It horrifies me that ethics is only an optional extra at Harvard Business School.

In order to solve problems, information has to be shared; and not only information, but doubts, fears and questions.

If you are doing things the same way as two years ago, you are almost certainly doing them wrong.

It is surprising, in the welter of questions that one gets at (AGMs), how few actually relate to the performance of the company, or the decisions taken by the board in particular areas.

There is practically no area of business where the difference between rhetoric and actuality is greater than in the handling of people.

Problems can only be solved by the people who have them. You have to try and coax them and love them into seeing ways in which they can help themselves.

Everyone thinks I'm a smart arse who can solve any bloody problem. I'm not. I'm just a very old businessman and a very experienced businessman who made every mistake in the book and can recognise one when I see one.