Sir James had firm views on how businesses should be run, formed after years of learning and practice. He believed strongly in the decentralization of control, the importance of good managers and incentives, and in the wider good takeovers could do in the market place to break up large conglomerates and make their individual businesses more efficient and effective.
Never one to run with the pack, his unconventional and innovative approach was also evident in his extraordinary ability to read warning signs in the stock market – allowing him to make prudent and timely decisions that meant he succeeded when many others did not.