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CEO Secrets: 'Tear up the business plan'

Brooklyn Brewery is a craft beer company based in New York. It exports beers all over the world. CEO Eric Ottaway says the one piece of business advice he wishes he had known when joining the firm in the 1990s is to be flexible and not to be wedded to any one particular business plan.

See more from our CEO Secrets series here.

24 August 2021

Entrepreneurship

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Man clinging to a cliff being rescued

Moment person clinging to cliff is rescued by helicopter

Crowds of people walking streets at night

Thousands rush to US border before Trump takes office

Composite image of Donald Trump and Elon Musk alongside the Starship taking off

Trump joins Musk to watch Starship test launch

Firefighters helping people stuck on ride.

Riders stuck midair for hours on California park ride

Biden stands in front of the podium.

Biden first US president to visit Amazon rainforest

Three men are next to each other.

A look at Trump's new top team... in 85 seconds

Meteor lights up the night sky.

Meteor lights up night sky over parts of US and Canada

Kennedy is speaking a crowd while Trump looks at him.

Trump names vaccine sceptic RFK Jr for health secretary

Smoke is seen from the top of a building.

Watch: Thick smoke billows from New York skyscraper

Police officer smashing sunroof of vehicle submerged in pool

Police bodycam shows man being rescued from submerged car

Sumi Somaskanda stands on the left and Trump stands on the right.

What a Republican trifecta means for Trump's second term

Flame and smoke billow over train tracks

Watch: Moment large fire explodes on New York train line

Biden is on the left and Trump is on the right.

What we can expect from Trump and Biden's meeting

split screen of building damage and a man

Watch: Drone footage captures Kentucky explosion damage

Lloyd running

Runner with Down's syndrome dances through marathon

Truck crashing into parked vehicle narrowly missing worker

Watch: Moment road worker dodges high-speed truck crash

Woman taking picture of a helicopter and wildfire smoke filling the sky

Smoke towers over homes as wildfire spreads near Los Angeles

Vladimir Putin speaking holding a pen

Putin congratulates 'courageous' Trump on election win

Joe Biden wearing a suit holding up a fist

Watch: Biden urges Democrats to 'get back up' after Trump win

A California firefighter battles deep red flames with a hose

Watch: Fast-moving California wildfire burns out of control

Rachel Reeves

Watch: Reeves 'deeply proud' to be first female chancellor

The Chancellor has presented her first Budget in the Commons.

Twins James and John Makanjuola,

The twins cleaning London's unloved spaces

Entrepreneurs James and John run a cleaning firm, but take it to the next level in their spare time.

Paula Vennells at the Post Office inquiry

Key moments from former Post Office chief's three-day testimony

Paula Vennells faced three days of questions about her role in the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters.

Paula Vennells reaching for a tissue in the Post Office inqiuiry

Ex-Post Office boss cries while giving evidence

Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells is speaking about the incident for the first time in ten years.

Santiago Paredes

Whistleblower claims Boeing supplier sent faulty parts

Spirit AeroSystems supplied Boeing with faulty parts, a former quality inspector has told the BBC.

Tatti Lashes

Tatti Lashes: The school friends who built a beauty empire

Charlotte Tiplady and Elliot Barton explain how together they built up their Tatti Lashes beauty empire from Liverpool.

Ocado has added robotic arms to its newest warehouse near Luton.

Watch Ocado robots in action

Ocado has added robotic arms to its newest warehouse near Luton.

Business Headlines

BBC World News business headlines

The latest international business headlines from BBC World News.

Jo Hamilton

'I feel survivor's guilt' says Post Office victim

Former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton told BBC Breakfast she feels "guilt" after settling with the government over the Horizon IT scandal.

Woman in sunglasses smiling while answering questions related to the Budget

Watch: 'My biggest financial regret is...'

People in Kent share their finance stories ahead of Wednesday's Budget. Would you share yours?

Mohsin Issa

Issa brother to step back after 'fixing' Asda

Mohsin Issa, one half of the so-called "billionaire brothers" who own Asda, says he plans to hand over the running of the UK's third biggest supermarket.

Robots

'We had to adapt our robots to the AI revolution'

Sandy Enoch of Robotical explains why he had to pivot his educational robot company due to AI.

Picsart

'AI won't steal your job, but people using it may'

Hovhannes Avoyan, founder of picture and video editing app Picsart, shares his advice for our CEO Secrets series.

Picture of The Body Shop storefront in the 80s

'They thought it was a sex shop' - The Body Shop in the '80s

Archive footage shows Dame Anita Roddick talking about her company's success, in an 1984 interview.

Raid on Co-op store

CCTV shows violent raid on Co-op store

The retailer gave the footage to the BBC as it warned of a rise in attacks on retail staff.

Sir Howard Davies

Not that difficult to buy a home, says NatWest chair

Sir Howard Davies says he believes it is not currently "that difficult" for people to get on the housing ladder.

Joanna Jensen

'A viral Facebook post nearly blew up our business'

Joanna Jensen, founder of skincare brand Childs Farm, shares advice for start-ups for our CEO Secrets series.

Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes

Broadband rises must be 'clearer', says Ofcom boss

The regulator has plans to make mobile and broadband firms more upfront about mid-contract price rises.

Earring

'This earring helped me build my £4bn business'

Richard Harpin, co-founder of Homeserve, explains how an earring taught him an early business lesson.

Olivia DeRamus and BBC reporter Lora Jones

'Taking control of my abuse story'

Olivia DeRamus set up an app in the wake of her sexual assault. Now she's ready to take on Big Tech.