Alan Sugar's Quotes & Sayings

The only people whose opinions I worry about are my wife, my children, and my employees. — Alan Sugar

If you lock me in the room with a piano teacher for a year I might be able to knock out a rendition of 'Roll Out The Barrel,' but will I ever be a concert pianist? No. — Alan Sugar

I like to be a very fair person. — Alan Sugar

I never experienced any feelings of closeness and caring from my parents. — Alan Sugar

I came from a socially deprived background when I was 15, 16 years old, but one thing I knew was one - you don't abuse a policeman, and two - you don't steal things. — Alan Sugar

Not everybody needs to go to university; they can get out and start working straight away. — Alan Sugar

You've got to admire Sir Richard Branson. He is a completely different style of businessman to me, but you have got to admire what he has achieved. — Alan Sugar

I like things in their proper places. — Alan Sugar

Among some of the youngsters, I think reality TV has installed that culture into them and inspired a few of them into wanting to be 'TV celebrities.' — Alan Sugar

You can't stop people printing what they want to print. — Alan Sugar

I had once repeated the experiment to reassure myself that this was so, and it was. Ashes to ashes; starch to sugar. A little window into the Creation — Alan Bradley

Why work when you can fill out a few forms and get paid for doing nothing? — Alan Sugar

The entrepreneurial instinct is in you. You can't learn it, you can't buy it, you can't put it in a bottle. It's just there and it comes out. — Alan Sugar

Start small and with your own money. — Alan Sugar

I don't believe in God and all that. But I am Jewish, and very proud to be so, very proud of the culture. — Alan Sugar

My history of lending money from banks is that they want to know the ins and outs of the backside of a duck. — Alan Sugar

I don't like paying 50 per cent of tax. — Alan Sugar

I've just got an exceptional memory, if I say so myself. — Alan Sugar

There's too much of a culture that exists out there, what I call an expectancy culture, of things being provided. — Alan Sugar

Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon. — Alan Perlis

It will take a brave person to cull the benefits system and analyse who deserves and who doesn't. — Alan Sugar

Effective leadership is about earning respect, and it's also about personality and charisma — Alan Sugar

I did not come into football to make money. I had already made millions. — Alan Sugar

I'm not that hands-on as a grandfather. — Alan Sugar

Youngsters have got to stop thinking about becoming the next Zuckerberg. It's a trillion-to-one chance. What they need is mater and pater to say, 'Get a job, son.' — Alan Sugar

My mother was a housewife. My father was a garment worker. — Alan Sugar

I don't like this young crudeness now which is supposed to be comedy on Friday nights. — Alan Sugar

I get angry when people bring derisory actions against me. — Alan Sugar

Nobody can honestly say that they never lie. — Alan Sugar

There's a lot of regrets about last year - maybe turning up was the biggest regret about it — Alan Sugar

I am tired of hustling. — Alan Sugar

I have always been an honest trader. I come from a school of traders where there was honour in the deal. No contracts, just a handshake and that's it, done. That's the way I prefer to do business but it's not always possible these days, sadly. — Alan Sugar

I know you're Belgian, that's where those waffles come from — Alan Sugar

Money is all right but once you have it you learn it's not the be all and end all. — Alan Sugar

When I was a kid, a policeman was someone you looked up to and respected. — Alan Sugar

Well, it's not hard to be number one entertaining Jew. Some of them are quite bleeding bloody miserable, really. — Alan Sugar

Once you decide to work for yourself, you never go back to work for somebody else. — Alan Sugar

We're interested in the mass-merchandising of anything. If there was a market in mass-produced portable nuclear weapons, we'd market them too — Alan Sugar

I've got a gut feeling in my stomach ... — Alan Sugar

My main regret about my years in football was keeping my mouth shut like a little mouse, not daring to speak out because I was told you left the managers to get on with the job and that the chairman must never interfere with the manager's decisions or the performance of his team. — Alan Sugar

During negotiations nothing is gained by attacking people's comfort zones. — Alan Sugar

I got on a high believing everything I would produce was going to sell at the rate I wanted. — Alan Sugar

It was very exciting to see Alan Sugar, so I think I've peaked with excitement for the evening, because I'm a massive Apprentice fan. — David Walliams

Don't try to blame the rest of the world. The blame only lies with you. Recognize that immediately. — Alan Sugar

There was a desire to see me being nasty and horrible, and of course that's not really me — Alan Sugar

I find it strange that Gisela Gschaider a 1974 immigrant from Germany is on the brexit panel telling us British what we should do . — Alan Sugar

I have principles and I am not going to be forced to compromise them. — Alan Sugar

Success comes more quickly to the entrepreneur that follows his instincts rather than following the progress of his competitors. — Alan Sugar

Look, I'm a member of the House of Lords and I'm the first to admit that I don't understand how one gets new laws through. — Alan Sugar

I like to keep fit. — Alan Sugar

A good leader is not necessarily the most popular person in their business, but the best ones are liked because they are respected for their clarity and vision. — Alan Sugar

I'm an Englishman. What more can I say? — Alan Sugar

Above all, in order to gain respect, you need to be true to yourself. There is no point in trying to be brutal if it's not in your nature; there is no point in trying to be suave and sophisticated if it doesn't come naturally. — Alan Sugar

My idea of government support was, you supply me with hospitals, schools and the environment to do well and that will do me fine. But do not poke your nose in my business. — Alan Sugar

I'm a commercial person, not an academic. — Alan Sugar

I am not looking for a friend; if I want a friend I'd buy a dog. — Alan Sugar

Market leaders inevitably slip into decline when they tell the people what they want instead of giving the people what they want. — Alan Sugar

Well, there's nothing I've done I'm not proud of. Making money was an interest, but it's never been my god. — Alan Sugar

In America, everybody thinks they're an entrepreneur. That's the problem. It's not a title that anybody should call oneself. — Alan Sugar

There are two fools in every marketplace; one asks too little, one asks too much. — Alan Sugar

I believe employment regulations for women, whereby the prospective employer is not able to inquire about the interviewee's status regarding children, childcare, or indeed their intention of becoming a parent, are counterproductive. — Alan Sugar

If you enjoy what you do, don't be afraid of expressing your enthusiasm. Enjoyment is infectious. — Alan Sugar

It is torment to be segregated out because of some bit of clothing that you're wearing. — Alan Sugar

Regrettably, all the people I know in Florida don't know about anything outside their great country. Plus they expect everyone to understand what they're talking about — Alan Sugar

I liked the idea of all of humanity fitting inside a sugar cube because more than 99.9% of matter is space. — Alan Davies

I don't make enemies, it's just I'm not afraid to speak my mind, which can sometimes mean people don't like what I am saying. — Alan Sugar

I have no patience at all. — Alan Sugar

The boring side of business is what makes it work. — Alan Sugar

An entrepreneur is not what you call yourself, it's what someone calls you in recognition of what you've achieved. I call Richard Branson an entrepreneur. Rupert Murdoch called me one. Anybody who stands up and says: 'I'm an entrepreneur' needs shooting. You'll drive people crazy. — Alan Sugar

Love what you do and do what you love,
otherwise you will become unhappy and self-defeating. — Alan Sugar

There is a lot of luck in football. Following England is like following Wycombe Wanders or Leyton Orient. You hope for the best and hope you are lucky. — Alan Sugar