Handy business tips from Terra Firma’s top Guy
GUY HANDS gave his first speech in London for five years at the Institute of Directors yesterday, as part of Private Equity International’s Operating Partners Forum. In case you missed it, here are our four gems of wisdom – inspired by the financier’s latest musings.
1. Don’t bother changing your suits
“Over the last five years what’s changed? Well, the good news for me is I’m still wearing the same suit I used to wear at Goldman Sachs, so the clothes haven’t changed, at least for me.”
2. Don’t bother with those long commutes
“It took me almost two hours from Sevenoaks to get here so the infrastructure seems to be getting slower. That’s why I really like living in Guernsey, it’s difficult to spend two hours traveling anywhere.”
3. Fire at will
“I’ve got a reputation out there for firing managers. People say, ‘you really don’t care,’ and I say, ‘no, I care enormously about management’. It’s about getting it right.”
4. Name your assets after animals
“At one stage we had 8,500 pubs. What we talked about was cats and dogs. Dogs were the managers and cats were the pubs. Why? Cats tend to be very loyal to their location and dogs tend to go with their owners.”