19th July 2026
Courage Is Becoming a Rare Commodity
This week I want to begin by sending my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe.
I was deeply saddened by the news of her death. It affected me more than many people might realise because I experienced first-hand her generosity and kindness.
When I stood as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Chippenham, I was a newcomer to politics. Anyone who has fought an election knows how difficult it is to persuade senior political figures to give up their time and support a first-time candidate. Ann didn’t hesitate. She came to speak to my constituents and gave me encouragement when I needed it most.
I shall always be grateful for that.
Everything Ann stood for resonated with me. She was direct, plain speaking and utterly uncompromising in her beliefs. You didn’t have to agree with everything she said to admire her courage.
What saddens me most is not simply the loss of Ann, but what her death says about the times we are living in.
We seem to have reached a point where expressing a different opinion can make you a target. Whether or not people agreed with her politics is almost beside the point. A healthy democracy depends on people being free to express different views without fear.
That principle is just as important in business.
Every successful entrepreneur starts out as an outsider. We challenge convention. We see opportunities where others see problems. We often hear “that will never work” before proving that it can.
Progress has always depended on people who were prepared to stand apart from the crowd.
Without them, society stagnates.
Watching My Son Become a Husband
On a much happier note, this week I attended my son Alexander’s wedding.
As a father, it was one of those moments that makes you stop and reflect.
Parents spend so much time seeing their children through the lens of family that we rarely witness them in their own world.
Watching Alexander surrounded by lifelong friends was genuinely moving.
There was so much warmth, affection and loyalty between them.
It reminded me that success isn’t measured simply by the size of your bank account or the business you’ve built.
It’s measured by the quality of the relationships you’ve built throughout your life.
Friendship is one of life’s greatest investments.
Unlike money, its value only increases with time.
Money Isn’t the Biggest Barrier
This week the Government announced plans to guarantee billions of pounds of lending to small and medium-sized businesses.
Any initiative that helps businesses access finance is welcome.
But after more than twenty-five years as an entrepreneur, I’ve come to one conclusion.
Money is rarely the biggest obstacle.
Courage is.
Banks naturally back certainty.
Entrepreneurs thrive on uncertainty.
Real entrepreneurs don’t fit neatly into spreadsheets because they’re trying to build something that doesn’t yet exist.
If Britain genuinely wants growth, we need to become much better at backing people with imagination, determination and courage—not simply those who tick every conventional box.
Are We Investing in Yesterday?
That brings me to HS2.
When the project was conceived decades ago, the ambition was clear: get people from London to the North more quickly.
Back then it probably made perfect sense.
But the world has moved on.
Artificial intelligence is transforming transport at breathtaking speed.
Driverless cars and autonomous coaches are no longer science fiction.
They’re becoming reality.
If, within the next decade, I can step outside my front door and summon a driverless vehicle that takes me directly to my destination, why would I travel to a railway station, wait for a train and then organise transport at the other end?
Sometimes the bravest decision isn’t pressing on with an old idea.
It’s recognising that technology has changed the game.
Leadership requires the courage to rethink old assumptions.
The AI Revolution
I’ve spoken many times in this blog about artificial intelligence.
Not because it’s fashionable.
But because I genuinely believe it will transform every aspect of our lives.
What fascinates me most is not the technology itself.
It’s how people react to it.
Most people prefer familiarity over change.
Even when change offers enormous opportunity.
History has shown us that societies don’t stand still.
They either embrace innovation or they get left behind.
I fear Britain still hasn’t fully grasped the scale of the tsunami heading towards us.
Those who prepare will thrive.
Those who ignore it risk being swept away.
Stepping Back
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks recovering from my fractured knee after my fall.
Ironically, being forced away from the business has been one of the most valuable management lessons I’ve had for years.
The business has continued to perform.
Perhaps even better than when I’m constantly involved.
Every founder should aspire to build a business that doesn’t depend entirely upon them.
That’s the difference between owning a job and building an organisation.
Stepping back has also given me time to focus on improving the back end of the business.
And once again, AI has become one of my greatest allies.
Has AI Changed the Value of Education?
One final thought.
For generations we’ve been told that education is the route to success.
Education.
Education.
Education.
For many people, that’s absolutely true.
The world will always need brilliant doctors, scientists, lawyers and engineers.
But what about the rest of us?
I left school without qualifications because traditional education simply wasn’t built for someone with dyslexia.
For years I relied upon secretaries, copywriters and assistants to help translate the ideas in my head into something others could understand.
Today, AI does much of that for me.
It helps organise my thoughts.
It helps me communicate more effectively.
It allows creativity to compete with academic ability in a way that simply wasn’t possible twenty years ago.
For the first time in history, people who aren’t naturally academic have access to tools that allow their imagination to flourish.
That excites me enormously.
So my advice to young people would be this.
If academia is your strength, pursue it with everything you’ve got.
But if it isn’t…
Don’t think you’ve failed.
Develop your creativity.
Nurture your ideas.
Learn how to use AI as your partner.
Because the future belongs not simply to those who know the answers, but to those who can imagine better questions.
Closing Reflection
Looking back over this week, I realised that every experience pointed me towards the same conclusion.
Whether I was reflecting on Ann Widdecombe’s courage, watching my son begin a new chapter of his life, thinking about government policy, questioning old infrastructure projects, embracing AI or watching my own business succeed without me…
The lesson was the same.
The future belongs to people who have the courage to think differently.
The crowd will nearly always tell you to stay where you are.
History rewards those prepared to take a different path.
As entrepreneurs, that’s our job.
To challenge.
To innovate.
To build.
And above all, to have the courage to believe that tomorrow can be better than today.
Onwards.
