Author:Kamal Ahmed,Rohan Silva,Rohan Silva,Kamal Ahmed
Kamal Ahmed and Rohan Silva meet leading entrepreneurs to hear their stories of risk, sacrifice and ambition - including those behind Dyson, Linkedin, Mumsnet, lastminute.com and Netflix.
Business journalist Kamal Ahmed and start-up supremo Rohan Silva lift the lid on the realities of starting your own business in a series of candid, unfiltered interviews with innovators who have changed our world. We hear the unvarnished truth about their successes, failures, and the challenges they faced on the way to realising their vision.
From fearless company founders to visionary CEOs, each has a fascinating story to tell. There's Julie Deane, who went from starting The Cambridge Satchel Company at the kitchen table with £600 to selling 10,000 bags a month; Tony Kitous, who arrived in London from Algeria with nothing and ended up with a chain of 25 Comptoir Libanais restaurants; and Temie Giwa-Tubosun, creator of LifeBank, which works to improve access to essential medical supplies in Africa and has saved over 7000 lives.
They're joined by a wealth of other inspiring disrupters to share their hard-earned wisdom, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, lastminute.com founders Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Mumsnet's Justine Roberts and Sir James Dyson. Among the lessons they've learned are knowing when to cut your losses, how to change direction without giving up on an idea, the dangers of over-idealism and self-delusion and the importance of patience, persistence and passion.
The advice they give - about managing relationships, maintaining self-belief and not being afraid to make mistakes - is invaluable for everyone, not just entrepreneurs, and will help you to succeed both in business and in life.
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Presented by Kamal Ahmed and Rohan Silva
Produced by Georgia Catt
With: Demis Hassabis, Julie Deane, Martha Lane Fox and Brent Oberman, Reid Hoffman, Justine Roberts, Tony Kitous, Surinder Arora, Sir James Dyson, Temie Giwa-Tobosun,John and Irene Hays, Reed Hastings
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 5 November 2018-29 January 2021
It's incredible to see how modern leadership mantras - high ambition, fused diversity, constant learning - have been at the centre of the highest performing sports teams for decades. Beautifully synthesised by Will and Ben, these lessons from the very best are gold for anyone who shares their belief that 'nothing beats winning together'.
—— Alan Jope, CEO of UnileverThis is not just a great sports book, or a great business book, it's a great book about sport and business. I've known Will and Ben for a long time and they are two of the sharpest minds around. This is an essential read for anyone who wants to lead and win.
—— Sir Clive WoodwardCompletely fascinating
—— Chris EvansA great book, packed with insights and evocative human stories.
—— David Tuckett, Director of UCL’s Centre for the Study of Decision-Making UncertaintyNobody understands the everyday madness of working life better than Naomi Shragai. This book should be read by everyone who ventures anywhere near an office.
—— Lucy Kellaway, Financial TimesA completely compelling guide to the inner psychological workings of our jobs - brilliantly enlightening and incidentally a vital survival guide.
—— Bruce DaisleyThis is a fantastic insight into the childhood self we thought we left behind but actually brought into work by accident. A great guide to understanding yourself and others better. Life-changing.
—— Viv Groskop, author of How to Own the RoomWork and life are separate, right? Not at all, points out journalist Naomi Shragai in this brilliant book. A fascinating and life-improving book that might just change your (work) life.
—— Sainsburys MagazineThis exceptional book brings together, in rare combination, deep and compassionate insight into individual psychology with a sophisticated understanding of working life in organisations. It will be a source of wisdom for managers everywhere, but also for anyone interested in human nature
—— Nicholas Spice, London Review of BooksUltimately, this is an honest and moving account of both client and coach experience. If you enjoyed Yalom's Love's Executioner, you may well enjoy this, and who knows, maybe one day this book will be regarded as the coaching equivalent of that classic text?
Icarus rebooted: the man who achieved human flight. Truly inspirational.
—— The Book of ManStarting with Tupperware and sticky tape, Richard Browning was determined to reach for the stars... as this engaging book shows. Interspersed throughout are lessons you can learn from Browning's success.
—— Daily Mail - Book of the WeekIn this superb book, Gillian Tett - Editor-at-Large at the Financial Times - applies the lessons of her doctorate in anthropology to the world of business and, more generally, to social behaviour and trends . . . There are many reasons to read Anthro-Vision, but the most compelling is its liberation of [its] analysis from the often phoney and banal punch-ups of today's culture wars.
—— Matthew D'Ancona , TortoiseA really interesting read. Increasingly, businesses are understanding that we can change our attitudes to things - be better at managing people, managing ourselves, and become more profitable - if we do not take a myopic view of culture.
—— Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio 5 LiveFantastic . . . A wonderful book and I recommend it. It will help you think about the world differently, but it will also help you think about yourself differently. A very entertaining exercise in a kind of social and cultural mindfulness.
—— Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, Royal Society of Arts , RSA Bridges to the FutureDeliberately listening to other people and taking on their perspective is a rare skill, and a powerful tool . . . For readers, this book offers something more valuable: the opportunity to consider how truly strange we all are.
—— New StatesmanWonderful . . . [on] that anthropological skill of looking at things from the outside.
—— Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy UK and author of AlchemyFull of examples that make you see work and business differently.
—— The Indicator , NPRA rattling good read . . . The book has loads of interesting vignettes about the use of anthropology, particularly in business.
—— Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of CambridgeTett's examples of research are vivid, surprising and imaginative; their revelations are informative . . . Tett's book is lots of fun and could even create a few business converts to the anthropological cause.
—— Times Higher EducationIt's hard to argue with her common-sense case that companies should strive to take an outsider's view . . . Packed full of insight, this has the power to change minds.
—— Publishers WeeklyI cannot tell you how much I enjoyed reading this book . . . A terrific piece of work.
—— Thomas Friedman, author of THE WORLD IS FLAT and THANK YOU FOR BEING LATEA compelling, readable argument for the business value of anthropology.
—— Strategy + Business