In the foreword to Grit, Rigour & Humour, his book about the INEOS success story, Sir Jim Ratcliffe cuts to the heart of what has made him one of Britain’s richest men.
It relates to an adventure with friends in the remote Kimberley region of northern Australia four years ago, when Ratcliffe’s helicopter stopped off at a refuelling station in the middle of nowhere and he spotted a message on a whiteboard to any pilot passing through. ‘Don’t do dumb s***.’
It was a refreshingly simple piece of advice and one that appealed to Ratcliffe’s business approach.