IVOR TIEFENBRUN

I think of myself as a company builder, and a manufacturer, rather than a businessman or entrepreneur. To me being a manufacturer implies working together with other people to achieve more than we could alone.

My motivation was not money, but following a passion and working with others who shared my objectives.

I started my own independent company to be in control of my own life, and to do something I believed was worthwhile. I wanted a happy work environment where we could make transformational products that brought more music into people’s lives and homes. I could not see the point of making something unless it was the best you could buy. To make the best products you need to create a great company, with great people, suppliers and customers. All this started only after I decided what I wanted to do.

As a ten year old at my maternal grandfather’s knee he would recount his experiences in the First World War and amidst the turmoil of the Russian Revolution, and he would ask for my opinions. Whatever my response he would inquire “Are you sure?” I invariably insisted that I was sure, despite my answer being the first thing I had thought of. He would then sometimes ask “Why did Napoleon Invade Russia?” which I soon realised was a bad idea, and learned that no matter how certain you are, you might still be terribly wrong.

Eventually I asked my grandfather “Why did Napoleon invade Russia?” to be told “Because he wanted to.” So I learned that you need to be careful about what you wish for. My own father also taught me to think carefully, and consult others before making important decisions, as there are always surprisingly many options to be considered, rather than only the one or two that first spring to mind.

There are great differences between the commitment of a conscript, a mercenary and a volunteer. They can all be equally skilled and professional, but when their commitment and loyalty are tested to the limit, then their personal motivation is what matters most.

If you follow a personal passion you will have commitment that does not normally follow from pursuing an idea, or your work, because you hope it will make you money. A useful life is about doing and making things which work to a standard that you can be proud of. If you really believe in what you and your colleagues are doing, then together you can stand up to pressure, and overcome difficulties, even in the most adverse circumstances.

My late father manufactured special purpose machines, so he was engaged in solving difficult problems that had never been tackled before. You can only be that creative if you believe that there is always a solution. The view that there is always a way, led me to create and build my own company to make products that did things that no one else believed possible.

It led me to evolve my own approach to manufacturing, and build an innovative factory around my own concept of automated manufacturing and flexible assembly. In my manufacturing system, one person is responsible from start to finish for a complete intelligible task. They know that when they test and sign off their work that this is the customer’s warranty that it will meet, and ideally exceed, expectations.

When I look back I am astonished that I was prepared to tackle so many unknowns simultaneously, when any failure would have killed my entire enterprise and let down all my suppliers, customers, employees and family. Only the belief that there would always be a way forward enabled me to overcome every difficulty.

Only shared passion and embedded values made people believe our goal was worthwhile enough to help make it happen.

I was to face other even greater problems in my life, and I am not suggesting that I never made mistakes. Indeed fear of failure tends to increase as time starts to run out for you.

But companies are potentially immortal, and can live on if you have made the right choices, and your passion for what you believe in should not diminish.

I was once asked what I would want to do if I had a magic wand. This really made me think about the way I defined my objectives. Once I determined what I wanted clearly, my long term goals stood the test of time and served to guide my company and myself for over forty years.

As a young man I greatly admired rally drivers who were able to drive flat out over blind summits and bends. When the late Erik Carlsson, the great Swedish driver known as “Mr Saab”, was asked how he, and his trusting co-driver who called out the route and pace notes, could drive this way, when any mishap or mistake could be fatal, his answer was “The road has to go somewhere.” So does your life.

Ivor Tiefenbrun is a Scottish manufacturer