Richard Reed speaks at Department of Management Public Lecture
Richard Reed, cofounder and former Co-CEO of Innocent Drinks, shares the advice given to him by 62 of the most remarkable individuals of our time.
At a LSE Department of Management public lecture on 1 November 2016, Richard presented commonalities in advice gifted to him by Bill Clinton, Jo Malone, Stephen Fry, Andy Murray and Richard Branson. To them, and other inspirational people he has met, Richard asked one question: ‘If you could tell me one thing what would it be?’
Richard, who built Innocent Drinks from a smoothie stall on a street corner to one of the biggest brands in Britain, credits his success to brilliant pieces of advice. Claiming that the right piece of advice has the potential to change lives, Richard shared the following nine tips for success:
- ‘Keep the main thing, the main thing.’ Ensure you focus all time, energy and resources on a single-minded objective.
- ‘Fake it until you make it.’ Even successful people are not completely confident in themselves. Confidence is elastic and increases by being pushed further.
- ‘Start…and then never stop’.
- ‘Keep sharpening your sword’. Talent is not the be-all and end-all to success. It’s the individuals who are continuously learning and practicing that end-up winning.
- ‘Work it’. 100% is not good enough. To really get somewhere 150% is ‘just’ good enough.
- ‘Listen to yourself’. Work out what it is that brings bliss in your life and use that insight to shape your life.
- ‘Be unreasonable’. Information and ideas should not be taken at face value. We learn and push our imagination through curiosity and questioning.
- ‘Success = (idea + people + execution) x luck, where luck is a number between 0 and 10,000’. Luck can be argued as the main element of success. Luck can come at any time, and when luck presents itself it should be recognised and embraced.
- ‘Life is a team sport’. From relationships to business, life is built around teams. The most important thing in life is people. Our quality of life is dependent on the quality of our relationships.
Richard also answered questions from the audience on various themes including entrepreneurship, shared leadership and parenting. If you want to hear more from Richard, listen to the online podcast. The full 62 pieces of advice that Richard received are outlined in his book: If I could tell you just one thing.
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Tuesday 1 November 2016