Podcast Notes: From dropping out to a 15. Billion turnaround: building a business empire with Tristan Ramus
“And I remember one business, it had been through quite a difficult time.
It had been bought by PE. PE hadn't done a great job with it. It had gone through three transactions in as many years.
And I remember the CEO said to me, how am I going to trust you? And it's a difficult question because you really want to turn around and say, trust me, I'm a great person. Trust me, I've got an accolade of history of doing great things.
But none of that really rubs. So I thought I'd answer it in a different way this time. I said, the only way trust builds is through continuous time and attention and the consideration of behavior.
And on the basis that behavior is consistent, trust builds. I can't give it to you in a week, I can't give it to you an hour. But if you stay and turn up, remain consistent, I will stay, turn up and remain consistent.
And I guess we will now be working together five, six, seven years, and we have a fantastic relationship.”
“What are the insights you give to a project of that kind of magnitude?
Don't leave anything to chance. Don't leave anything to hope. You can only manage what you can control.
So, again, don't beat yourself up on things that don't go well, but know the bits you can get your hands into. Make sure you understand what you're putting your hands on, and make sure you focus on what you can actually move. And I think, you know, a lot of people will sometimes struggle with that.”
“You know, things that are outside of their control. Oh, if only my boyfriend would be like this, if only my girlfriend could consider that. We can't control these things.
And it's the same in business. So understand what you've got to deal with, get the data. And the real thing about understanding the transformation of business is not the ideas that come off the table, or the strategy of a great management team.
It's actually in the execution. There are many, many good ideas. There are some phenomenal strategists.
But when it really comes down to an outcome, it's the execution that makes the difference.”
“But it kind of pushed me to the brink. And I remember going home one night and saying to Cass, saying, you know, darling, you need to go back to work.
And as good as gold, she did. And she was an IT contractor. And she started going back at a heavily discounted rate.
It was tough because she didn't want to leave young Jake behind. I then ended up being daddy daycare for a fair bit of time. And she went back to work.
And I had to reinvent myself. So that was, I looked back on it. And I look at the enthusiasm of going into the deal.
I look at the lack of knowledge I had going into it. I look at the issues I had around not having all of the component parts of the business right. So whether it be garments, whether it be FD, whether it be HR or legal.
But I learnt a lot. It would be the MBA, if I really narrated that, that would be great, great learn. It didn't go well at all.”
From Dare to Lead: A Halian Podcast: From Dropping Out to a £1.5 Billion Turnaround: Building a Business Empire with Tristan Ramus, Feb 10, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-dropping-out-to-a-%C2%A31-5-billion-turnaround/id1765284461?i=1000690725240&r=1425
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