Always Be Auditioning: A Michael Caine Lesson on Opportunity

A note to young leaders.

We are all auditioning, all the time.

I’ve just finished an excellent autobiography by one of my favourite actors: Michael Caine.

Here‘s an excerpt worth sharing:

“When I was shooting the comedy-heist, Gambit, with Shirley MacLaine, Universal had just started its famous studio tours – and in those days, the tourists were allowed on the actual sets. Every day a tour bus would pull up, tourists would pile out and the driver would try to convince any actors who hadn’t scurried out of sight like gazelles on a safari, to sign autographs.

One driver was particularly clever at timing his stops. It was annoying, but I also admired his initiative. I knew he had a job to do and my better nature prevailed. I decided to make him look good and, instead of trying to avoid his tour party, I signed every autograph and posed for every photo, and got to know him a little.

And who did the bus driver turn out to be? Mike Ovitz, then a student but later the founder, then chairman, of CAA – the world’s leading talent agency and one of the most powerful people in Hollywood.”

Treat everyone as though they are important. It will make you a better human being, and sometimes – just sometimes – it will lead to your “lucky break”.