Added Pages

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Pathfinders Update: Real Estate Trip to the Pinnacle Group

Visiting the Pinnacle Group, a real estate company in New York, through the Yeshivah of Flatbush Pathfinders Program was an experience I will never forget. Boarding the train alongside Murray Dweck, Teddy Betesh, and Mrs. Hanon we were all ecstatic to visit its CEO, Mr. Joel Weiner. Once we got to One Penn Plaza, signed in, and rode the elevator to the office— we were immediately taken aback. As we walked in we were surrounded by many beautifully designed paintings and sculptures, this enthralled me right away. I began to look around and I noticed that one of the sculptures was designed by a famous Tel-Aviv artist Uri Seligman. You learn a lot about a person by seeing the type of art they like, I learned that not only was Mr. Weiner a man with myriads of assets around the country, but he was also very supportive of Israel.

As he toured us around the office we saw people working in concordance, serenity, and they were all smiling. He stressed that the most important thing in running a businesses is making your employees happy. He told us stories of how he went above and beyond to meet an employee’s needs because he felt that he was making a good investment in them. He gifted us with some piece of advice saying, “You have to be 10 percent better than everyone else around.” Explaining that just that 10 percent is what you need to over-achieve your competitors. Delving into the truth of this, I realized that I can apply this to my daily life. Such as taking tests, playing sports, and finding a job, I internalized that to work just 10 percent harder, I will become 10 percent better, and then achieve 100 times more than what I would have.

To conclude, this trip was one of the most memorable and enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had. I learned about an esteemed man, how he got here, and hope to use the tools he used to get there one day too. The name of the company, the Pinnacle Group, tells part of the story. The definition of pinnacle is peak, the Pinnacle Group is the peak of success. The unity, devotion, and prosperity that this group had directly caused its great success.
~Jack R. Dweck, Class of 2019