Secrets of the Branded Gentry One of the criticisms I would have of our taxation system and of Britain in general, is that entrepreneurs who build businesses but then quickly sell them are regarded as heroic. It's the culture in the UK to admire the people who've done little, maybe got a bit lucky, made their quick money. One of the things about great brands is that, to the consumer, in a world that's so transient, the authenticity of the brand is everything. We're just 600 yards from where the business started in 1876. Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, President of Sainsbury's I've learnt from so many people, especially people who were successful, but I always believe the one to learn from most of all is the competition. I used to say that there's always something you can learn, however bad the retailer. Every company chairman is in a sense a performer, with the shareholders his audience. Sometimes he plays the hero and sometimes he's made the villain, but we all act the part, don't we? Sir James Dyson, Founder of the Dyson Company Everything, or almost everything, I do, fails. Almost everything an engineer or a scientist does fails because when you get success you stop. You've done it. I quite enjoy being on the edge, which is why I haven't sold up or sold shares. Most people in my position sell out because they're worried it will fail. My wealth is tied up in the business. I don't want to sell even one bit of it because I want the control. Emma Bridgewater, Founder of the ceramic company It's so hard to be objective about our own life. Sometimes you find yourself pretending it's been easy. It hasn't and it isn't. At some point, no matter who you are, you have to tread on faces and you'll need to have that in you if you're successful. For women, more so than men, it's quite hard to come to terms with that. The West has finally got to think very hard about what's going to power us in the next century. Unless we make things, we're doomed.