Page 161 - James Caan - The Real Deal

14 · Having Fun

borrowed from the bank and repaid through profits. As far as I
know, he’s never sought to launch another title or offer a whole
range of events: sticking to the one magazine and landmark annual
event gives him a very nice income with none of the hassles of staff,
investors or premises. He has proved that running a successful
business doesn’t necessarily mean running a big business.
Although I had very little to do with the day-to-day operation
of Recruitment International, it still added to my workload and,
as I was working late one Friday, I said goodnight to one of the
guys as he was leaving. I couldn’t help but notice he looked as
exhausted as I felt. I didn’t want my team to go home on a Friday
night thinking, ‘I’ve got to get away from this place.’ I wanted
them to leave on a high, so over the weekend I started thinking
about what I could do on a Friday afternoon that would create a
sense of fun and lift their spirits at the end of a hard week.
The following Friday I said to everyone, ‘Let’s knock off early
tonight. Instead of finishing at 7 p.m., let’s turn the phones off at
5 p.m., we’ll get a few beers in and we’ll just take it easy. How
does that sound?’
When 5 p.m. came round, I heard people saying – with delight
in their voices –‘I’m sorry, we’re closing early today, can I call you
back on Monday?’ and we opened the beer and just talked to one
another. I can’t remember who told the first joke, but it soon
turned into a joke-telling competition and by 5.15 we were all in
hysterics. The whole team was there – the admin and support
people, not just the sales guys – and it was clear that people were
starting to talk to colleagues they hadn’t really got to know before.
When people left that evening, many were off to the pub to carry
on the fun, and everyone left with a smile on their face. I decided
to make fun on a Friday night Alexander Mann’s new creed. ‘From
now on,’ I said to one of the consultants on the way to a meeting,
‘we’re going to close early on a Friday and do something as a team.
Apart from drinking beer, what else can we do?’

151