
Am I Being Too Subtle?
The Adventures of a Business Maverick
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Narrated by:
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Sam Zell
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By:
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Sam Zell
About this listen
The traits that make Sam Zell one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs also make him one of the most surprising, enigmatic, and entertaining mavericks in American business.
Self-made billionaire Sam Zell consistently sees what others don't. From finding a market for overpriced Playboy magazines among his junior high classmates, to buying real estate on the cheap after a market crash, to investing in often unglamorous industries with long-term value, Zell acts boldly on supply and demand trends to grab the first-mover advantage. And he can find opportunity virtually anywhere - from an arcane piece of legislation to a desert meeting in Abu Dhabi.
"If everyone is going left, look right," Zell often says. To him, conventional wisdom is nothing but a reference point. Year after year, deal after deal, he shuts out the noise of the crowd, gathers as much information as possible, then trusts his own instincts. He credits much of his independent thinking to his parents, who were Jewish refugees from World War II.
Talk to any two people and you might get wild swings in their descriptions of Zell. A media firestorm ensued when the Tribune Company went into bankruptcy a year after he agreed to steward the enterprise. At the same time, his razor-sharp instincts are legendary on Wall Street, and he has sponsored over a dozen IPOs. He's known as the Grave Dancer for his strategy of targeting troubled assets, yet he's created thousands of jobs. Within his own organization, he has an inordinate number of employees at every level who are fiercely loyal and have worked for him for decades.
Zell's got a big personality; he is often contrarian, blunt, and irreverent, and always curious and hardworking. This is the guy who started wearing jeans to work in the 1960s, when offices were a sea of gray suits. He's the guy who told The Wall Street Journal in 1985, "If it ain't fun, we don't do it." He rides motorcycles with his friends, the Zell's Angels, around the world and he keeps ducks on the deck outside his office.
As he writes: "I simply don't buy into many of the made-up rules of social convention. The bottom line is: If you're really good at what you do, you have the freedom to be who you really are."
Am I Being Too Subtle? - a reference to Zell's favorite way to underscore a point - takes listeners on a ride across his business terrain, sharing with honesty and humor stories of the times he got it right, when he didn't, and most important, what he learned in the process.
This is an indispensable guide for the next generation of disrupters, entrepreneurs, and investors.
©2017 Sam Zell (P)2017 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"The notoriously blunt businessman shares the ups and downs of his career and the lessons he’s learned in business - with just a little profanity - in a new book, Am I Being Too Subtle?" (The Wall Street Journal)
"Here we have the real Sam Zell: one of our nation’s most interesting, provocative, and successful practitioners of business and life. He’s a wise man who hates fuzzy thinking. He is a biker, wearer of leathers and jeans and boots and his signature quirky beard. He points his skis straight downhill. You know, all the usual things that the few really smart (but not too smart for their own good) business people do." (Steve Roth, chairman and CEO of Vornado Realty Trust)
"A highly readable and revealingly personal book filled with unique insights and unvarnished straight talk about business, people - their quirks and potentials - and about life itself." (The Huffington Post)
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Poor Charlie’s Almanack
- The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
- By: Charles T. Munger
- Narrated by: Grover Gardener
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up," Charles T. Munger advises in Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Originally published in 2005, this compendium of 11 talks, delivered by the legendary Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman between 1986 and 2007, has become a touchstone for a generation of investors and entrepreneurs seeking to absorb the enduring wit and wisdom of one of the great minds of the 20th and 21st centuries.
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Wisdom from grandpa Charlie
- By J R Cavanaugh on 08-18-24
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Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur
- By: James A. Randel
- Narrated by: Douglas Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur is for the individual who is ready to get serious about investing. Not a rah-rah or get-rich-quick book, this book is for someone who is prepared to think about what he or she wants to accomplish. James Randel provides the how and why.
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10/10
- By Trevor on 05-21-25
By: James A. Randel
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Adventure Capitalist
- The Ultimate Road Trip
- By: Jim Rogers
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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It's the ultimate road trip. Legendary investor Jim Rogers and his fiancee travel to 116 countries in a custom-built, four-wheel-drive, bright yellow Mercedes. Over three years, they make their way through war zones, are guarded by military convoys, observe a 50-million-person pilgrimage, eat disgusting food, put the car on barges for transport between countries, and have their lives threatened at every turn.
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New Perspective
- By Dan on 08-27-04
By: Jim Rogers
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I Love Capitalism!
- An American Story
- By: Ken Langone
- Narrated by: Ken Langone
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Ken Langone has seen it all on his way to a net worth beyond his wildest dreams. A pillar of corporate America for decades, he's a co-founder of Home Depot, a former director of the New York Stock Exchange, and a world-class philanthropist (including $200 million for NYU's Langone Health). In this memoir he finally tells the story of his unlikely rise and controversial career. It's also a passionate defense of the American Dream - of preserving a country in which any hungry kid can reach the maximum potential of his or her talents and work ethic.
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Save your money, he clearly has enough!
- By Jared M. on 12-01-19
By: Ken Langone
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Play Nice but Win
- A CEO's Journey from Founder to Leader
- By: Michael Dell, James Kaplan
- Narrated by: Michael Dell
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1984, soon-to-be college dropout Michael Dell hid signs of his fledgling PC business in the bathroom of his University of Texas dorm room. Almost 30 years later, at the pinnacle of his success as founder and leader of Dell Technologies, he found himself embroiled in a battle for his company’s survival. What he’d do next could ensure its legacy — or destroy it completely.
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Not perfect, but worth a listen
- By James S. on 11-09-21
By: Michael Dell, and others
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Becoming Trader Joe
- How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys
- By: Joe Coulombe, Patty Civalleri - contributor
- Narrated by: Mark Smeby
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Joe Coulombe founded what would become Trader Joe’s in the late 1960s and helped shape it into the beloved, quirky food chain it is today. Realizing early on that he could not compete and win by playing the same game his bigger competitors were playing, he decided to build a store for educated people of somewhat modest means. In this way, Joe laid down a blueprint for other business owners to follow to build their own unique shopping experience that customers love, and a work environment that employees love being a part of.
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Many mispronunciations
- By Maria Francesca on 06-26-21
By: Joe Coulombe, and others
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Steve Jobs
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker
- Length: 25 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
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Good Biography, Fine narrator
- By Chris on 10-27-11
By: Walter Isaacson
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How to Invest
- By: David M. Rubenstein
- Narrated by: David M. Rubenstein, Ray Dalio, Marc Andreessen, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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What do the most successful investors have in common? David M. Rubenstein, cofounder of one of the world’s largest investment firms, has spent years interviewing the greatest investors in the world to discover the time-tested principles, hard-earned wisdom, and indispensable tools that guide their practice. Rubenstein, who has spent more than three decades in the hypercompetitive world of private equity, now distills everything he’s learned about the art and craft of investing, from venture capital, real estate, private equity, hedge funds, to crypto, endowments, SPACs, ESG, and more.
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Only get the audio book
- By Joe on 09-26-22
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Merger Masters
- Tales of Arbitrage
- By: Kate Welling, Mario Gabelli
- Narrated by: Chloe Cannon, Jonathan Yen
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Merger Masters presents revealing profiles of monumentally successful merger investors based on interviews with some of the greatest minds to practice the art of arbitrage. Michael Price, John Paulson, Paul Singer, and others offer practical perspectives on how their backgrounds in merger arbitrage helped them make their biggest deals. They share their insights on the discipline that underlies their fortunes, whether they practice the "plain vanilla" strategy of announced deals, the aggressive strategy of activist investment, or any strategy in between on the risk spectrum.
By: Kate Welling, and others
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Main Street Millionaire
- How to Make Extraordinary Wealth Buying Ordinary Businesses
- By: Codie Sanchez
- Narrated by: Codie Sanchez
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone wants ownership, but almost no one gets it. Whether we’re talking about the start-up game, the crypto game, the freelance game, or the lemonade stand game—most paths to ownership lead to dead ends. That’s why Codie Sanchez carved a new, smarter path to total freedom. In Main Street Millionaire, she reveals the method she teaches her community of seven-figure investors for building wealth by creating a portfolio of boring businesses. That’s right—the money is not in flashy startups or in the corner office.
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Should be titled “The Solo Private Equity”
- By Amazon Customer on 04-05-25
By: Codie Sanchez
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Private Equity Deals
- Case Studies of Dealmaking from Capital Allocators
- By: Ted Seides
- Narrated by: Ted Seides
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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There’s no more important sector of institutional portfolios or the global economy to understand than private equity. Private equity owned businesses are everywhere around us and touch every aspect of our daily lives. In Private Equity Deals, Ted Seides gives you an insight to the conversations that typically happen behind the closed doors of institutional investors and private equity managers. Through a series of case studies , Private Equity Deals shares the dynamics of deal making, companies, and ownership that make private equity a force in the world.
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“Inside baseball” on PE deals from the Sponsor’s perspective
- By Joel Katz on 02-20-25
By: Ted Seides
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Never Enough
- From Barista to Billionaire
- By: Andrew Wilkinson
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Once a barista in a small cafe making $6.50 an hour, Andrew Wilkinson built a business valued at over a billion dollars by the time he was 36—and yet, his path to success was anything but a straight line. In Never Enough, Wilkinson pulls back the curtain on the lives of the ultra-rich, sharing insights into building a successful business that has been called a “Berkshire Hathaway, but for internet companies,” and a surprising first-person account of what it's actually like to become a billionaire.
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Fire Your Ghostwriter
- By Leah C. Day on 08-22-24
By: Andrew Wilkinson
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Pour Your Heart into It
- How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time
- By: Howard Schultz, Dori Jones Yang
- Narrated by: Eric Conger
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Abridged
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The success of Starbucks is one of the most remarkable business stories in decades. Since 1987, the coffee merchant has grown from a single retail store on Seattle's waterfront to a company with more than 1,000 stores nationwide and a new one opening somewhere every business day. According to Fortune magazine, Starbucks "has changed everything...from our tastes to our language to the face of Main Street."
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wish it wasn't
- By Melissa on 12-27-08
By: Howard Schultz, and others
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Mastering the VC Game
- A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-Up to IPO on Your Terms
- By: Jeffrey Bussgang
- Narrated by: Ramon De Ocampo
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Finding the right venture capitalist to back your start-up is a challenge. Even if you manage to get backing, you want your VC to be a partner, not some dictator who will undermine your vision and take control of your life's work. Jeffrey Bussgang is one of a very few people who have played on both sides of this high-stakes game. Now he draws on his unique perspective to offer high-level insights, colorful stories, and practical advice. He reveals how to get noticed, perfect a pitch, and negotiate a partnership that works for everyone.
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slow in beginning but gets really good
- By Diana on 04-11-19
By: Jeffrey Bussgang
some good lessons to be learned.
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Great book for entrepreneurs
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Sam Zell is a perfect example of a nice guy finishing first, I learned from my father Gerald J. Friedman of blessed memory business lessons as well and my father shared similar experiences in real estate investments and being Jewish and an immigrant son similarly as with Sam Zell, Sam Zell has made a difference and lives Shem Tov, I would like to meet Sam Zell one day thank you
Chip Friedman 757-718-8600 csfriedman1@gmail.com Virginia Beach Va
Most enjoyable book I have ever experienced
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well done Sam. thanks for sharing
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Inspiring!
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@realestate_efrenortiz
Great Book!! Love Sam
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Great Book About Being An Entrepreneur
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a transparent real estate billionaire
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A seriously awesome book
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If you could sum up Am I Being Too Subtle? in three words, what would they be?
FascinatingInspiring
Insightful
What was one of the most memorable moments of Am I Being Too Subtle??
The early chapters on Mr. Zell's parents, including their escape from Poland, are important and fascinating.What didn’t you like about Sam Zell’s performance?
Mr. Zell has many fine qualities. A good, or even mediocre, speaking voice is not one of them. He should have chosen someone else - anyone else - to narrate the book.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Many fine moments. Hard to pick one.Any additional comments?
I recommend you buy the book in other than audible form.Excellent story, but ....
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