????2009年，我收到馬克伯內(nèi)特制作公司（Mark Burnett Productions）打來的電話，問我是否有興趣成為《創(chuàng)智贏家》的一名投資人。我毫不猶豫便簽署了期權(quán)協(xié)議。我給馬克?伯內(nèi)特發(fā)去了郵件，告訴他應(yīng)該讓我參加一次試鏡。他同意了，于是我被錄用了。后來他告訴我，我是唯一發(fā)郵件告訴他自己有興趣參加節(jié)目的嘉賓。

????總是有人問我，怎樣才能成為一名優(yōu)秀的創(chuàng)業(yè)者。我很好奇如今都是哪些人在美國創(chuàng)業(yè)。于是，我們推出了“柯克蘭創(chuàng)業(yè)報告”（Corcoran Entrepreneur Report）。2012年的報告顯示，之前一年創(chuàng)業(yè)的所有人當中，有67%是美國移民。目前，38%的創(chuàng)業(yè)者沒有高中畢業(yè)，這也引起了關(guān)于重視MBA的問題。

????我認為，商業(yè)計劃書的作用被高估了。到今天為止，我也沒有讀過一份財務(wù)報告。你最好能在自己腦海中規(guī)劃出自己想要什么。一半靠規(guī)劃，另一半則靠臨場應(yīng)變。因為一切都在不斷變化之中。所以把自己想要的東西形象化，并始終保持為夢想而奮斗的動力。

我的建議

????擁有抓住機會的勇氣。第一次遇見唐納德?特朗普（美國投資人，真人秀《學徒》主持人——譯注）時，我準備了一份名為《紐約市十大公寓樓調(diào)查》（Top 10 Condominium Survey in New York）的報告，其中他的大樓幾乎墊底。他非常不滿，但我很快就想出一個解決方案。我們可以不看一個房間的出售價格、出售的方式等等，而是可以計算每平方英尺的價格，這樣就能讓他位居榜首。于是，他成了我的頭號擁躉。

????不要讓拒絕阻礙你前進的腳步。我花了71,000美元錄制了所有掛牌房產(chǎn)的視頻。但我的銷售員卻不愿意播放這些錄像帶，因為他們擔心買家會將這些錄像帶轉(zhuǎn)給其他經(jīng)紀公司，這樣他們就會丟掉業(yè)務(wù)。于是，我把錄像發(fā)布在Corcoran.com上，結(jié)果一個禮拜之內(nèi)就產(chǎn)生了第一筆在線銷售。我從另外一個角度，打開了一個更大的市場。

????保護公司的樂觀情緒。一旦我發(fā)現(xiàn)經(jīng)常抱怨的員工，肯定要把他辭退，不論他能給公司賺多少錢，因為消極情緒會扼殺樂觀的氛圍和對未來的信心。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????In 2009 I got a call from Mark Burnett Productions, asking if I'd be interested in being one of the investors on Shark Tank. I signed the option agreement without even reading it. I e-mailed Mark Burnett and told him he should fly me out for a tryout. He did, and I was hired. Later he told me I was the only shark who e-mailed him about their interest in being on the show.

????I'm always asked what makes a great entrepreneur, and I was curious about who's starting businesses in America today. So we did the Corcoran Entrepreneur Report, which shows that in 2012, 67% of all people starting a business during the preceding year were immigrants. Thirty-eight percent of those starting a business today didn't graduate from high school, which begs the question of the emphasis put on MBAs.

????I think business plans are overrated. To this day I can't read a financial report. You're better off having a picture of what you want in your head. Half of business is planning, and half is reacting. It's always changing. So visualize what you want and stay motivated by your dream.

My advice

????Have the courage to seize opportunity. The first time I met Donald Trump, I'd produced a report called the Top 10 Condominium Survey in New York, and his building was near the bottom. He was so upset. I quickly thought up a solution. Instead of looking at what a room would sell for, the way it was done then, we could calculate price per square foot, which would put him on top. He became my biggest advocate.

????Don't let rejection stop you. I spent $71,000 to videotape all our listings. My salespeople wouldn't show the tapes for fear a buyer would take them to another broker, and they'd lose the sale. So I posted the tapes on Corcoran.com, and we had our first online sale within a week. I'd stepped into the next big thing by trying another angle.

????Protect the optimism of your firm. The minute I spotted a chronic complainer, I'd fire them. I didn't care how much money they brought in because negativity kills optimism and belief in the future.