Page 9 - James Caan - The Real Deal

Preface

‘ Observe the masses and do the opposite. ’

That may sound like a strange piece of advice, but it’s something
my dad used to say, and I believe it’s been instrumental in my
success. He told me that when the masses are all charging in one
direction after The Next Big Thing, it’s often the path in the
opposite direction that leads to profit. As a kid I found this quite
confusing, but as I got older I realised just how smart my dad was.
Doing the unexpected has taken my career on some very
interesting journeys. I’ve never really planned all that much and,
surprisingly, never actually made too many decisions either. The
thing I’ve noticed over the years is that if you study the world
around you and ask the right questions, the decisions make
themselves: you just go on the journey and see what happens.
Increasingly in the past few years more and more people have
started out on journeys into the world of business, as interest in
companies, economics and entrepreneurs has boomed. Dragons’
Den is one of the shows that has made it cool to be an
entrepreneur, and every day I get asked about the best way to start
a business. Whether I’m in a restaurant, or in a departure lounge,
or at Stamford Bridge watching Chelsea, someone always comes
up to me to tell me about their brilliant idea for a new business.