I just interviewed Oren Klaff — and I think I have a new hero. Over his career, he’s helped raise more than $1 billion in capital, and his net worth is over $100 million. His book, Pitch Anything, has sold over a million copies and has been translated into 27 languages. It’s also been the most impactful business book I’ve read in the last year, because it exposes how damaging it is to need 'the outcome'.

One idea that I keep pondering: proximity is everything. When you’re in the room, when you’re close to the decision, when people can feel your presence, everything changes. That idea shows up in how he lives, too. He built a hockey rink inside his facility so his son could train alongside his work and life — no separation, just proximity to what matters. Brian Grazer talks about this same idea in Face to Face — the power of being physically present. He’s said the movie 8 Mile only happened because he was in the room and able to stop Eminem from walking out.

There’s also a level of honesty in how Oren operates that most people would never be comfortable with. He’ll tell someone they’re “polluting the water” if they’re rambling or weakening the conversation, and he has no problem calling out a CFO mid-meeting: “You don’t see me on my phone playing Candy Crush.” It’s direct, even a little jarring, but it comes from the same place — he refuses to let low standards or distractions take over the room. 

There’s also an edge to how he thinks. His agent told him, “Even William Shatner has to do book signings.” His response was, “Maybe Shatner should have written a good book.” It’s blunt and a little uncomfortable, but it reveals something deeper: he doesn’t operate from need. He operates from position.

And interestingly, It doesn’t feel rude. It feels true — because it’s anchored in truth.

He told a story that captures it better than anything else. He was sitting next to Dustin Hoffman at a restaurant. Dustin asked, “Can you pass the salt?” Oren said, “Yeah — when I’m done with it.”