Swimming with the sharks

At a commercial real estate training in Seattle, my instructor informed the class about the new high-rise deal that Donald Trump is doing is Chicago. She explained that he purposely is building it on an angle to block the view of all the other buildings around it so that he would have the only building with a view of the water. People had to deal with him if they wanted a view. This impacted me. I could see that it was smart and strategic. But I am also realizing that he definitely plays with a different set of rules then I do. I am not saying one set of rules is ethically superior to the other, but they are different. I am realizing these big moguls play hard ball and are sharks. As I start to invest in commercial real estate, it is good I realize how aggressive some people are. I likely would have approached it as let's figure out how we can all see the water. I feel naive. What can a say I am a social worker in the world of investment. No wonder our financial world is in crisis. I just saw a rerun of the movie Pretty Woman and it reminded me of how Richard Gere's character changed from a shark to building a project together with the guy and helping him out-like I would naturally do. Can that be good business?

Ultimately, I am defining my set of ethics for commercial real estate investing and I will not be that aggressive. But it is definitely a good idea to know where the guy at the other side of the table is coming from.

But still it makes me sad. Part of me still says why can't we work together and all benefit. Naive yes, but there is still hope- not everyone is Donald Trump.