Pret & Itsu Founder: How I Built TWO Billion Dollar Brands At The Same Time!: Julian Metcalfe

Aug 29, 2022 1h 19m 14 insights
Julian Metcalfe, founder of Pret A Manger and Itsu, discusses building businesses on transparency, trust, and a deep passion for product and people. He shares insights on leadership, embracing failure, and how childhood experiences shaped his unique approach to entrepreneurship and culture.
Actionable Insights

1. Embrace Transparency in Business

Be open and honest with colleagues, teammates, and employees by sharing information and truth. This builds trust and is crucial for long-term success, as opposed to self-serving secrecy.

2. Prioritize Relationships Over Numbers

Focus on building strong relationships with customers, staff, and the product itself, as the numbers will naturally follow. Avoid getting overly fixated on short-term profits at the expense of long-term trust and loyalty.

3. Challenge Conventional Wisdom

Be willing to ‘swim upstream’ and go against the crowd when you believe something isn’t right, even if it takes guts and bravery. This approach can lead to innovative and successful outcomes.

4. Embrace Failure as a Journey

View failure as a natural and valuable part of the process, rather than something to fear. It is a continuous journey of learning and improvement that you should simply ‘get on with’.

5. Hire Talent Better Than Yourself

Have the courage to hire people who are more skilled and talented than you, and be prepared to listen to them until it hurts. This fosters growth and innovation within your team.

6. Empower Employees with Trust

Give employees significant responsibility and trust, such as allowing them to vote on new hires. This empowers them, builds pride, and fosters a positive and productive company culture.

7. Adopt a Long-Term View

Think with a very long-term perspective, such as a 30-year view, in business decisions rather than focusing on short-term gains. This helps avoid destructive, short-sighted actions often driven by overly ambitious individuals.

8. Nurture and Develop Your Team

Actively nurture and develop the confidence and strength of your team members, rather than putting them through a ‘meat grinder.’ People thrive when given opportunity and support, leading to better performance.

9. Be Resourceful and Determined

To create something new and offer the best product or service, be unbelievably resourceful and determined. This involves working with geniuses, having the best equipment, and creating what you need rather than just ordering it.

10. Act on Evidence, Not Just Hard Work

Understand that success isn’t just about hard work; it’s about making changes, getting better, and seeing real proof of improvement in your product, service, and relationships. Focus your effort effectively to achieve tangible results.

11. Give Generously to Customers

Encourage staff to give away products or services to customers, especially regulars or those who seem to need it. This builds long-term loyalty and goodwill, even if it’s hard to quantify immediately.

12. Respond to Customer Feedback Immediately

Prioritize answering customer inquiries and feedback promptly, ideally before the day ends. This demonstrates care and respect for your customers and builds strong relationships.

13. Dare to Take Risks

Encourage yourself and others to dare to take huge risks, especially when you feel something is right in your heart. You are capable of more than you think, so ‘just go for it’.

14. Accept Your Inadequacies

Acknowledge and accept your inadequacies rather than trying to hide them. Understanding them is the first step to thriving despite or even because of them.