Do you Have to be Ruthless to be Successful? 🧐🤔

Do you have to be ruthless to win? Do you have to be ruthless to be successful? Do you have to be ruthless to make money and succeed in business? Well, the answer is it depends. However, if you define ruthlessness clearly, then the answer is obvious. So I've actually been asked this question a lot recently. And I think there are a lot of people that perceive successful entrepreneurs and people in business and life and sport as people who are ruthless and cutthroat and, you know, stand on others to get to the top. Let me define ruthless. So if you look at dictionary, the definition is having or showing no pity or compassion for others. So if that's the official definition of Ruthless? Then no, you do not have to be ruthless to win in business and life. Look, if you look at sports, some of the best players are team players. If you look in business and entrepreneurship now, a lot of people are talking about compassion and kindness and empathy and vision, and fear-based leadership is something of the 1980s. It's a relic. Of the past. So let's redefine ruthless, because this is really important. I'll tell you why. Because, um, I'm naturally a people pleaser. I'm naturally someone who doesn't like conflict and who avoids conflict at all costs. Naturally, how I was raised. And a lot of people are quite similar to that, and usually those people lose. Those people don't win in business. And actually, I had to learn ruthlessness as a skill when I was an entrepreneur and as I grew as an entrepreneur, but not in the sense of no pity and no compassion, because I have a lot of pity and compassion. In fact, I should have more compassion for myself, but I definitely have a lot of empathy, and I definitely still within me have a need to please people, to be perceived as useful and valuable. And to avoid conflict. But if you avoid conflict, you do lose in business. So ruthless, no pity, no compassion for, uh, for others— that I think that will make you fail in business, actually. And it's something of the 1980s. But let's redefine ruthless. Do you need to be decisive in business? Yes, you do. Do you need to make strong and tough decisions that are going to upset some people? Yes, you do. Do you need to make other decisions that others don't have the strength and conviction and courage to make? Yes, you do. Do you have to make decisions that will have people turn on you, get upset and angry with you, criticise you publicly? Yes, you do. If you're a politician, you have to make decisions where people will ultimately die. Decision A, people die. Decision B, people die. So you need to be decisive, clear, have a vision or bigger picture, be able to make decisions that are hard, that have downside consequences where you will lose friends and you will lose staff and you will lose customers, but make decisions that grow your enterprise or your success that others aren't able to make. So you need to retrain the definition of ruthless. You know, for example, firing someone. You need to be able to fire someone in order to succeed in business. It's just a prerequisite. But whereas I used to see firing someone as hurting someone, I now see firing someone— I don't call it firing, of course— I now see letting someone go as a gift to them, because if it were right, it wouldn't need to happen. And they haven't quite got the courage to do it, but they don't want to be there because if they did want to be there, they'd do good work. So letting people go is actually a gift to them. You know, sometimes you have to let quite a few people go in the company to save the company. So, you know, there's sacrifices that need to be made. So quick summary, please hit the share button because I think too many people out there think you've got to be ruthless and cutthroat in business. And actually, I think if you're ruthless and cutthroat, you'll end up building a bad reputation, you'll screw people over you'll have a lot of comeback, you'll have a lot of enemies. You know, why do you actually— what's the point in having enemies? You can build your business empire without having enemies. So the definition of ruthless is having or showing no pity or compassion for others. So therefore, no, you must not be ruthless in business. It doesn't take being ruthless to succeed. Um, an inspirational warrior— I love that definition that someone's just put in the comments there. So you need to be decisive clear, make difficult decisions, have the courage to be disliked, stand up and take the blame, give away the praise to others, do things that challenge you, that make you feel uncomfortable, that do have downside consequences, because every upside has a downside. You have to let go to grow. The only way you truly grow is through challenge. And if that's what being ruthless is, well, then it's just a definition. So please hit the share button. I have to go, I'm actually interviewing John Fury, Tyson Fury's dad, today. So that's going to be a furious interview. I should ask him, um, should you be ruthless to be successful? Um, yeah, you know, I think you've got to be strategic. I think you've actually got to be kind, caring, and compassionate. I think you've got to have a long-term vision. I think those decisions that you know you need to make but are hard to make, you've got to make them knowing that there's a consequence of your decision. Because if you avoid the tough decisions and avoid the consequences of those decisions, then you stay comfortable. And therefore, when you're comfortable, usually you start to decay. When you're green, you grow. When you're ripe, you rot. And challenge builds resilience and grit and forward momentum. So you probably know the decisions you're putting off. You probably know the things you should be doing that you're not doing, that you think are hard, that you convince yourself are ruthless. Tough decisions as quickly as possible, as Michael has said. That's a great way to end. When you know a decision needs to be made, and when you look in the mirror, you know you're putting it off, you need to go back to that mirror, look in that mirror, and make that tough decision. Being able to make tough, hard, important decisions quickly and with confidence and volition to back yourself in that decision and not procrastinate or make it and go back and make it and go back and make it and go back. I don't think that's ruthless. I think that's decisive. So please hit the share button. We need to get this out to more people because I think that this '80s adage of winning at all costs, you know, and beating the competition and being ruthless and cutthroat, that's, you know, that's celebritized, isn't it? You know, if you watch Succession, if you watch Suits, if you watch The Founder— let me know in the comments, by the way, what your favourite entrepreneurial film or documentary is. But you watch those and it glorifies being ruthless. I actually don't think business and life is like that, at least it's not anymore. Social media can share anything you say and anything you do. You can lose your shit or be ruthless, which means no pity, no compassion, and then bang, that goes viral. So actually kindness, compassion, empathy, vision, decisiveness, strength, courage, Wisdom, foresight, speed of decision, backing yourself— these are all things that make successful people entrepreneurs, winners in business, sport, and life. Hit the share button. I gotta go. I might do a bit of livestream streaming in from the John Fury interview today, Tyson Fury's dad, so keep your eye out on my channels throughout the day. Make sure you're following me on whatever channel you're watching and hit the share button. I'll see you on the other side. And remember, if you don't risk anything, you risk everything.