When you’re a repeat player, when your world is your business and your business is your world, it’s all about long-term relationships. In any negotiation I believe in leaving a little bit on the table. And in any relationship I believe in sharing the stakes.

My takeaway was a whole new respect for simplicity. Development required multiple steps, and every step meant one more chance for something to go wrong. When Jay and I liquidated the Tahoe investment years later, I noticed that we had forgotten something critical, so I called him. “Listen,” I said, “the deal is closed, but I just realized we never drew up a formal partnership agreement between the two of us. If the IRS comes and reviews this thing, we’re going to look like idiots if we don’t have documents.” “Yeah, yeah,” he said, not really interested. That was indicative of Jay. Trust was one of his abiding principles. He’d always bet a lot more on the person than on the deal.

Don’t depend on people unless you understand their motivations and you are confident that your interests align with theirs.