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Review of Duncan Bannatyne’s (Not Duncan Ballantyne’s) Book: Anyone Can Do It!

By Jim Symcox on Jan 3, 2007 in Anyone Can Do It: The Autobiography, Duncan Ballantyne, Duncan Bannatyne

I’ve just finished re-reading Anyone Can Do It: The Autobiography of Duncan Bannatyne.

The one thread that emerges particularly strongly through this book is that Duncan has learnt the art of delegation to the point where he says his organisation could run without him.

I did enjoy this book it fills in the details of Duncan’s life, makes the point that he didn’t really start to become an entrepreneur until later in life, dishes some of the gossip from Dragon’s Den and gives a number of valuable lessons in business along the way.

This is not a boring “How To Do Business My Way” book. It’s one that shows how you can go from being a surfer bum to a famous and very wealthy businessman without being ruthless.

The slight problem I found with this book is that although it does reveal quite a few warts and all that it also seemed to sanitise some of the events. That said it certainly makes clear exactly how Duncan Bannatyne operates and even how feels.

If you’ve heard this ex-stoker speak you’ll have familiarity with some of the content but there is more to Duncan Bannatyne than his rags to riches story.

The one point I’d make about all this is that this book underlines my own belief that a business with a heart and with proper processes in place and the right customer facing attitude can go stratospheric.