AO Founder John Roberts shares life lessons

LANCASHIRE, UK. September 24th, 2024 - The Founder and CEO of online electrical retailer, AO, has shared his life lessons and pragmatic views during a recent meeting with professional interviewer, Linda Walmsley. 

John Roberts, from Bolton is an entrepreneur, businessman, investor and passionate philanthropist. He founded AO in a tiny room in 2000 and has since developed it into a FTSE 250 organisation with 3,000 employees. 

Linda Walmsley of executive recruiters, Walmsley Wilkinson said: “I was delighted when John agreed to participate in a series of interviews, we have been undertaking entitled Inspiring Leaders. I’ve had the privilege of meeting with a number of the UK’s leading CEOs, but John’s insights and attitudes really resonated with me. He is a big believer in work ethic, treating everyone with respect and is always looking to learn from others."

AO’s chief executive admits that he wasn’t very good at school and although he has never been tested, believes that he is probably dyslexic; he still finds reading difficult to this day. He started displaying his entrepreneurial tendencies whilst at school; by selling anything he felt he could make a profit on, including misshapen gingerbread men. He wasn’t destined for university, but he loved the world of work. He started out at a local hotel and says that he still applies in business today what he learnt within that environment, particularly how to think about customers.

Describing this experience, John Roberts says: ”The concept of a tip in Bolton is very different to that in the USA. People in the UK don’t feel an obligation to leave a tip, and they certainly didn’t then. You have to inspire somebody to tip you. People think they are coming out for a meal but they’re not; it’s a night out or an experience. 90% of the job is actually just turning up, looking smart, having a clean uniform on and putting a smile on your face.

"It's incredible to me how many people don’t get past that hurdle. They’re late, or their scruffy, not smiling, their uniform is dirty, and they don’t take pride in step one. Step two, is just to be really nice, thoughtful and engaging. Being just in on time is being late. Being on time is being early and being ready to go from minute one. Stay until the job is done. Little simple stuff. 

"I’ve just always had an incredible work ethic because I enjoyed working, whatever the job. We talk about that in AO, namely being a high performance culture. We have people here that enjoy working hard and I want you to work hard. Others look at you like you’re some kind of draconian Lancashire mill owner, but I think working hard is more fun, you get much more out of it.”

John Roberts has no doubt inspired many people during his career, but he enjoys being inspired by others. He’s almost obsessive about personal development and learning what to do and importantly what not to do by observing others and asking questions. When he was looking at leading AO World’s listing on the London Stock Exchange, he was in unfamiliar territory and needed greater knowledge. 

He says: "What I knew was that I was playing a game that I didn’t understand against people who did. Be they Bankers or Advisors who not only knew the rules, but they also probably invented them and played them every day. I felt at a distinct disadvantage because I didn’t know what I didn’t know and only had one chance to find out before it was too late. I call this conscious incompetence, so I wrote a list of all the companies that had done an IPO from 2008 – 2014 and basically, I wrote to them saying “look, I’m a lad from Bolton that sells washing machines and I know I’m going to get screwed but I don’t know how or when, would you mind giving me an hour to share some of your experiences on the journey you went on in your IPO, good and bad, who you trusted and what you learned?” Everyone I asked said yes. I often say that if you ask nicely and you ask well, most people will say yes.”

It's great advice for those, who have ambitious plans and the required dedication but may not have all the necessary insights. John describes the IPO achievement as being a real step change for the business and highlighted that it was done through spit, grit, determination and the refusal to fail. It’s not surprising that his favourite quote is ‘if you believe you can, you can’ and his most utilised phrase around the office is ‘chop, chop, let’s get on with it.’ He demonstrates relentless drive, refreshing honesty and boundless positivity, all of which help him to achieve stretching goals.

Linda Walmsley says: “If John Roberts would have allowed me, I could have listened to his insights for hours. His stories were fascinating and the passion he has for life and business is palpable. There were lots of takeaways for me from the time I spent with him, but the values he spoke about that particularly resonated with me were, the importance of building trust in the workplace, to treat every customer like your gran and to do things that make your mum proud – in my opinion that’s how we should all be operating in business.”

Walmsley Wilkinson, owned by two partners, Linda Walmsley and Taryn Wilkinson, offers professional solutions for executive and management recruitment needs. They support a variety of organisations, including large corporations, family-owned entities, private equity and the third sector to identify and secure the best leadership talent, across the UK and internationally. 

ENDS