I recently participated in a debate entitled “The good society: virtues for a post-recession world”. A couple of my fellow panellists emphasised the importance of promoting happiness rather than material wealth as a true measure of human progress. They believe that advances in gross domestic product are an inferior way to achieve greater wellbeing, and that a concept such as “gross national happiness” might be a better tool.

As I listened to their definitions of happiness, I realised that not many coincided with my view of what made entrepreneurs tick. I have spent decades partnering entrepreneurs, trying to understand their psychology and motivation. I find them hugely exciting to work with, because it is only thanks to their ambition and ingenuity that enterprises are started and fresh wants satisfied.

There is no stereotypical personality, but one can identify characteristics that most entrepreneurs share. At heart they are highly competitive. They do not seek security as their main goal – rather, they actively seek risk, and enjoy overcoming stressful challenges. They are not sheer gamblers, but they embrace dynamism and are willing to invest in spite of the possibility of failure – to have the chance to win.

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What motivates high achievers? Is it money, status or power? Perhaps it is none of these. Perhaps the strongest urge is simply the overwhelming desire to escape boredom.

Unquestionably, the executive suite embraces melodrama with more enthusiasm than any other activity. Making sales, hiring new staff, generating a profit are all very well – but what really excites the boardroom is corporate intrigue. After all, even in business, the key players are not robots but humans, impelled by emotions and irrational dreams of glory or revenge. Life in many ways is but a brief play, or possibly a tragedy, and most of us are acting some imagined role or another half the time anyway.

The actual stuff that makes most companies function is mundane: producing and delivering the goods every day, efficiently and at a decent margin, can be deadly dull. So the favourite form of escapism in most organisations is to conspire and manipulate with and against colleagues like the cast in some low-budget thriller. It is a tendency that is especially pronounced among the leadership class; after all, lots of them are exhibitionists with outsized egos and a thirst for the limelight.

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F Scott Fitzgerald said: “There are no second acts in American lives.” An awful lot of entrepreneurs, investors and executives must hope he was talking nonsense.

The past 18 months have seen many reputations ravaged, plenty of high-profile sackings and a lot of business failures. I am afraid that in this digital world, such blemishes are recorded for all time.

Not many of us will emerge entirely unscathed from the battering of this downturn – a great deal of mistakes of different sorts have been exposed. So we should all maintain an optimistic belief that the world is more forgiving than is commonly supposed.

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I watch with semi-detachment the energetic manoeuvrings of entrepreneurs and executives around the world of politics. Why do businessmen (and women) strive so hard to get close to ministers and political parties? Do they have public service in mind? A deep urge to be at the centre of things? Or do they think such influence can benefit their commercial interests? Perhaps they just want a knighthood or a peerage as a bauble, the next achievement in their career plan? How many have unadulterated motives?

My six years at Channel 4, a public corporation controlled by the state, have made me jaded when it comes to seeing government in action. Ministers come and go, while civil servants try their best, but the system is flawed: legislation appears to be a process of petty ritual, procrastination and compromise. Politicians seem obsessed about staying in power and keeping their seats, often to the exclusion of the noble intentions they once had. Everything takes far too long, decisions are watered down, and fear of negative publicity infects the entire circus. Meanwhile, state control too often means the malign influence of regressive trade unions, and perverse incentives.

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Optimism is the elixir that makes everything possible. It sparks confidence – and that fuels ambition, which in turn triggers action. It leads to new inventions, new companies, new jobs and a higher standard of living. Without this sense of hope in the future, life is a grim affair, a kind of regression back to the Dark Ages.

Continue reading "Accentuate the positive"

An issue that has troubled me for some time is the clash of generations under way at the top of so many organisations. It is not just the usual strife between ambitious youngsters and older incumbents waging a rearguard action to maintain their grip on power. Rather, this conflict reminds me of the battles between young and old in the 1960s over the Vietnam war, and the gulf of misunderstanding between them.

Continue reading "Generation game redefines business"

Something has been troubling me for a long, long time. I have a certain regret about the industries to which I have devoted my attention. I love fields like hospitality and the media, where I have spent much of my career. I understand how the economics work: restaurants and broadcasting can offer high margins and excellent cash flow, and providing diners and viewers with pleasure is hard to beat.

Continue reading "The genuine nobility of manufacturing"

Humour and charm are a surprisingly powerful combination as a means of ascent in life. I have met a number of entrepreneurs who have built fortunes on the back of their wit and general popularity – and not much else. They disarm us with self-deprecation, we enjoy their company – so why wouldn’t we want to do business with them? Of course, it all has to be done well; sycophancy and flat jokes do not weave the same spell.

Continue reading "Leaders who use charm to reach the top"