Cordless vacuums are designed for quick jobs, but you need enough power to do the job; you don't want the power waning over time.

Cordless vacuums are designed for quick jobs, but you need enough power to do the job; you don't want the power waning over time.

We’re taught to do things the right way. But if you want to discover something that other people haven’t, you need to do things the wrong way. Initiate a failure by doing something that’s very silly, unthinkable, naughty, dangerous. Watching why that fails can take you on a completely different path. It’s exciting, actually. To me, solving problems is a bit like a drug. You’re on it, and you can’t get off.

Hire inexperience. This year we plan to hire 200 engineers - half of whom are recent grads. Young people are not burdened by years of experience. They haven't learned - or been told - what is right or wrong. With engineering, there is no tried and tested path. You try, and fail, and fix, and fail again.

When decisions on nuclear power stations and runways are delayed and the government dilly-dallies, people think they aren't important.

What I've learned from running is that the time to push hard is when you're hurting like crazy and you want to give up. Success is often just around the corner.

Engineers are behind the cars we drive, the pills we pop and the way we power our homes.