I find his pragmatism so inspiring. So many companies died on the hill of a pet project (Sir Clive Sinclair, bless him, is a good example), or chased a target/market that they didn't have a hope in hell of conquering, Lord Sugar just paid close attention to sales, cut out the dead wood, and moved on: and ultimately that's all that business is about. Amstrad brought otherwise unobtainable items of a reasonable quality to the common person. Their equipment was good ENOUGH, it wasn't prohibitively expensive, nor was it crap. The business model Alan Sugar followed really does prove that in some contexts a rising tide lifts all ships. Not only were the products something more people could afford, but it created a good number of jobs. I personally commend Alan Sugar and Amstrad for their practises. A lot of people here getting in idle digs because he's well off, but he earned what he has through dry pragmatism and common sense, and no matter how emotional of a point you'd like to make it, he got it done.
Essentially he is saying that going to Uni is over-hyped. He is saying that thousands of students study for their GCSEs and A-Levels, and then go to Uni to get a degree, but when they come out of the system and step into the real world, they have very limited experience. Obviously this doesn't apply for everyone- a lot of graduates from Cambridge or LSE in the field of economics can get placements in top jobs- investment banking, consulting etc in the largest firms in the world (Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte.) But a lot of people can't get these placements because they are highly competitive, so after years of study and thousands of pounds spent, their genuine knowledge and aptitude in the real world doesn't go far. He says that starting a business taught him a lot of real world applications, and it can teach you to be a far more responsible being who knows more about the big bad world. He didn't go to Uni, and he didn't even do A-Levels, and yet he knew more about business at 20 years old than most Cambridge graduates lol. I do agree with him in the sense that the system is flawed, but at the same time, it isn't 100% bad- it does work for some, and will continue to work.
He's right about the standards of education at University slipping, but not because it's getting easier. He certainly wouldn't be able to pass an A-level exam, perhaps not even a GCSE exam. The real issue is that the amount of courses and spaces available are too high, meaning there are a lot of people with degrees of no practical value. I think what he is getting at is that University was reserved for professions where knowledge is of utmost importance and requires intense study, rather than nowadays where it is just another step between school and employment.
He's got a bit of a fixed attitude, as opposed to growth attitude. People say you can't teach it or that it's a mystery when they don't understand it. "Creativity" isn't a mystery, for instance, but is becoming more explainable and recreated scientifically the more it is studied. Creating a business isn't fairy dust, but a behaviour. A set of actions.
Todd Boothbee yes and no. You can study how to be a Chicago Bulls player and there are elements you can emulate (2 hours daily exercise, exact diet) and elements you can't easily (be 6'4"+, top hand/eye coordination). Same with being an excellent businessman......everyone can be taught common sense tactics, do market research; hire people with relevant technical training; not to remortgage their house to fund a business; but not so easy to develop skills like negotiating well with other businessmen; understanding consumers, spotting trends and telling when they're going to fizzle out; can you assess people and see who has potential and who'll betray or disappoint?
Successful businessmen often make their behaviour seem magical and haloed to add to their self told stories about how special, how incredibly unique they are. It's bit delusional.
I was a bit harsh, saying he was delusional. I agree he's special, since he had to discover it all on his own, it seems. And there is such a thing as talent, of course. I just object to the cop out that all there is talent when much more can be taught, but taught to the willing. Perhaps I'm warped, but I rather like the fellow. And I like the idea of bootstrapping one's business, testing out a product or service a bit at time, kind of empirical in method. Sensible.
Todd Boothbee shows like The Hotel Inspector tap into what you're saying: there's a formula. Failing hotels can be unlucky/victims of circumstance, but generally they don't look after the little things (clean hall carpets, reliably high quality meals) and/or the big things (customer service, temperature, noise).
First always remember he is a spiv he capitalises on others emotions.Talk fast speak as if you know life and it’s pros and cons blah blah blah that’s it.He plays the game well but a man of little substance or love just manipulation and feeding of people.Good luck to him it is a skill but not a positive beautiful thing
I like him but he is very wrong about A-levels. They are currently said to be harder to achieve than a degree. Also as god at maths as he may be, an A-level paper would be impossible for anyone who hasn't studied maths in the last year. GCSE anyone probably could do well but definitely not at A-Level, A-Levels involve things that you will never use in day to day life. A-levels are a mad joke tbh, very hard.
