Roman Abramovich

I was never involved in arms trading. In the Russian Federation, arms trading is the prerogative of the state.

Our friendship was based on my payouts. That wasn’t a friendship when – as, for example, it’s me, my friends, we are friends for many years, and it doesn’t matter for me what the position is, where they work; we simply are friends. And with Mr. Berezovsky, our friendship was based on my payoffs.

In my personal opinion, Russia is no less democratic than it used to be. It is a democratic country. It is democratic enough.

I really don’t retain information – by the time I arrive wherever I’m going, I already forget what it is that I wanted to say.

I myself never make any notes. Usually, if I write something down, I can’t read it afterwards.

I decided to sit quietly and do business and don’t stick your neck out and tell everybody everything belongs to me. That would only cause problems for myself. Therefore I never told these stories or declared all these things to anyone.

Competition is the lifeblood of industry.

I built a great company, one of the – some of the most iconic assets in the world, $10 billion of net worth, more than $10 billion of net worth, and frankly, I had a great time doing it.

We know everything about our clients – if they like their dressing gowns heated, what colour flowers they like, if their chef works left-handed – we know everything and we incorporate it into our work for them.

What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it.

Theory is splendid but until put into practice, it is valueless.

I think everybody thought I was crazy that I quit my job and started a management company in which I was managing one client – Laura Nyro.

It’s not just about being better. It’s about being different. You need to give people a reason to choose your business.

To be most effective in sales today, it’s imperative to drop your ‘sales’ mentality and start working with your prospects as if they’ve already hired you.

Everything I do in life is framed through the view of a businessman. That’s my instinct. If I go into a pharmacy to buy shaving cream, then I’m going to look for the best deal on shaving cream.

When prices go up, business goes down.

The consumer isn’t a moron. She is your wife.

Once you have a product that you are happy with, you the need to centralize things to continue growth.

No one loses anything by raising wages as soon as he is able. It has always paid us. Low wages are the most costly any employer can pay. It is like using low-grade material–the waste makes it very expensive in the end. There is no economy in cheap labor or cheap material. The hardest thing I ever had to do was to reduce wages. I think we were the last big company to come to it. Now I am mighty glad that wages are climbing again.

I don’t make deals for the money. I’ve got enough, much more than I’ll ever need. I do it to do it.

The headline is the ‘ticket on the meat.’ Use it to flag down readers who are prospects for the kind of product you are advertising.