegate enough - but also when they delegate too much。 P。 210 - "I stay nimble， ready to pivot。"P。 225 - "The minute you acknowledge that a problem is insurmountable， you fail。 If you just assume there is a way through to the other side， you'll usually find it， and unleash your creativity to do so。" 。。。more
Russell Watson
，
This is a great book。 Sam Zell is an American Icon。 The insights into his life and the philosophy he espouses are fascinating。 I just wish he would have discussed the massive impact he has had on the manufactured home land-lease community business in greater depth。 We are left hoping for a follow-up book on the subject。
Brian Worthge
，
Listened on Audible- he narrates it （funny voice）。 Overall it was an inspiring story of a super successful real estate titan。 Nothing groundbreaking in there， but it was impressive that he came up through the ranks his way。 He isn't the most polished business man with the 3 piece suit， but rather the quirky， short guy wearing jeans and going on motorcycle trips。 Some notes: Culture is kingDelegate enough but don’t delegate too much。 Be close enough to thedecision。Need to be a meritocracyOpen kim Listened on Audible- he narrates it （funny voice）。 Overall it was an inspiring story of a super successful real estate titan。 Nothing groundbreaking in there， but it was impressive that he came up through the ranks his way。 He isn't the most polished business man with the 3 piece suit， but rather the quirky， short guy wearing jeans and going on motorcycle trips。 Some notes: Culture is kingDelegate enough but don’t delegate too much。 Be close enough to thedecision。Need to be a meritocracyOpen kimono policyPolitical people need to be fired。 Secrets don’t work for meritocracy。Don’t let people use secrets as leverage。Never surround with sycophants“No one wants to do a second deal with me”— don’t do a deal with that personWhen people show you who they are， believe them。Underachievers believe successful people are crooks。Winning isn’t a zero sum game— ok to leave some money on the table at timesDon’t take yourself too seriously。 Make fun of yourself。 。。。more
Paul M。
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A bit of a shallow puff piece。
Samuel Bauer
，
Don't buy this book for real business insights or techniques。 The book is an autobiography， mostly boasting about what makes him so great and the things he accomplished。 Good deal of repetition。 Don't buy this book for real business insights or techniques。 The book is an autobiography， mostly boasting about what makes him so great and the things he accomplished。 Good deal of repetition。 。。。more
Alex Pal。
，
The auto-biography of Sam Zell。 I believe it's a good read if you are interested in investing/business。 The auto-biography of Sam Zell。 I believe it's a good read if you are interested in investing/business。 。。。more
Noah Hakim
，
Solid book。 Sam Zell displays his life starting from a young age and his growth to the top。 I loved how he showed his parents life starting from the Holocaust and their escape to Chicago。 Zell was born into a Jewish Family and he gave us lessons he learned from his dad such as Shem Tov which is to have a good name and always to have a good reputation。 Zell describes his time in the University of Michigan， then his time to his first marriage， then to his divorces， then to starting his own optimis Solid book。 Sam Zell displays his life starting from a young age and his growth to the top。 I loved how he showed his parents life starting from the Holocaust and their escape to Chicago。 Zell was born into a Jewish Family and he gave us lessons he learned from his dad such as Shem Tov which is to have a good name and always to have a good reputation。 Zell describes his time in the University of Michigan， then his time to his first marriage， then to his divorces， then to starting his own optimistic investing company - Equity Group and how they rose to the top， and his huge deal with Blackstone to sell the Equity Office， now known as EQ Office which has one of the biggest portfolios in office buildings in the US。 Zell described his way of thinking， his office environment （relaxed vibe， not so corporate， jeans）， and his thought processes。 Zell describes himself as a very relaxed CEO， and loves to ride Motorcycles， and he seems very cool and calm。 I would love to catch a drink with him。 It’s a must read as it shows the way a kid born into an immigrant family rose to the top with hard work and dedication and some calculated risks。 。。。more
Lianna
，
Interesting life story with the usual generic advice。 Really good recaps of all the major recessions since the 70's。 Good reminder that each recession is different and has different opportunities。 Interesting life story with the usual generic advice。 Really good recaps of all the major recessions since the 70's。 Good reminder that each recession is different and has different opportunities。 。。。more
Josh
，
I liked it and Sam Zell is seriously entertaining。 How his parents escaped Poland was remarkable。 How he started so young and made deals happen， progressively getting bigger and bigger and seeing around corners to enter new markets was cool。 But then the deal piece started to end and it veered to other topics which were fine but not as interesting to me
Greg Streech
，
Good overview of Sam Zell's general deal strategy。 Good overview of Sam Zell's general deal strategy。 。。。more
Marco
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The central part of the book （the one talking about the business deals） was interesting to me。 The other parts not so much。 He praises himself to be a joker and tells about his jokes/parties/t-shirts， etc。。。 Ok， it's peculiar but not relevant and couldn't quite connect to him。 It seemed more like he tried too hard looking funny。The leadership lessons are good but not particularly new。Worth the read imho The central part of the book （the one talking about the business deals） was interesting to me。 The other parts not so much。 He praises himself to be a joker and tells about his jokes/parties/t-shirts， etc。。。 Ok， it's peculiar but not relevant and couldn't quite connect to him。 It seemed more like he tried too hard looking funny。The leadership lessons are good but not particularly new。Worth the read imho 。。。more
Samantha Chapnick
，
Didn't finish。 Great beginning chapters speaking of formative years。 After that it's basically bragging about his skills--which I'm sure are great--and describing his deals。 If you put it in greater perspective he basically ruined the fabric of many societies by gentrifying neighborhoods and transforming small individual homes into nondescript apartment blocks。 Glad I didn't pay for this one。 Didn't finish。 Great beginning chapters speaking of formative years。 After that it's basically bragging about his skills--which I'm sure are great--and describing his deals。 If you put it in greater perspective he basically ruined the fabric of many societies by gentrifying neighborhoods and transforming small individual homes into nondescript apartment blocks。 Glad I didn't pay for this one。 。。。more
Rafael Ramirez
，