By Business & Finance 
Johnson & Perrott Fleet managing director Jonathan O’Brien takes the Business & Finance 60-second challenge.
Q. What was your first job?
My father has owned and ran a small family business selling carpets for over 30 years.
My first paid job was fitting carpets and labouring with him. It triggers a memory of the physical meaning of a ‘day’s work’!
Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
Outside of business, it was raising money for Temple Street Children’s Hospital over a two-year period.
Actually seeing what the money was spent on was very rewarding.
Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Always try to strike a work-life balance.
Q. If you could step into the shoes of one businessperson for the day, who would it be and why?
I would love to see what a day in the life of Irish businessman and racehorse owner JP McManus entails.
Q. In three words or less, how do you define success?
Never give up.
Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
Sharing the key objectives, targets and results along with the future goals of the company in a clear and transparent way with staff is key.
Trusting the employee is also a key ingredient for motivated staff members. No one person is responsible for results so being part of the team that delivers is a motivator for me.
Q. How do you relax?
I cycle with my local club most weekends and attend the gym in between. I’m grumpy without exercise!
Q. What’s your motto?
If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
Q. What are your aspirations for the future of your business?
To be a clear top three player in Irish market in our field by fleet size. We are selling a service as opposed to a product and not every service experience is the same.
We aspire to continually demonstrate that our service is superior to our competitors and more personal. I don’t believe that everybody wants to be processed and the people who don’t are our target market.
I would love to see what a day in the life of Irish businessman and racehorse owner JP McManus entails
A VEHICLE TO SUCCESS
Jonathan has extensive experience at various levels in fast-paced sales environments.
His experience spans over 16 years in the Irish vehicle leasing industry. Starting off his career in AIB Finance & Leasing as a sales administrator, he progressed to hold positions at managing director, general manager and sales manager level in leading Irish leasing companies such as Johnson & Perrott and Windsor Fleet.
Johnson & Perrott Fleet is a fleet management providers serving organisations both large and small.
Backed by the Johnson & Perrott Motor Group, Johnson & Perrott Fleet provides a wide range of products and services across all makes and models including light and medium commercial vehicles.
