Page 137 - James Caan - The Real Deal

12 · Growing the Business

images on to a screen behind the performers, so a bunch of us
would stand there with a mic and mime to one of those eighties
power ballads against a backdrop of the Hollywood Hills. We’d
then go back to the office and show it to the rest of the team, who
of course were all first in the queue when we did it again.
The team got more and more into it and started hiring costumes
for the videos, and the game was on to make the best video you
could. I met all the expenses, but the team were so enthusiastic
they often paid for accessories out of their own pocket.
If we weren’t making videos, we’d be going out for a drink or a
meal, anything that created that camaraderie that enhanced the work
ethic, and that got us bouncing ideas off each other and believing in
each other. Alexander Mann wasn’t about me, it was about us.
The office atmosphere meant we became very close and we all
knew a lot about each other’s lives: if someone had been on a date,
we all knew, just as we knew if the date had been successful or if
someone had a flatmate from hell. The team became so close that
if there was a situation where someone was buying their first flat
and had saved up a deposit but was a couple of grand short of their
dream home, I would tell them not to worry.
‘I’ll lend you the two grand and we’ll just take it off your wages.’
Or if someone phoned up to say their car had broken down and
they’d be late in, I’d tell them to get it fixed. I’d pay for it and
deduct it from their commission.
I didn’t have a separate office, I didn’t have a title, I was no
different from everyone else and billed just as they did. The fact
that I wasn’t ‘up there’ and they weren’t ‘down there’ made a big
difference. If I’d noticed that someone hadn’t stopped for lunch,
I’d pick up a sandwich for them: you’d be amazed how those little
things make a huge difference.
However, I was still the boss, still the leader, and it was a big
part of my job to motivate the team. Let’s say that Bob had done
fantastically well:

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