Trump’s Business Philosophy and Politics
Hi! Have you been surprised by things Trump, the new US president, has said? I was too. To better understand why he makes such strong comments, I read his book “The Art of the Deal.” It helped me understand his thinking.
Here’s what I learned:
Trump believes you must “generate interest and create excitement.” He also thinks “bad publicity is sometimes better than no publicity.” This means being ignored is worse than being criticized.
He says if you are “outrageous,” “bold,” or “controversial,” reporters will write about you. He believes “even a critical story can be very valuable” for business. So he prefers negative attention over no attention.
Trump also values “bravado” (showing great confidence). He says, “People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts.” This suggests that speaking to people’s hidden thoughts or feelings can work well.
Trump seems to see politics like business. So what does he think about business? He says, “I’ve never had any great moral problems with gambling because most objections seem hypocritical to me. The New York Stock Exchange happens to be the biggest casino in the world.” He views business as similar to gambling, focusing on winning and losing.
This is very different from Konosuke Matsushita (founder of Panasonic/National), who stressed moral values like working for society’s benefit and not just personal gain.
I worry about having a leader like Trump for four years, especially when he doesn’t seem concerned about important issues like environmental protection, diversity, climate change, and AI development.
I plan to keep watching Trump carefully, trying to stay calm and objective about his extreme statements.
See you next time,
Jiro
私立学校に英語教師として勤務中、40代半ばに差し掛かったころ、荒れたクラスを立て直す策として、生徒に公言して英検1級に挑戦することを思い立つ。同様の挑戦を繰り返し、退職までに英検一級（検定連合会長賞）、TOEIC満点、国連英検SA級、フランス語一級、スペイン語一級（文科大臣賞）、ドイツ語一級、放送大学大学院修士号などの成果を得る。
アメリカで生徒への対応法を学ぶ為に研修（地銀の助成金）。最新の心理学に触れた。4都県での全発表、勤務校での教員への研修を英語で行う。現在も特別選抜クラスの授業を全て英語で行っている。「どうやって単語を覚えればいいですか？」という良くある質問に答える為、印欧祖語からの派生に基づく「生徒には見せたくない語源英単語集」を執筆中。完成間近。常日頃洋書の読破で様々な思考にふれているが、そうして得た発想の一つを生かして書いた論文がコロナ対策論文として最近入賞。賞品の牛肉に舌鼓をうっている。元英検面接委員