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Winformation Weekly

My 14 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m as well as the life that goes with it.

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Simon Says

Winformation this week...

I was 11 years old when my Dad dropped me off at my new “big” school. It was 15 miles from home, as I walked into the basketball court at the front of the campus, I could see everyone gathered in groups from the primary schools they had come from. I knew no one. Maybe that’s why I spent my teens and early 20s just desperately trying to fit in. I had the same haircuts, the same shoes, the same everything as everyone else. Call it stubbornness, or a young man’s ego, but something happened in the years after. My business career couldn’t have been more different. It’s been spent “observing the masses and doing the opposite”. Below in today’s One Idea to Win in Business, I spell out the 5 most pivotal moments that my business partners and I went against the trends of almost every competitor... and what happened as a result.

They say don’t make major decisions when you’re hungry, tired or emotional. If this were true, my decision-making window would be around 10 mins a day. Taking emotion from decisions I think is bad news, and in fact studies show it’s impossible. Below, in today’s One Idea to Win in Life, we look to understand how our brains work when it comes to decision making, and how you can harness emotion to make better, quicker, more informed decisions.

One Idea to Win in Business

The 5 Pivotal Times We Ignored Advice and Did It Anyway...and What Happened as a Result.

James Caan once said observe the masses and do the opposite. Now, if the masses are heading for the fire escapes whilst the office burns down... I would usually ignore this advice. Outside of the life and death situations, however, I think there’s some truth in this; in fact, I know there is. Here are the 5 most pivotal “bucking the trend” decisions myself and my co-founder made... and what happened after. Footnote: I had to be persuaded into some of these, because believe me, at the time, they seemed almost stupid errors, people actually winced when we told them our move… but time proved something different.

1. Set up a business during a recession – And not just any recession, we set up during the deepest global recession since World War 2. I'd love to say we thought this was a genius move, but the main reason we did this? Naivety. The reason it paid off? You can’t build a successful company when the market is busy. I really believe this. You are building a house of cards. You need a lull in the market... a gap between the waves to build your boat, make sure it's watertight, ready to ride the next surge. That’s what we did... but we didn't realise this at the time.

2. Expanding our office in 2023 - We were called “mad dinosaurs” for this. Most other companies globally are shrinking offices and embracing working from home. My issue with companies that jump online and shout from the rooftops that they are halving their office for the “wellbeing of their staff” makes me so angry. It’s a cost-saving exercise, plain and simple. And here’s the thing, not everyone wants to work from home. Some people find it harms their... you guessed it, wellbeing. Offering your team an individual choice is the right thing to do.

3. Didn’t mass furlough during the pandemic - We are in a business that relies on the economy being healthy. It would have been so easy to copy ALL of our competition and mass-furlough the entire team. We furloughed probably 5% of the team, and these were people who simply couldn't work from home, single parents, etc. The idea behind this was found in the lesson we learned from setting up during a recession. The more you build, refine and perfect things during the quiet times, the better and bigger the boat you are in when the next wave comes. We doubled in size in the following 12 months as a result.

4. Hire people during lockdown - We grew our team during the lockdown. This was simply unheard of in our industry. If you know someone new takes 3-12 months to really bed into your business, why wait until the market is busy? Do this during the quiet time. It’s a simple mindset shift that produced huge results.

5. Increase in face-to-face meetings - This has been the biggest one. When the world fires up Zoom or Teams, ready for the big meeting, we are parking the car and walking in the door, shaking more hands than ever. If you drive 100 miles or stay over in a hotel visiting a client in 2016, no one bats an eyelid. If you do this in 2025, you have a client forever. They love meeting us, they can’t believe the effort that we have gone to. But doesn't it cost more? No... it requires more upfront investment. It’s never a cost if it comes back and then some.

One Idea to Win in Life

Why Your Gut Makes Better Decisions Than Your Head (and How to Train It to Win More Often)

If you’ve ever made an impulsive purchase (hello air fryer number 2!), or hired someone because you had a good feeling about them, then congrats, you're human. The truth is, emotion isn't the passenger when it comes to decision making, it's the driver. Studies show, that 90% of decisions are made with emotion first, and then logic later.

In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, psychologist Daniel Kahneman spelt this out perfectly for us mere mortals to understand. And... by understanding it, we can learn to harness our emotions to make better decisions more quickly. Some of my best ever decisions have been made in the gut... not the head!

Here’s what Daniel tells us. He explains our brains run on 2 systems.

System 1: fast, emotional, automatic (emotional)

System 2: slow, rational, deliberate (thinking logically)

Here’s the thing, all these so-called experts who advise us not to make emotional decisions don't know. System 1 calls the shots – his research shows that we humans make decisions with emotion first and then seek to justify this using logic (facts and figures) from the rational mind later.

So, now we know the truth how can we use this to make better decisions for ourselves as well as ensure we deal with our friends, family and customers the right way?

1. Trust system 1 for speed - Use your gut for quick, familiar decisions, but slow down and switch to logic when the stakes or risks are high.

2. Pre-decide with principles - Set clear rules or criteria in advance so your fast brain can make snap decisions without flying blind.

3. Limit choices to avoid overload - Cut down your options early so your brain can focus and decide faster without getting bogged down.

4. Spot when system 1 is fooling you - Watch out for moments when you feel overconfident or “just sure,” and call in logic to double-check before you commit.

5. Practice "thinking slow" in advance - Reflect on past decisions regularly so your instincts get sharper and your fast brain gets smarter over time.

Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!