Page 139 - James Caan - The Real Deal

Chapter 13

Learning to

Innovate (1986–1987)

‘ I’d convinced myself it had to work and, crucially, I’d also

put myself in an embarrassing position trying to convince
everybody else. The whole office – and pretty soon the whole

industry – was looking at me saying: Go on then, show us. ’

began to be invited to events and seminars for recruitment
I professionals. I found they were a really useful way of finding
out what other companies were up to, for spotting opportunities
and to meet people who I might want to work with in the future.
As my career progressed and Alexander Mann grew, the network
of contacts I built up became increasingly valuable to me. The
more you talk to people – the more questions you ask – the better
informed you are, and as a direct result of getting out from behind
my desk Alexander Mann devised a couple of lucrative new ways
to expand its operations.
As I talked to other people who ran recruitment agencies, I
noticed they all had pretty much the same concern: they all told
me business was booming, and that meant they all wanted to hire

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