# Advice for leaders: don't try to be too big too soon

- **Episode:** [133](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/133.md) (2024-10-03)
- **Type:** interview
- **Tags:** leadership, business-advice, growth
- **Time:** 34:36–37:39 (start 2076s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/133?t=2076](https://truthliesandwork.com/133?t=2076)

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[34:36] Al Elliott: So if someone's listening and they are a leader, they've got an— they've got a business, what advice would you have for them to grow a business the way that you've grown your businesses?
[34:46] Jackie Stewart: Don't try and be too big. Don't try and involve too much too soon. Get success in a smaller level. And so polished should that success be, it attracts people when you go to see them and you let them know what you're doing and why you're doing it. You've got to have people that you can depend on. Some of the cleverest people I know are the ones that I most want to be with. If I'm going to do something, God, I'd love to go back to anybody of that caliber, um, whether it was in the days of my shooting or whether it was in the day of my motor racing. Ken Tyrrell was who I drove for, wonderful man, and he managed people really well. Yeah. Chose the very good mechanics. It's no good having a fancy racing car if you've got second-rate mechanics. You've got to have the best in whoever you're involved with. And if you are able to be with other people that are in some cases very famous, they don't like to be rushed at. They don't like to be over respected. That you, you know, if you first of all show them that you're not a sycophantic, um, you might meet them again sometime. The Princess Royal is one of the most impressive women that I know. I met her because she was the Sportswoman of the Year in the Daily Express, and I was the Sportsman of the Year with the Daily Express. And we had a big lunch that was given to us by the Daily Express in Savoy to receive this— these titles. And it just so happened that we sat with each other and the conversation got more interesting, that me asking more about her and what she did. And how she became so successful. And she was interested in driving. She's a very good driver to this very day, a very good driver. And we went to Silverstone together. I took her to Silverstone and I got her to drive racing cars. But I didn't overdo it. If you overdo it, it doesn't work. I think, again, if you hang out with the right people, people who are more successful than you are, Personally, that's always better