The Real Deal by James Caan

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This is an interesting and stimulating autobiography, largely focused on two passions in the authors life; business and philanthropy. Tracing his life from childhood, Caan allows his personality to blossom, coming across as approachable, good natured and genuine.

The first half of this book is both insightful and very practical. His stories are highly motivating and demonstrate how simple changes can turn things around. As a reader, the eureka moment comes and you start to understand how these techniques can be applied to your own circumstances. For that alone, this book is worth buying.

Life’s Chapters

At times Caan seemingly becomes bored, lost and longing for new challenges. But during the course of his life, Caan is drawn to philanthropy. And by no coincidence he is also drawn to starting his own private equity firm, which you might read as “helping others to help themselves”. It is also notable how religion increasingly plays a more significant role in Caan’s life - without doubt, heavily influenced by his wife Aisha.

Young At Heart

As a child, Caan had a few traits which he carried through to adulthood. At a young age he gained an independence of mind, he was a little bold and he was acutely aware of how actions and words influenced other people. This was validated when he got extra attention from people calling him James Caan (the actor) instead of his birth name Nazim Khan.

Early on, Caan also realised he liked solving problems from the deep end; throw yourself into the water and then figure out how to swim. Whether it was the down payment for a business or raising money for Barts hospital, Caan simply enjoyed the challenge. Although he portrays events as spontaneous, I am sure at the back of his mind he had played out similar scenarios numerous times.

Simple Rules

Caan places people centre stage of his business and describes his thinking as win-win-win. It can be summed up like this:

1. You are not simply buying and selling. You are creating a marketplace whereby you drill down and find out what each side of the transaction really wants and then you work to match. Both sides of the transaction must be happy.

2. Tell your clients what they like to hear. Paint the “blue sky”, feed people’s imagination and encourage positivity.

3. As above, everyone you work with - from employees to business partners to accountants - must be a great salesman; they can clearly define the benefits they bring. For these people, incentivise and reward them well.

The Wise Make Mistakes

Whether it was over spending or cutting his loses, Caan learnt - and indeed mirrored - many of the habits you find in the super rich. There is some disparity in Caan’s observations of wealth, but generally speaking, Caan keeps a flexible outlook and is prepared to let some things slide. For example, he talks about his religion yet also admits to seriously considering an investment in an online poker company. But notwithstanding any of this, the truth is, he opens up and lays out much of his life. Chapter by chapter, a sense of wisdom grows.

Conclusion

While this is a great book, I did catch myself wondering how much of the book itself was subject to blue-sky thinking. Although various conflicts are mentioned, they are surprisingly few and lacking the kind of passion one might imagine. On the other hand, maybe communication skills and conflict resolution is best left for another book. And another book is something Caan could easily do.

This book could of been predictable and stale but it wasn’t. Instead, it conveys energy, enthusiasm and a healthy dose of motivation. Highly recommended.