E172 - Adrian Gore: Building a business empire on a core purpose

Adrian Gore is a businessman, entrepreneur, founder and CEO of multi-billion dollar company Discovery Holdings with 40 million customers around the world. Discovery is the parent company of Vitality. The Vitality Programme is the world’s largest incentive-based health promotion programme designed to encourage and reward people for having good lifestyle habits with a focus on prevention and wellness instead of curative care. Discovery was names in the top 5 companies changing the world by Fortune Magazine.

Adrian talks about taking risks, achieving potential, the power of purpose and why you should avoid egotistical people. “IQ divided by ego must be much greater than one!”

This is a special bonus episode you can hear in full on our premium service High Performance Plus. Sign up (there’s a free trail) and get ad-free podcasts and exclusive bonus content - https://highperformanceplus.supercast.com. In the extended version on High Performance Plus - Adrian discusses the power that comes from setting yourself a goal for realising your full potential, something he is putting into practise by setting himself the challenge of running a 5-minute mile at 58 years old with expert guidance from Lord Sebastian Coe. 

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**Navigating the World of High Performance with Adrian Gore: A Summary**

1. **Defining High Performance:**

- High performance is characterized by meaningful impact, achievement, and a strong sense of purpose.
- It must be driven by a force for good and guided by a moral compass.

2. **The Genesis of Discovery:**

- Discovery's journey began in South Africa during the post-apartheid era, aiming to address the healthcare challenges faced by the nation.
- The breakthrough idea was to incentivize healthy behaviors, leading to the creation of Vitality, a health insurance program with a focus on prevention and wellness.

3. **The Power of Purpose:**

- A clear and compelling purpose is fundamental to the success of any business.
- Purpose attracts the best talent, provides a guiding North Star, and fosters resilience during challenging times.
- It helps maintain focus and prevents dilution of efforts.

4. **Identifying a Compelling Purpose:**

- Entrepreneurs should start with a product or service that they genuinely believe society needs.
- Embedded in that offering should be a purpose that benefits people or society.
- Building a compelling narrative around this purpose can inspire others and drive business success.

5. **The Role of Bravery and Conviction:**

- Bravery and courage stem from conviction.
- If you feel excessive risk, it may indicate a problematic situation.
- Confidence and resilience are essential for navigating risks and overcoming challenges.

6. **Attracting Exceptional People:**

- A highly convincing business proposition and purpose are key to attracting investors and talent.
- Exceptional people attract exceptional people, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of excellence.
- Maintaining high standards for talent acquisition is crucial for building a strong team.

7. **Defining Good People:**

- Good people share the same purpose and values as the organization.
- They possess high EQ and IQ, with a strong emphasis on emotional intelligence.
- Egotistical individuals should be avoided, as unchecked egos can be detrimental to the business.
- Intuition plays a role in identifying good people, especially in the early stages of a business.

8. **The Importance of a Strong Team:**

- A brilliant idea with a poor team can fail, while a mediocre idea with a brilliant team can succeed.
- Exceptional talent and leadership are crucial for driving success.

[00:00.000 -> 00:05.880] Hi there, I'm Jay Comfrey and this is High Performance, the podcast that reminds you
[00:05.880 -> 00:06.880] it's within.
[00:06.880 -> 00:09.800] Your ambition, your purpose, your story are all there.
[00:09.800 -> 00:13.520] Here in the new year, we're going to help unlock it by turning the lived experiences
[00:13.520 -> 00:17.040] of the planet's highest performers into your life lessons.
[00:17.040 -> 00:21.720] However, we do get lots of messages, myself and Professor Damien Hughes, from people who
[00:21.720 -> 00:22.760] want more.
[00:22.760 -> 00:25.880] They want more content, they want more access to high performance.
[00:25.880 -> 00:28.240] And if you would like to start 2023,
[00:28.240 -> 00:31.280] getting closer to your own version of high performance,
[00:31.280 -> 00:34.560] then you can subscribe to High Performance Plus.
[00:34.560 -> 00:37.320] For the price of just a couple of cups of coffee a month,
[00:37.320 -> 00:40.560] you will get extra episodes, you'll get bonus content,
[00:40.560 -> 00:45.000] you'll get exclusive Q&A sessions all with no adverts.
[00:45.640 -> 00:47.760] If you want to sign up for High Performance Plus,
[00:47.760 -> 00:50.040] you can just click the link in the description
[00:50.040 -> 00:54.680] to this podcast or check out the highperformancepodcast.com.
[00:54.680 -> 00:57.320] And today we're uploading for High Performance Plus
[00:57.320 -> 01:00.920] subscribers, a conversation with the incredible CEO
[01:00.920 -> 01:03.600] of the Discovery Group, Adrian Gore.
[01:03.600 -> 01:05.720] Now, if you want the full extended chats,
[01:05.720 -> 01:08.440] then you too can subscribe to High Performance Plus.
[01:08.440 -> 01:10.120] But if you can't, or you don't fancy it,
[01:10.120 -> 01:12.960] I still wanted to give you a 15 minute taster
[01:12.960 -> 01:14.720] of the conversation we had with Adrian,
[01:14.720 -> 01:16.920] because I think there is so much value for you.
[01:16.920 -> 01:19.360] He's the founder and the CEO
[01:19.360 -> 01:22.320] of a multi-billion pound turnover business,
[01:22.320 -> 01:24.800] but he's done it through putting value and behavior
[01:24.800 -> 01:27.460] at the heart of what he does. So here is a
[01:27.460 -> 01:30.740] short taster of the conversation you can hear in full right now
[01:30.800 -> 01:35.740] on high performance plus. This is the CEO and the founder of
[01:35.740 -> 01:40.080] the discovery group, Adrian Gore, on how he's built his
[01:40.080 -> 01:40.620] empire.
[01:44.700 -> 01:48.360] Well, first of all, thank you very much for joining us. Let's start as we always
[01:48.360 -> 01:52.280] do. In your mind, what represents high performance?
[01:52.280 -> 01:57.360] I think high performance is represented by, I think, real impact that changes people.
[01:57.360 -> 02:01.240] And it's something that's very, very hard to achieve. And it must be a force for good,
[02:01.240 -> 02:05.760] in my view. So, you know, off the the cuff I would say it is about impact, it
[02:05.760 -> 02:10.520] is about achievement but I think it must have a sense of purpose and morality to it.
[02:10.520 -> 02:14.760] And that actually rings true with the life that you've lived and the business that you've
[02:14.760 -> 02:21.080] created. Let's talk about Discovery, one of the most impressive businesses on the planet,
[02:21.080 -> 02:27.600] one of the most impactful businesses on the planet. You regularly named the top CEO in South Africa.
[02:27.600 -> 02:32.100] So let's talk about where this all started from because you get entrepreneurial people,
[02:32.100 -> 02:38.000] you get people that are doers and graft, but it's the big thinking that I'm interested in.
[02:38.000 -> 02:43.200] Where did this mindset of having a positive impact as well as being an elite business person come from?
[02:43.200 -> 02:47.560] Look, I think the start of discovery was decades back when Nelson Mandela was
[02:47.560 -> 02:51.560] kind of coming out of prison, the end of apartheid and the idea of starting a
[02:51.560 -> 02:55.960] health insurance company was the vision, the entrepreneurial vision.
[02:55.960 -> 02:59.960] It was from the get-go I think in our position was about doing good for
[02:59.960 -> 03:04.680] people but the breakthrough was certainly in South Africa at that time just the
[03:04.680 -> 03:05.040] huge levels of disease burden, HIV, AIDS, you know a huge amount of people that are people but the breakthrough was certainly in South Africa at that time just the huge
[03:05.040 -> 03:09.960] levels of disease burden, HIV, AIDS, a huge amount of people that are sick and too few
[03:09.960 -> 03:10.960] doctors.
[03:10.960 -> 03:15.920] So, the problem statement was how do you build a sustainable health insurance company in
[03:15.920 -> 03:19.560] that kind of environment and our breakthrough was the simple idea of could we make people
[03:19.560 -> 03:30.000] healthier, could we incentivize people to do healthy things? And that was the start of vitality, which was the concept of, in a sense, just creating
[03:30.000 -> 03:32.840] incentives for all kinds of things to live in a healthy way.
[03:32.840 -> 03:37.200] What happened to us, I guess, is that the world, you know, kind of technology, the understanding
[03:37.200 -> 03:42.480] in our industry that a lot of risk is behavioral, you know, you make choices, and the power
[03:42.480 -> 03:47.680] of purpose, that kind of gave the model global relevance and we've kind of really escalated across the world.
[03:47.680 -> 03:52.560] In the UK, vitality is for us a very important part of our business.
[03:52.560 -> 03:58.000] So it came out of really trying to solve a narrow problem of funding healthcare in a
[03:58.000 -> 04:00.260] very complex environment.
[04:00.260 -> 04:05.520] I think most great businesses do come out of solving difficult issues, often in hostile
[04:05.520 -> 04:07.200] complex environments.
[04:07.200 -> 04:12.600] But I would say to you, I'd just add also, I think what has made the business very successful
[04:12.600 -> 04:17.320] is it's been based on the concept of a simple purpose, make people healthier.
[04:17.320 -> 04:21.800] So while it's a complex technology actuarial business, it's got a very simple purpose,
[04:21.800 -> 04:23.760] make people healthier and a set of values.
[04:23.760 -> 04:29.680] And I think in our industry what's fantastic is when people are healthier we are more profitable.
[04:29.680 -> 04:30.680] So there's no dissonance.
[04:30.680 -> 04:35.080] In other words, if we do well for our customers, they do well for us.
[04:35.080 -> 04:39.960] And so we've had this amazing shared value mindset of just there's no downside.
[04:39.960 -> 04:41.480] The better we do, the better they do.
[04:41.480 -> 04:44.120] We're all totally and completely aligned.
[04:44.120 -> 04:46.440] The business has just rolled, you know,
[04:46.440 -> 04:48.560] and it's been the most wonderful,
[04:48.560 -> 04:50.040] wonderful journey for us, I think.
[04:50.040 -> 04:52.600] And just over time, we now have 40 million customers
[04:52.600 -> 04:55.440] across the world, and we have the real potential.
[04:55.440 -> 04:57.560] I think we are reshaping financial services
[04:57.560 -> 04:59.680] into this idea of shared value.
[04:59.680 -> 05:00.520] It's been hard work,
[05:00.520 -> 05:02.800] but it's been an easy journey, ironically.
[05:02.800 -> 05:06.160] So Adrian, can I ask you
[05:04.000 -> 05:07.920] around this message around about the
[05:06.160 -> 05:10.000] power of purpose
[05:07.920 -> 05:12.000] because we read about it a lot you know
[05:10.000 -> 05:12.800] like the Jim Collins the good to great
[05:12.000 -> 05:15.360] of having
[05:12.800 -> 05:16.720] this eternal core and the strategy will
[05:15.360 -> 05:18.320] change regularly
[05:16.720 -> 05:20.880] but I'm interested in speaking to
[05:18.320 -> 05:23.040] somebody that can tell us about
[05:20.880 -> 05:24.240] why purpose is so powerful and how it
[05:23.040 -> 05:26.800] influences
[05:24.240 -> 05:26.160] your day-to-day decision making
[05:26.160 -> 05:28.960] and pretty much everything around your business.
[05:28.960 -> 05:32.960] Would you just go into a little bit more detail about that for us?
[05:32.960 -> 05:35.560] First I think purpose should come first before the business in a way.
[05:35.560 -> 05:38.120] So if you're trying to retrofit a purpose on it's not really authentic.
[05:38.120 -> 05:42.000] I think if the purpose shapes the business then you've got something authentic that you're
[05:42.000 -> 05:43.000] building.
[05:43.000 -> 05:44.000] In other words it's your North Star.
[05:44.000 -> 05:45.960] The other point is that purpose is fundamental,
[05:45.960 -> 05:48.120] I think, in motivating the best people.
[05:48.120 -> 05:49.080] You attract great people
[05:49.080 -> 05:50.640] when they see a purpose of nobility.
[05:50.640 -> 05:52.720] I don't think people are attracted to a business
[05:52.720 -> 05:54.320] just trying to make money or a quick buck.
[05:54.320 -> 05:56.120] I think people, especially today,
[05:56.120 -> 05:58.960] where you're dealing with ambiguity, complexity,
[05:58.960 -> 06:00.800] highly skilled data science people,
[06:00.800 -> 06:02.640] clinical people, et cetera,
[06:02.640 -> 06:03.840] people like that want to see,
[06:03.840 -> 06:09.000] I think all people want to see purpose in something that has a positive impact on society. So to an extent,
[06:09.000 -> 06:12.560] I think purpose allows you to attract the best people, it gives you a north star, it
[06:12.560 -> 06:17.520] lets you ride the very difficult times with a sense of confidence. I mean, what's the
[06:17.520 -> 06:22.920] counterfactual? No purpose and a focus on just profitability? I don't think it's
[06:22.920 -> 06:28.640] durable. So we were I think lucky starting out with that purpose as a necessity and it just became, you know,
[06:28.640 -> 06:32.680] we were kind of purpose and values based rather than rules based, you know, and it
[06:32.680 -> 06:36.760] just kind of perpetuated. So can you give us a specific example, say when you've
[06:36.760 -> 06:43.460] been sat around a board table and the purpose has helped you decide a business
[06:43.460 -> 06:47.280] decision that you might not invest in or a direction
[06:47.280 -> 06:53.760] that you might not travel, how that sense of that original purpose has determined your
[06:53.760 -> 06:54.760] strategy.
[06:54.760 -> 06:56.040] Could you give us a specific example?
[06:56.040 -> 07:01.000] Well, I think in the business context, we have expanded the model by continuously drawing
[07:01.000 -> 07:02.000] back on the purpose.
[07:02.000 -> 07:05.600] You know, so we took it from health into life insurance
[07:05.600 -> 07:07.680] into banking now that if we help people
[07:07.680 -> 07:08.920] manage their money better,
[07:08.920 -> 07:10.200] it's better for them and better for us.
[07:10.200 -> 07:11.760] So the shared value purpose,
[07:11.760 -> 07:14.400] it's financial health, but it's the same idea.
[07:14.400 -> 07:17.000] And then we've kind of migrated it
[07:17.000 -> 07:19.360] to doing good for society.
[07:19.360 -> 07:21.800] So we are, for example, in the South African context,
[07:21.800 -> 07:24.200] we have a problem of, it sounds bizarre,
[07:24.200 -> 07:27.800] terrible potholes in the roads, which create fatalities.
[07:27.800 -> 07:30.800] So we invest a lot of money on fixing potholes, bizarrely.
[07:30.800 -> 07:34.560] It wasn't a business endeavor, but we said this is our purpose.
[07:34.560 -> 07:39.920] In the rollout of the vaccine during COVID, we vaccinated a couple million people.
[07:39.920 -> 07:42.360] We were central to the response with government.
[07:42.360 -> 07:47.500] So all of us in the boardroom, the narrative was about does this fit into our concept of
[07:47.500 -> 07:51.540] make people healthier, you know, and we just rolled on that purpose.
[07:51.540 -> 07:54.780] So it's a fundamental filter around what we do.
[07:54.780 -> 07:59.900] And the concept of vitality is now in health, it's in banking, vitality, money, it's in
[07:59.900 -> 08:02.440] how you drive, you know, drive safer.
[08:02.440 -> 08:08.800] I think the irony of purpose is while the organization has got more complex and more diverse over time, the actual
[08:08.800 -> 08:12.720] architecture of using the shared value vitality structure has got more and more
[08:12.720 -> 08:16.320] disciplined. We become more focused not less and I think that is the power of
[08:16.320 -> 08:20.000] purpose. You don't lose focus, you don't become spread out and kind of you know
[08:20.000 -> 08:24.280] diluted. So if there was any young entrepreneurs listening to this then
[08:24.280 -> 08:28.360] that might be wanting to go on a similar journey to you, can you give us some
[08:28.360 -> 08:33.500] insights as to how they could go about identifying that really compelling sense
[08:33.500 -> 08:39.040] of purpose that you did back in the early 90s? Well I think that if you,
[08:39.040 -> 08:42.800] listen this is my view, but I think that if you are sitting out of business as an
[08:42.800 -> 08:47.680] entrepreneur I think you have to have a product or a service you truly believe society wants.
[08:47.680 -> 08:51.680] I think you have to have something that you believe you can sell.
[08:51.680 -> 08:57.040] And my sense is embedded in that product or service should be a purpose that helps people
[08:57.040 -> 08:58.040] or helps society.
[08:58.040 -> 09:02.760] If you have that, I think around that you can build a narrative that is inspiring and
[09:02.760 -> 09:04.440] you can build a business.
[09:04.440 -> 09:05.440] But that's not sufficient. I. But that's not sufficient.
[09:05.440 -> 09:06.720] I mean, that's not sufficient.
[09:06.720 -> 09:12.760] There's a sense of drive and urgency and driving for achievement and innovation and that's
[09:12.760 -> 09:13.760] needed.
[09:13.760 -> 09:14.760] It's not enough.
[09:14.760 -> 09:20.120] But it's the fundamental start and it's an incredibly perpetuating multiplicative effect
[09:20.120 -> 09:21.120] having a strong purpose.
[09:21.120 -> 09:28.880] Whether you're running a sports team, you're running a business, you're running a country, it is fundamental. I do have to say, so I'm digressing a bit,
[09:28.880 -> 09:34.080] but I think the issue of framing a vision and a goal in any way is a fundamental purpose of
[09:34.080 -> 09:39.440] leadership. And I think a business without that frame, without that purpose, it's aimless.
[09:39.920 -> 09:44.560] So to me, it's a sine qua non. It's hard to start without that, I think.
[09:43.000 -> 09:45.600] So to me, it's kind of a, it's a sine qua non. It's hard to start without that, I think.
[09:45.600 -> 09:48.640] And this is a really interesting area for us to focus on,
[09:48.640 -> 09:51.560] because we're talking about, you know,
[09:51.560 -> 09:54.960] your own personal wealth has been talked about
[09:54.960 -> 09:56.720] and written about up in the hundreds of millions.
[09:56.720 -> 09:57.880] We're talking about a business
[09:57.880 -> 09:59.320] that's turned over billions of pounds
[09:59.320 -> 10:01.600] over the last few years.
[10:01.600 -> 10:02.880] So for it all to come from purpose,
[10:02.880 -> 10:04.120] I think is a really good message
[10:04.120 -> 10:06.680] for many, many entrepreneurs that listen to this podcast.
[10:06.680 -> 10:09.020] But I want to go right back to that very start
[10:09.020 -> 10:13.200] where you had this vision, you had this idea,
[10:13.200 -> 10:15.280] but what you were planning on doing
[10:15.280 -> 10:16.520] was something totally different
[10:16.520 -> 10:18.520] to every other insurance business, right?
[10:18.520 -> 10:20.220] So I want to talk about bravery now.
[10:20.220 -> 10:21.460] You've got the vision.
[10:21.460 -> 10:23.360] Where does the bravery come from
[10:23.360 -> 10:25.000] to almost swim against the tide
[10:25.000 -> 10:26.000] when everyone is saying,
[10:26.000 -> 10:28.100] Adrian, this is not going to work.
[10:28.100 -> 10:29.400] Look at what everyone else does.
[10:29.400 -> 10:31.200] And they are, by the way, successful businesses
[10:31.200 -> 10:32.700] that are doing it in this way.
[10:33.600 -> 10:36.000] Where did the courage of your convictions come from
[10:36.000 -> 10:38.400] to believe and then walk in the direction
[10:38.400 -> 10:40.200] that you thought you should?
[10:40.200 -> 10:43.300] I think you're being generous with courage, maybe.
[10:43.300 -> 10:48.960] My sense is that bravery and courage comes from conviction. I think if you
[10:48.960 -> 10:51.760] feel you need bravery and you're taking risk, you're probably doing the wrong thing.
[10:51.760 -> 10:54.880] I know there's risk inherent in what you're doing. I'm just saying if you're
[10:54.880 -> 10:58.440] feeling that it's risky, that's problematic. So I probably took a massive
[10:58.440 -> 11:02.560] risk, I just don't remember it. You know, our business has metamorphosized over
[11:02.560 -> 11:08.800] time. It's been the purpose that has given us that guideline. It's never been a, you know, we've just built a bank in our home
[11:08.800 -> 11:12.320] market here. I mean, that was probably the biggest thing we've done. It had a considerable
[11:12.320 -> 11:16.880] amount of risk. I don't remember feeling the risk, you know. So I'm not sure it's the right
[11:16.880 -> 11:21.560] guideline, but if you're feeling risk, you shouldn't be taking it. If you're not feeling
[11:21.560 -> 11:25.360] it, you probably are at risk, but that's conviction maybe, you know.
[11:25.360 -> 11:30.580] You see, I've always thought that in business, like a certain element of risk is where the
[11:30.580 -> 11:36.240] rewards might lie. Like if you don't take a modicum of risk, can you really have an
[11:36.240 -> 11:38.320] impact? Isn't everything kind of risky?
[11:38.320 -> 11:42.880] No, you're totally right. I guess I'm making the point of the paradox that if you're feeling
[11:42.880 -> 11:47.780] the risk, that's problematic. So there's a risk, but I'm not convinced that you should be feeling at risk all the time.
[11:47.780 -> 11:50.300] I think that the issue is you should have a sense of confidence.
[11:50.300 -> 11:54.460] And I think if you don't have that confidence, that resilience, there's going to be failure
[11:54.460 -> 11:55.460] all the way.
[11:55.460 -> 11:56.820] You're going to hit bumps in the road.
[11:56.820 -> 11:59.020] Unless you have this sense, I'll roll over it.
[11:59.020 -> 12:00.740] I'll find my way through it.
[12:00.740 -> 12:06.400] You know, it's that ability to kind of be realistic about risk, but also resilience to deal with it. So
[12:06.400 -> 12:09.880] I'm being long winded, but I think you're taking risk, but
[12:09.880 -> 12:10.920] you shouldn't be feeling it.
[12:11.480 -> 12:13.960] And we will talk about failure in detail in a moment, because
[12:13.960 -> 12:16.000] it's one of the hot topics for us on high performance. But
[12:16.000 -> 12:18.080] before we get to the point where you need the failure, you have
[12:18.080 -> 12:21.880] to set the business up to allow yourself to fail. So there you
[12:21.880 -> 12:26.400] are, no money, no business plan, yet you managed to bring
[12:26.400 -> 12:30.080] people on the journey and you managed to get people to invest to allow you to create this
[12:30.080 -> 12:35.440] business. So would you mind sharing with our listeners the secret to bringing people on
[12:35.440 -> 12:38.840] the journey with you and getting them to buy into your vision?
[12:38.840 -> 12:43.120] I think that your business proposition and purpose needs to be highly convincing. You
[12:43.120 -> 12:46.560] know, that's the first to get shareholders to invest money and then to get people to
[12:46.560 -> 12:47.560] come on board.
[12:47.560 -> 12:51.280] The other point I would make is I keep relearning the power of people.
[12:51.280 -> 12:54.420] If you have exceptional people, they attract exceptional people.
[12:54.420 -> 12:58.520] If you start with poor quality people, I don't mean that to mean derogatory, I'm saying if
[12:58.520 -> 13:02.720] you start with people that aren't up to the task, that is a self-perpetuating prophecy.
[13:02.720 -> 13:07.280] On the other hand, if you start with exceptional people, for some reason it starts to roll.
[13:07.280 -> 13:11.960] So I had this mindset at the get-go that I will be small, we're going to be the smartest
[13:11.960 -> 13:16.240] team there is, we're going to get the best people.
[13:16.240 -> 13:20.280] All of the first team that joined me were all exceptional, I had hard work to convince
[13:20.280 -> 13:25.200] them, but once they started to roll, your ability to get good people follows.
[13:25.200 -> 13:30.160] And I think our team today, which is 15,000 people across the world, it's exceptional.
[13:30.160 -> 13:31.280] Because we've never dropped the standards.
[13:31.280 -> 13:34.680] We've been completely obsessed with absolutely exceptional people.
[13:34.680 -> 13:39.360] So I think that the convincing is hard at the start, but if you get going with the right
[13:39.360 -> 13:41.960] purpose and right people, it perpetuates.
[13:41.960 -> 13:43.200] But I come back to values as well.
[13:43.200 -> 13:49.200] I think that people are, certainly exceptional people people are attracted to to impact a life of impact
[13:49.200 -> 13:53.040] and a business of impact you know and this kind of cognitive error people make
[13:53.040 -> 13:56.920] that you think people will be excited by shareholders making money and their hard
[13:56.920 -> 14:00.280] work I don't think that's true I think they want to hear this business is
[14:00.280 -> 14:04.760] making a difference you know so it's it's it's a simple formula not easy to
[14:04.760 -> 14:09.240] achieve but I think it's entirely doable. So tell us about good people then what's
[14:09.240 -> 14:13.400] your definition? I think firstly it is it is about a values fit you know I think
[14:13.400 -> 14:16.800] that you need people that share the same purpose and same values you can have
[14:16.800 -> 14:21.160] the smartest people if they have a values misfit that could be extremely
[14:21.160 -> 14:24.920] dangerous in the business so my view is is kind of culture and values I don't
[14:24.920 -> 14:26.280] mean culture nationally.
[14:26.280 -> 14:29.040] I'm saying a sense of what you're trying to achieve.
[14:29.040 -> 14:34.680] I do believe this ratio of EQ over IQ should be very carefully managed and I think you
[14:34.680 -> 14:36.880] should avoid egotistical people.
[14:36.880 -> 14:41.360] IQ divided by ego must be much greater than one.
[14:41.360 -> 14:43.840] Your IQ must be much bigger than your ego.
[14:43.840 -> 14:46.880] Ego unchecked is problematic. But I'm
[14:46.880 -> 14:52.400] a junkie for real talent. I don't mean just education. We hire incredibly smart people.
[14:52.400 -> 14:56.600] But I'm saying looking into proper EQ, IQ, education, I think you need to look at that
[14:56.600 -> 15:02.920] stuff carefully. So there is a sense that there is a hunch I think people have when
[15:02.920 -> 15:09.920] you're starting a business of good people. You need to trust that intuition about who you're getting in the early days. As I
[15:09.920 -> 15:13.040] said, keep relearning, you can have the most brilliant idea with a poor team and a poor
[15:13.040 -> 15:17.120] leadership team, they mess it up. And a poor idea of brilliant people, somehow they take
[15:17.120 -> 15:23.240] it and they do amazing stuff with it.
[15:23.240 -> 15:27.040] So that was just a short little taster of what you can expect from Adrian. If you want
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[15:50.720 -> 15:53.240] Thank you so much for listening to, for growing,
[15:53.240 -> 15:56.240] and for sharing this podcast among your community.
[15:56.240 -> 15:59.040] In 2023, let's work together
[15:59.040 -> 16:01.160] to make a real difference for everyone
[16:01.160 -> 16:03.280] and get more people than ever before
[16:03.280 -> 16:06.640] closer to their own version of high performance.
[16:21.910 -> 16:23.230] Bye!