Page 317 - James Caan - The Real Deal

31 · You Win Some, You Lose Some

I took on the role of chairman and, as a recruitment specialist,
I could instantly tell from reading Eden Brown’s board pack that
they were measuring the wrong things. I’m sure most investors
look at a board pack and think, ‘I’m sure someone here under-
stands this,’ and don’t say anything, but I have no qualms about
questioning every little thing. It’s just the way we are as human
beings; we don’t want to appear stupid and say things like, ‘I don’t
understand the board pack.’ But I’m not like that.
‘I’m going to put my hand up straight away. Ian, forgive me, but
I don’t understand this. Can you explain it to me?’
It might sound really weird, but nobody ever says that.
‘I just want to know the basic stuff. I want to see how many
people you employ, what they do, if they make money. I want to
know how much money you’ve got in the bank and if anyone owes
you any money.’
It was all simple stuff, and, because I’m not an investment
banker, I was speaking a language that the board could under-
stand. They’d been tying themselves up in so many knots with
graphs and pie charts and spreadsheets that they’d overlooked the
basics. Once we started talking the same language, not only did I
start to understand their business but they did, too. By my third
board meeting I felt I had drilled down far enough into the
company to start suggesting changes. I’d been looking at the
figures and had identified a branch that wasn’t performing, so I
questioned its strategic value.
They told me that one of their key customers was based near the
branch, and that they’d been operating in that location for ten
years, but none of that explained why they were keeping it open
when it was losing money. My questioning gave the kind of
perspective they’d all been too close to the business to offer.
Sometimes management teams just can’t see the wood for the
trees.
‘I’ve put you on the spot. Tell you what, for the next board

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