Alan Sugar - The Way I See it: Rants, Revelations and Rules for Life

ALAN SUGAR

RANTS, REVELATIONS AND RULES FOR LIFE

MACMILLAN

Warning:
This Book May Cause Offence

Ive always been regarded as someone who speaks his mind. You probably know that already. Hopefully its why you bought this book because you like my straight talking. If someone bought it for you as a present and youre thinking, Who is this Sugar fellow?, then I should explain that this book contains opinions that may cause offence especially to certain members of the press, the government and The Only Way Is Essex. Also restaurateurs, advertisers, flying bores, footballers and maybe Piers Morgan, although, knowing him, hell see it as complimentary.

I dont know where this need to speak my mind comes from my parents werent the same way but basically I cannot stand listening to people talking a load of rubbish. I cant resist butting in and saying, Thats complete and utter nonsense.

On the other hand, there are times when maturity has taught me to think, Keep your mouth shut, Alan. Yes, they are talking a load of bollocks, but can you be bothered to correct them? I find this particularly to be the case when someone says something completely and utterly factually wrong. I kind of switch off; I think to myself, Who cares? Let them get on with it. The problem is that if I adopt this silence when someone is spouting off wrong information about me or anything Im involved in, the person spouting it will think that he or she is correct and will go on to dine out on it, repeating it several times as a fact cast in concrete.

It does make me laugh when you hear people with no actual inside information give their personal opinion say, on a news story or famous person telling you whats really going on. They come up with their own crazy ideas and theories, and when they get into wacky world, thats normally when I jump in. Ive got some friends who insist that Princess Diana is still alive; it was all a plot to get her out of the limelight. Depending on how much theyve had to drink, they might change their story to: Okay, she may not be alive, but she was definitely murdered by the Queen and Prince Philip, no question about it. And these people are always so intent on their belief.

These same people, whose names I wont mention, said, following the announcement of the death of Bin Laden, Hes not dead. Its all a PR stunt by the Americans. Hes still alive, and all that kind of stuff. With their imaginations, these people would be very good at writing detective stories and thrillers.

Speaking my mind has got me into hot water on occasion, and Ive upset people. My wife and some of my work colleagues are still amazed when I get involved in some controversy or other. Well be in a conversation and Ill interrupt, telling someone theyre talking a lot of rubbish. Ann will ask me later, Why do you bother? Why cant you resist it? Why cant you just shut up and let it go by?

I really dont know the answer to that, other than to say that I dont care what other people think about me. I only concern myself with my immediate family, friends and work colleagues, and what they care about. Im not particularly interested in portraying a goody-goody image a Mr Nice Guy who says the right thing at the right time just to get people on his side; to get them to admire him; to say they like him. Frankly, I find that pathetic, and Ive seen so many examples of it over the years. These people actually make me cringe when I see them grovelling, trying to put on this nicey-nicey persona. I People have to take me as they find me because, as Ive often said, whats on my lung is on my tongue.

The only thing I would say is that the first time people meet me, they do tend to have a preconceived idea of what Im like from what theyve read about me or from having seen me on TV. When I was chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, the sports media was negative and full of lies. Similarly, on The Apprentice, the production company cuts the film in a certain way to make me look aggressive, as it suits their agenda. Ive often heard people say once theyve got to know me, that they understand what makes me tick. But in general I have no desire to suck up to anyone or seek their friendship or support. This has not just been in recent years since Ive become more well known Ive always been the same. I just cant bear having to be false talking to someone just to get something out of it, financially or socially. If you want new friends and associates, they should be just that genuine friends and associates.

Straight talking, thats me, and I like people who are also straight talking. I like people who, if they dont know something, will say, I dont know Ill go and find out and get back to you. Theres nothing worse than hearing some bullshitter trying to waffle his or her way around a situation when all youve done is ask them a simple question. I can see through it immediately and can tell that they havent got a bloody clue what theyre talking about. So why do these people do it? I suppose its all to do with ego and them wanting to give the impression they know everything.

In fact, because Ive got such a good memory, I sometimes wrongly assume that people I employ or deal with remember things in the same level of detail as I do. I used to get quite frustrated when Id ask them a question about something and they didnt know what I was referring to. Now, as Ive mellowed a little, Ill put my question in a different way. Ill say to them, Youll find some information in the such and such file about this or that transaction can you let me know the exact number of items we shipped and get back to me? So you see, Ive learnt to become a little more tolerant. That said, if someone asked me a question like that, Id most probably be able to rattle off the number straight away, or have a bloody good guess at it.

Another thing that annoys me is what I call the Basil Fawlty effect, when people schmooze and act politely to someone like me (maybe because theres an angle in it for them or they want something from the boss), and then you observe them with a less senior employee and theyre talking to them as if theyre a piece of rubbish. We all remember how Basil used to do that when he thought he had an influential guest arriving at his hotel he would suddenly go into his over-polite, grovelling mode, then as soon as the person went away and one of his workers spoke to him, hed go back to his normal arsehole self. Well, there are people in real life like that and I detest them, particularly the sort who try to affiliate themselves with me. Theyll say, Of course, Alan, people like you and I understand these things, but as for the others dont expect them to grasp it.

Those people come close to getting a whack from me they really wind me up. I normally say to them, Actually, youre nothing like me, and it shuts them down pretty quickly. Put simply, I cant stand snobs who think theyre a cut above other people and look down on them.

Im amazed at how many so-called old friends and acquaintances I have. Ann always smiles when someone I know says to me, I met an old mate of yours the other day. He told me to send his regards.

Now, I dont know what it is, but I have this kind of sixth sense that the next thing coming out of this persons mouth is going to be a name Ive never heard before.

Oh yes? I say. Who is that then?

Charlie Saunders. He says youll know him. He used to be the market manager down Ridley Road and Kingsland Waste, where you had a stall in your early days. He says he still remembers having a chat with you about getting a better pitch for your stall, and all those aerials and that electrical stuff you used to sell there. Do you remember Charlie? [Long pause] Why are you both smiling?

Were both smiling because: a) Ive never heard of Charlie Saunders, b) I never had a stall in Ridley Road market, c) I never had a stall in Kingsland Waste market, and d) I never sold electrical goods off a stall.