Travis Perkins chief executive Geoff Cooper says it is important to get people to work in harmony, competing with other companies and not each other.
Geoff appeared on The Bottom Line which is broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 4 and 大象传媒 World Service. Subscribe to the podcast or watch it on the 大象传媒 News Channel.
Find more business wisdom from other chief executives on the My Bottom Line website.
Harriet Green, chief executive of electronics distributors Premier Farnell, says you need an innovative strategy to get you to where you want to be.
Harriet appeared on The Bottom Line which is broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 4 and 大象传媒 World Service. Subscribe to the podcast or watch it on the 大象传媒 News Channel.
Find more business wisdom from other chief executives on the My Bottom Line website.
Telecoms tycoon Sir Terry Matthews recommends working with highly-motivated graduates who have a keen work ethic.
Sir Terry appeared on The Bottom Line which is broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 4 and 大象传媒 World Service. Subscribe to the podcast or watch it on the 大象传媒 News Channel.
Find more business wisdom from other chief executives on the My Bottom Line website.
Paul Moody is chief executive of soft drinks company Britvic.
Establish the ultimate goal of your business and explain it clearly to your staff, is his advice.
He says that it is important for all members of staff to know the wider plan for the company as well as where they fit in to it on a local level.
Roeland Vos is President of Starwood Hotels.
He puts great emphasis on keeping his staff happy.
His philosophy is: happy staff lead to happy customers which lead to a happy bottom line!
William Chase is the founder of Chase Distillery and Tyrrells Potato Chips.
He argues that you must love what you do, be hungry for success, and be prepared to learn from your mistakes.
David Haines is CEO of Grohe AG, a German bathroom fittings company.
He recommends visualising your business goal and implementing small steps to achieve it.
Rupert Soames is CEO of Aggreko, the world's largest temporary power company.
He says that in business you have to focus on the process as much as the end result.
It is vital to look after the teams inside your business, as they will then look after your customers, says Ian Cheshire, the chief executive of Kingfisher plc.
Rita Clifton is chairman of Interbrand.
She recommends learning how to read a balance sheet, as it is vital for anyone who wants to progress to understand the language of the boardroom - finance.
Michael Rake is the chairman of BT Group and Easyjet.
He says the people and working culture within an organisation are much more important than a company's formal structure.
Dominic Taylor is the chief executive of PayPoint.
He says that successful businesses must constantly innovate in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Vineet Nayar is the chief executive of HCL Technologies.
He says a successful company should demonstrate that the management team is as accountable to other employees as junior staff are to their bosses.
Richard Fenning is the chief executive of security consultancy Control Risks.
He says the ability to create a genuinely global culture throughout a multinational company can deliver a substantial competitive advantage - but warns that it is not an easy thing to deliver.
John Hitchcox, chairman and co-founder of the international design and property development company Yoo, says getting wrong is more important than procrastinating.
Entrepreneur and business investor Deborah Meaden appears regularly on Dragon's Den. She says businesses should never lose sight of what made them successful in the first place.
