I’ve been lucky to have survived balloon trips, boating trips, you know, a lot of rather foolish things in my life, so I was definitely born under a lucky star.
If you want milk, don’t sit on a stool in the middle of a field in the hope that a cow will back up to you.
If you can run one company, you can run another. Running companies are about inspiring and driving the best out of people.
Money is a poor indicator of success.
I’ve always had a soft spot for dreamers – not those who waste their time thinking ‘what if’ but the ones who look to the sky and say ‘why can’t I shoot for the moon?’
I have always lived my life by making lists: lists of people to call, lists of ideas, lists of companies to set up, lists of people who can make things happen. Each day I work through these lists, and that sequence of calls propels me forward.
I learnt from an early age the need to delegate responsibility out to other team members as there is just too much for one person to do themselves. What is the point of hiring talented team members if you don’t give them the freedom to make the most of the chance you have given them?
So I became a publisher by mistake – well, not quite by mistake, because I wanted to be an editor but I had to make sure the magazine would survive. The point is this: Most businesses fail, so if you’re going to succeed, it has to be about more than making money.
If you don’t make bold moves, the world doesn’t move forward.
I think that being a business a leader that treads all over people to get to the top is actually not the way I think to become a successful business leader.
Wine, like life, is meant to be enjoyed.
So I’ve seen life as one long learning process.
I’m not the sort of person who fears failure.
I was born under a lucky star, and I have nothing whatsoever to regret. I wouldn’t change a thing about my life.
If you run your business fairly; if you treat people well; if you try to move your business into areas that are making a real positive difference to other peoples lives; I think you’ll A. have much pleasant life, but B. I think you’ll have a much more successful business.
Well, I think that there’s a very thin dividing line between success and failure.
Being dyslexic can actually help in the outside world. I see some things clearer than other people do because I have to simplify things to help me and that has helped others.
People are no different from flowers. If you water them, they flourish. If you are not nice to them, they shrivel up.
One of the best bits of advice I can give is, early on, when you’re building a new business, try to find somebody to run it on a day-to-day basis to free yourself up to look at the bigger picture.
I have always believed that personal relationships are vital in business and that people should be directly accountable for their actions.