The honorary president of Morrisons, who turned 77 yesterday, received the Yorkshire Post Individual Award for Excellence at our awards ceremony last week.

Sir Ken told the Yorkshire Post: "The secret to success is always teamwork. It was taking opportunities as they occurred and seeing a little bit into the future.

"I was always prepared to reinvest whereas a lot of people take money out of a business once it starts to prosper.

"I had fairly strict rules. I don't like debt – never have done. I like to pay for stuff. Debt is too easy. You value it more if you had to wait and buy it yourself."

On the economy, he said: "We have been running a little ahead on the rewards of our endeavours. We're going to have a lean period for a while to recover. I sense it was out of control."

Sir Ken, asked if he had any advice to businesses, said: "Be cautious. It's important in running a business that you look at risk and reward. Part of the reward is sometimes a downturn so you have to be very careful."

In a wide-ranging interview to mark the award, he spoke of his formative years, his life at Morrisons, his retirement and his enduring love and affection for Yorkshire.

Born in October 1931 to William and Hilda, Kenneth Duncan Morrison went to Bradford Grammar School and during summer holidays helped with his parents' market stall selling provisions.

Following his father's guidance, he had originally planned to become a professional, either an accountant or lawyer.

While in Germany on national service in the early 1950s he received a phone call from his mother. "She said my dad was ill. She asked me to decide if I wanted the business. My father was ready for retirement. It was only a very small business, £25,000 a year, a couple of market stalls selling provisions. You had to bear in mind things had just come out of rationing."

Sir Ken took up the challenge. He said he learned a lot around the dining table.

"I had no formal preparation or education but I picked it up as I went along. Business was really about people, as it is now. A lot of things change but certain things don't change much.

"Business is still largely about people and the relationship between supplier and customer.

"The main point is that everybody is important no matter what task you have in the company – it's absolutely vital because you are doing it."

He said he always had great admiration for his father. "He was a patient man, much more than I am. He was a good character. We always went to rugby league together, at Bradford Northern.

"I learned a lot from him and my mum who was a wonderful saleswoman. She could sell sand in a desert which, in the 1930s, you had to."

Within a few years, Sir Ken had become managing director and chairman of a small chain of grocery stores.

"I always believe I was fortunate to get into business at the right time: the situation of growing affluence and growing mobilisation, coupled with the enormous advantages that the packaging industry made.

"Shopping habits changed enormously over 50 years. Now there are very few houses without a fridge. It's been an interesting period."

The introduction of counter service was followed by the opening of Morrisons' first supermarket in Bradford, with checkouts, self-service and products with prices on, which were then revolutionary concepts.

Sir Ken said he looked at other companies during his rise; he found inspiration in the success of Marks & Spencer, Kwiksave and Mothercare.

"They had a clarity of aim: they knew what they wanted to do and they become very good at doing it. That's the secret of success for any business: clear objectives and a good striking rate.

"A lot have the right ideas but it is putting them into practice. Once you can do that you have unlocked the secret of success."

On management style, he said: "You make it clear that you are either pleased or not pleased. You don't have to go over the top and eat the rug. That's perhaps a Yorkshire trait of being fairly straightforward. Why have 100 words when 50 will do? Or a look."

He steered the family firm to public ownership and forward through a steady process of expansion and growth over the decades, joining the FTSE 100 and taking over rival Safeway.

Today, Morrisons is the fourth-largest retailer in the UK with 375 stores and 115,000 employees.

"The thing I have always enjoyed is working with a team. A particularly gratifying part is seeing young people become a little more mature and seeing their character develop.

"That's a great thrill – when you bring people through who prosper. Working with a very skilled group of people is quite stimulating."

He predicted the UK retail market will likely see further consolidation.

"I think Britain is pretty well served for retail. It will develop but I'm not quite sure where it is going to go. Wherever you look there's always someone buying (someone else]. You have it with the banks. Like all industries, it's under pressure to modernise and reinvent itself."

Sir Ken said he does not use an email account and added: "The internet is OK but it's not my cup of tea." Unlike some rivals, Morrisons does not sell food online.

On the recent financial crisis, he said Gordon Brown had "done a reasonable job" in dealing with the threats to the banking system. He warned that Britain should be careful not to lose its good image as a centre for financial services.

The situation with banks refusing to lend to each other is "pretty dire", said Sir Ken, who said that the fall-out of recent events has yet to be fully felt.

He predicted a period of household belt-tightening on everything from food to holidays. "People will have to put up with what they've got," he said. And people may start saving again: "That's been a bit lacking hasn't it?"

Asked if he had a message for the Yorkshire business community, he said: "You have to be realistic about the situation. There's going to be a bit of hardship. Be prepared to cut our cloth according to our circumstances. That's a bit of a miserable message but we have over-indulged in the past five or six years to a great extent."

He was knighted in the New Year's honours list of 2000 and in March, after 55 years service, stood down as chairman of the board.

Sir Ken lives with his wife in a country hall near Boroughbridge and has three daughters, two sons and four grandchildren. He still rises at 6am – "a lifelong habit".

He said of his retirement: "I'm catching up in years of neglect on the personal affairs. Things are getting sorted out. Finding time to do things I have not had time to do. There's always something worth doing. I like autobiographies and a good novel. I have no musical skills but I enjoy Classic FM. I like Radio 4, and quite enjoy political programmes. Politics is fascinating. My favourite programme is Prime Minister's Questions. You get some really good theatre."