Key Themes:
Business, Overcoming, Business Autobiography, Success, Failure
Summary:
The Rise and Fall… and Rise Again by Gerald Ratner is the true tale of two lives – the first part focuses on Ratner’s rise to become one of the biggest high street retailers in the 80s. The second part follows the fallout of a landmark speech to the Institute of Directors in 1991. His speech was seized upon by the media and highlights the far-reaching impact a misplaced joke had. Overnight his business was destroyed. However, this was not the end… This book shows how Ratner demonstrated massive resilience to turn his life around and truly ‘rise again’.
Content Overview:
Following over 25-years in the jewellery trade, Ratner was one of the most well-known retailers of his generation. His multi-million pound business was highly profitable and had household names like Ratners, H. Samuel, Ernest Jones, Watches of Switzerland plus over 1,000 stores in the US.
In 1991, Gerald Ratner was chosen to made a landmark speech to the Institute of Directors. What should have been a great honour and sealed his place in the business elite, destroyed both his business and his life. An unfortunate joke about the quality of his jewellery – comparing a piece’s price and longevity to an M&S prawn sandwich – had a far reaching impact that no-one could have predicted. The media seized upon his comments and almost overnight shares in his company dropped £500 million.
“Even though I had once had my name above hundreds of shops up and down the country, it had become more famous as a byword for crap. It took several years to realise just what an impact the speech had had on every aspect of my life.”
Ratner lost his business, got kicked off his own Board and sunk into depression.
However, you can’t keep a good man down! He dusted himself off and set out in business again, building a successful health and leisure centre and leading the way in online jewellery selling. He is a sought-after speaker and has truly reinvented himself both personally and professionally.
Rating: 9.5/10
If you’re looking for an autobiography without the BS that tells the real story of one man’s epic and well-documented fall from grace and rise to success again – then this is the book for you. This book is self-effacing and takes you through the range of emotions from laugh out loud to tears – and has totally transformed the phrase ‘doing a Ratner’. You can’t help but come away from this book amazed by Ratner’s resilience and ability to transform the toughest situation into a positive. Awe inspiring! Sobering and enlightening at the same time.
Readability: 10/10
Having seen Ratner speak and been impressed by his humour and self-depreciating style I had high hopes for reading this book. I wasn’t disappointed. His conversational style and frank approach make this a definite hit on my reading list.
Does what it says on the tin: 9/10
Yes! If you’ve ever made a mistake in business that has cost you dearly, you are in good company. Ratner’s ‘warts and all’ autobiography shows that you can truly rise like a phoenix from the ashes to greater success. Incredibly inspirational and a modern-day warning about the power of the media.
Buy Now