Despite James’ harsh television personality on Dragons Den, he is a humble, sincere man in person. On both occasions that I have met him, he always practises listening and is never the first to speak. One of his conversations was with a startup founder who was creating a solution for the recruitment industry, a sector in which James has years of experience but he never once let his ego get the better of him. When I asked James why he didn’t tell the 22 year-old founder about his wealth of knowledge in the subject, he replied “I always hold the view that everyone I meet has something to teach me and that is my purpose, to consistently learn from others no matter what their status or age. I don’t tell others what I know unless they ask.” James obviously has no insecurities or he has mastered the 48 Laws of Power.
Having served as chairman of Startup Loans UK, James is always excited to meet entrepreneurs and readily offers free advice to those who are clever enough to ask. Aside from his humility, I admire James’ resourcefulness. If he doesn’t know the answer to a question, he won’t dismiss it and tell you where to find the answer, he will stop what he’s doing, make a few phone calls there and then and get the answer for you. James does not believe in procrastination; there is always an urgency to get things done and when he works with you he is sincere to the core. Here is the key advice I received from James Caan:
1. Learning is a lifelong process. Never discard a business card; everyone you meet in life has something to teach you.
2. When you negotiate a deal, it should always be a win-win for both parties. Even if he knows he can barter an extra £1000 off a car purchase, he prefers to compromise so the other person gets a good deal as well, in order to build long term relationships. He claims to have learned this from his father and recited his exact words: “don’t squeeze the last drop of the lemon, leave something on the table for others too”.
3. Don’t follow the crowd. When everyone is hyped up about something be it Bitcoin or Fast Fashion, look at alternative investments and do things differently. Put simply, if you’re following the herd, you’re too late to make a return.
4. Failures are stepping stones to success – a necessary part of the journey. James agreed with me that in the UK we attach too much stigma to failure. We need to adopt a more relaxed attitude about failure in business to breed optimism and the will to try again. He guarantees that if you’re looking for a reason to fail, you’ll find hundreds, so you need to be proactive to work towards the end goal.
5. When recruiting staff, ask candidates half-way through the interview if they have any questions. The ones that don’t ask, James won’t employ. The best recruits have been the ones that asked “What’s the company culture like? What are your short, medium and long term goals for the business?” Such candidates are impressive as they show commitment, interest in the vision and have the right expectations.
