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HOT 100 RETAIL TITANS: Michael Hyman, Leonard Dews

As a boss, one of the hardest skills to master can be delegation, letting go enough to trust your staff with the responsibility of your business. Conquering this is something Michael Hyman knows all about after a life-changing experience led him to reconsider everything he was doing.

Exactly two years ago this month, Hyman has a radical prostectomy to battle against stage seven prostate cancer. “It was life changing – we men think we are invincible but that is not the case,” he says. “When I returned I didn’t want to give up work, I was too young, but I didn’t want to stand behind the counter again.”
 

Hyman kept control over the business but started to delegate out the day-to-day running of it to his staff, telling them “you’re good enough to run my three stores on your own so get on and do a great job, you know you can”. He also hired a marketing manager and a financial controller.
 

“I told my team I would set the strategy and watch the cash whilst they got on and ran the business,” says Hyman, who has stores in Blackpool and the Isle of Man. “It’s been two years since then and the business is continuing to grow.”
 

While his team have been busy making sure the tills continue to ring in the stores, Hyman has also been focused on getting the money rolling in. “I started raising money last year for research into prostate cancer and have raised £57,000 to date,” he says. “Our second golf tournament is in July when we hope to reach our next goal of £75,000. I set out to achieve £100,000 in three years, so hopefully I should reach it, if not surpass it.”
 

But mostly, he just enjoys his newfound freedom by taking it easy with his better half. “I spend quality time with my wife,” he says. “We potter together, we walk together and go on fabulous holidays together.” With a life-work balance firmly tipped in the direction of life, it seems as though Hyman is living the dream.
 

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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