The Way I See It
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Sir Alan Sugar isn’t one to mince his words and in The Way I See It he lets rip on subjects as varied as claims firms and Twitter.
Sugar is a potent and refreshing mix of old-fashioned values and clear, straight-talking business sense.
On the subject of banking he pines for the days when customers could call up and speak to their bank manager rather than using the internet or telephone banking.
He lampoons the plethora of security checks needed for telephone banking and criticises branch closures in a chapter entitled ’You are just a number’.
He launches a broadside against Lloyds TSB with whom he has banked for 48 years after opening an account in 1963. Sugar complains that his loyalty and immaculate record of repayments over half a century meant nothing after the financial crisis and the service he received was poor.
One section of the book brokers will enjoy is where Sugar rants against the compensation culture and claims management companies. He calls on the Advertising Standards Agency to crack down on the misleading advertisements that some of the law firms put out.
Many brokers will know exactly what he means after receiving calls from customers who think they are entitled to money. The recent deluge of payment protection insurance mis-selling claims has been driven in part by an aggressive marketing campaign by claims firms.
But Sugar believes frivolous claims are nothing new and recalls a case from 25 years ago when a worker in one of his factories made a claim for falling down a manhole. After Sugar spent a fortune on legal fees the case was thrown out as it was discovered that the man had made similar claims three or four times before.
But the story didn’t end there. Soon after the worker died of natural causes and his wife tried to sue Sugar, claiming the stress of the case killed him. Needless to say it got nowhere and she was sent on her bike, in Sugar’s words.
There is also a chapter on the media and the importance of news stories to the prosperity of companies. Articles in the financial pages have often influenced the share price of Sugar’s companies and he has taken the rough with the smooth.
He claims he has never had a problem with the financial press and they have always treated him fairly.
But the tabloids are another matter entirely and Sugar criticises libel law, the lack of a moral anchor and the obsession with super-injunctions.
Sugar also believes that Lord Oakeshott, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, should be investigated for breaking a super-injunction. He questions Oakeshott’s motives for telling the House of Lords about Fred Goodwin, former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, having an affair with a colleague. Sugar believes lawmakers should respect the decision of the courts and not abuse parliamentary privilege.
He also talks about his incessant use of Twitter and praises it for allowing him to speak directly to the public. Newspaper interviews can be edited and different angles taken on newsworthy information but he likes Twitter for the way it acts as a direct communication channel.
This is a book of rants about modern life from an incredibly successful businessman who is always worth listening to. Sugar’s straight-talking, no-nonsense manner shines through, making for an interesting read.
Samuel Dale
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