Top Tips

1. Employee’s First

Matt always holds his employee’s before anyone else and cares so deeply about them. This overwhelming principle was the glue that kept the company together when things went tits up and kept us all fighting for the greater cause. Knowing that your team are there for you makes such a difference.

We were always welcome in his house and to chat about our issues whenever we needed. He even did the little things like surprising me by turning up at one of my gigs to showing up at the airport when a new employee from overseas arrived.

2. Trust People and don’t Micromanage

To scale yourself successfully and operate a sound business and keep a sound mind you have to trust others to do their work.

It free’s you up to focus on delivering the core things you need to do. It empowers others to do great work knowing that they are responsible for delivering on important items.

Matt was great at finding young inexperienced individuals with an edge and getting the best out of them by giving them opportunities to grow.

3. Be your honest self

Honesty is a theme that is important in so many areas.

Want to give a good pitch?

= have all the facts to hand and just be honest and yourself.

= have all the facts to hand and just be honest and yourself. Want to be a good networker?

= Just do the hobbies you honestly enjoy and don’t put yourself in awkward business meet ups.

= Just do the hobbies you honestly enjoy and don’t put yourself in awkward business meet ups. Want to be successful employee or leader?

= Find the things you honestly enjoy and commit to doing that the best you can and don’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole to please others.

Books:

The Alchemist — Paulo Coelho

A really cute and inspiring book about following your dreams and learning about the world. Perhaps a perfect example of the Growth Mindset in a fable form. Definitely read it if you haven’t. Suitable for any age. I think I’m looking forward to reading this to my children when I have them its sooo good

Creativity Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Get in the Way of True Inspiration — Ed Catmull

From the cofounders of Pixar. An incisive book about creativity in business and leadership.

Part autobiography, part history of Pixar, part business book, Creativity Inc is an inspiring look at the role creativity plays in one of the most successful media businesses the world has ever seen

The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Ben Horowitz

The tale of starting and growing a business to a billion dollars and losing it all and getting back and then nearly losing it and then starting another billion dollar business. Basically, there is no recipe for success and it is defined by what you do when things are going wrong. Such a good read.

Sam’s Review and summary

Thinking Fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman

Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions, how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives — and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble.

Hooked — Patrick Fagan

How a marketer can pull on human traits to create more effective communication from the latest neuroscience and behavioural economics research.