The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership (27 page)

As I said up front, no two people will ever do anything quite the same way, which is what keeps life and business interesting. The Virgin way probably isn’t for everyone but it has worked well for us the majority of the time and so I hope you have managed to find the odd nugget or two of inspiration somewhere in the last couple of hundred pages.

If on the other hand you’re the kind of person who (like I frequently did at school) likes to skip to the back of the book hoping to find a summary there, then I don’t want to disappoint – here is my top ten.

1. FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS AND JUST DO IT 

You will live a much better life if you ‘just do it’ and pursue your passions. People who have the courage to spend their time working on things they love are usually the ones enjoying life the most. They are also the ones who dared to take a risk and chase their dreams.

2. MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE AND DO SOME GOOD

If you aren’t making a positive difference to other people’s lives, then you shouldn’t be in business. Companies have a responsibility to make a difference in the world, for their staff, their customers – everyone. The amazing part is that doing good is also good for business, so what are you waiting for?

3. BELIEVE IN YOUR IDEAS AND BE THE BEST

A passionate belief in your business and personal objectives can make all the difference between success and failure. If
you
aren’t proud of what you’re doing, why should anybody else be?

Don’t get suckered into blindly pursuing profits and growth. Stay focused on being the best at everything you do and, if you want it to, the rest will follow.

4. HAVE FUN AND LOOK AFTER YOUR TEAM

Fun is one of the most important – and underrated – ingredients in any successful venture. If you’re not having fun, then it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else.

If your team members are engaged, having fun and genuinely care about other people, they will enjoy their work more and do a better job – it’s really that simple. Find people who look for the best in others, lavish more praise than criticism, and love what they do.

5. DON’T GIVE UP

On every adventure I have undertaken – whether setting up a business, flying around the world in a balloon or racing across oceans in a boat – there have been moments when the easy thing to do would have been to throw in the towel and walk away.

By simply sticking with it, brushing yourself down and trying again, you’ll be amazed what you can achieve.

6. LISTEN, TAKE LOTS OF NOTES AND KEEP SETTING NEW CHALLENGES

Listen more and talk less. Take notes – lots of notes. If you don’t write down your own (and others’) spontaneous ideas, they can be gone in the blink of an eye. Make lists to keep track of your goals.

You’ll be amazed at the challenges a listening culture can overcome.

7. DELEGATE AND SPEND MORE TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY

The art of delegation is one of the key skills any entrepreneur must master. ‘Hire your weaknesses’ – if you find people who can take on tasks you aren’t good at, it frees you up to plan for the future. It also gives you time to spend with your family, which is really the most important thing of all.

Oh yes, and don’t forget to garner your family’s input on the occasional big idea – like Virgin condoms, for instance!

8. TURN OFF THAT LAPTOP AND IPHONE AND GET YOUR DERRIÈRE OUT THERE

Rather than sitting in front of a screen all your life, try switching it all off on a regular basis and going out into the world. Start with your own backyard and then expand your field of vision.

‘Life isn’t a dress rehearsal’. With so many fascinating people to meet, exciting adventures to embark upon and rewarding challenges to undertake, there’s no time to lose.

9. COMMUNICATE, COLLABORATE AND COMMUNICATE SOME MORE

Keep it simple, stupid, and above all else keep it coming. Mushrooms might grow when they are kept in the dark and fed a diet of dung but it doesn’t work with people.

Remember Steve Jobs and the Pixar piazza: build open work environments that invite your people to intermingle and share their visions.

10. DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND HAVE A COUCH IN THE KITCHEN

As long as you are surrounded by the people you love and doing what you love, it really doesn’t matter where you are. When we are on Necker we tend to spend most of our time in the kitchen. Add in a bedroom and a partner that you love, and you really don’t need too much more.

Now I really must get back to my hammock and do some business – around here that’s known as the Virgin Island Way!

Writing a book about listening, learning, laughing and leading has made me (again) acutely aware of how incredibly fortunate I have been over the years to have enjoyed such a seemingly endless stream of wonderful colleagues. There would never have been a ‘Virgin Way’ but for these tens of thousands of amazingly gifted and dedicated people.

I have spent my entire adult life listening to them and learning from them. Whenever we have entered a new business about which I had little or no first-hand knowledge – which is almost every time – it has almost always been a case of ‘teaching the old dog (or perhaps “the older boss” sounds better) new tricks’. I frequently get way too much individual credit for the success of these companies when it is usually a case of the Virgin Way giving our people the freedom to express themselves by letting their imaginations take flight.

At every stop along the way, from
Student
magazine to Virgin Galactic and everything in between, we have certainly enjoyed great times together and laughed a lot – quite often at my expense, as with my night locked up in a London police station cell! Virgin is built on laughter and so again, this is a tribute to that indomitable communal sense of humour that has made forty plus years go by in the blink of an eye.

And when it comes to leading, on occasions too numerous to recall, I have often paused to wonder just who was leading who on any particular project. But whether I was leading or being led, what’s important is that we get the job done and have fun getting there. That’s really the core of the Virgin Way.

Finding the time to get my thoughts into manuscript form and eventually onto the pages of a book has always been a challenge for me. The process usually relies heavily on long, interruption-free flights, or those days when I can create a few free hours on Necker Island to peck away at my iPad or scribble in my trusty notebook.

The fact that this ever got started is very much down to the relentlessness of Ed Faulkner at Virgin Books – and that it got finished is again thanks to his incredibly forgiving spirit and tireless editing. As always, Nick Fox was an invaluable help, forever coaching, prodding and encouraging me with lines like, ‘Hey, that’s an idea you should develop for the book’ or alternatively, ‘I hope you’re not thinking of putting
that
in the book!’ Likewise my old friend (sorry, perhaps I should say ‘long-time friend’) and former colleague David Tait, who has been a tremendous resource in getting the contents spliced together. He not only revels in correcting my use of the language, but he’s equally adept at gently nudging my recollections back on track with not so subtle comments like, ‘Really Richard? I was there that day and that’s not exactly how I remember it.’

Then there’s my amazing mum, wonderful wife and kids, colleagues past and present, friends, competitors and others too numerous to list, that generously gave their time to refresh my memory on the finer points of the Virgin Way with pertinent examples of how it works in practice around our family of companies.

Thank you one and all.

Richard

The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. To find the corresponding locations in the text of this digital version, please use the “search” function on your e-reader. Note that not all terms may be searchable.

(The initials RB and TB refer to Richard Branson and Ted Branson)

Abbott, Trevor 49

Achor, Shaun 259–60, 270

AIDS 55

Air France 298, 312

Air New Zealand 138–9

Alexander, Tom 160–1

American Airlines 76, 77, 209, 233

and collaboration 312

Anna, Kofi 118

Ansett Australia 138–9

‘Antonio’ (Google investor) 135–7, 138, 139–40

Apple 68, 130, 137, 147, 148–50, 288, 315, 365–8

and Google Maps 310–11

and Nike 311

and Starbucks 169

‘Think Different’ campaign of 162

Apple Stores 148–50

Apprentice
,
The
21, 197

April Fool stunts 260–9

Arison, Micky 341–2, 345

Asymco 148, 150

AT&T 171

Atari 137

Atlantic Records 135

Audi 311

B Team 291, 357–9

Bader, Douglas 102–3

Ball, Lucille 214

ballooning 266–8

Baloyi, Xiki 206

Barnby, Tim 98

Barra, Mary 285

Bay, Michael 85

Bayazid II 178

Beevers, David 287

Berry, Ken 263–5

Biffa 238

Big Jake
29–30

Blair, Tony 118

Blakely, Sara 192–5, 199

Blockbuster 216

Boadicea, Queen 295

Boeing 333

Bolt, Usain 171

Borghetti, John 72–6

Boston Consulting Group 284

Boy George 23, 256

Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship 274–6, 291

Branson, Eve (mother):

always on the go 13–14

charity polo match organised by 15

cricket advice from 28

dancing and stewardess work of 14–15

and ‘death of conversation’ 29

invited thoughts of 15–17

and RB’s church insubordination incident 18–19

and RB’s television watching 29

and speaking no evil 25–6

stalwart efforts of 18

successful venture of 14

Branson, Holly (daughter) 216–17, 223

at party for new HQ 259

RB’s early notes on 35

and Virgin Hotels 62

Branson, Joan (wife) 48–9, 53

as ‘focus group’ 54–5

at party for new HQ 259

and RB’s April Fool stunt 263–4

and RB’s ‘blether’ 94–5

and ‘Virgin Condoms’ 55

and Virgin Hotels 62

Branson, Richard:

and April Fool stunts 260–8

‘arrest’ of 264–5

ballooning by 266–8

borderline attention-deficit disorder (ADD) suffered by 4, 369

church insubordination incident of 18–19, 26

cricket loved by 28

‘Dr Yes’ 117–18

dyslexia suffered by 4, 33, 103, 199

first camera bought for 124–5

and Giving Pledge 195

hard-wired passion of 241

indomitable spirit of 18

inherited traits of 13

King’s ‘pirate’ gibe against 301–2

London Marathon run by 322

making speeches disliked by 83–4

mentoring of 287

money ‘borrowed’ from TB by 19–20

note-taking by 5, 30–1, 33–7

parents’ influence on, see Branson, Eve; Branson, Ted

passport incident concerning 256

at school 3–4, 30, 80–1, 83, 103–4

student advisory centre begun by 347

TB’s fake spanking of 18–19, 26

teenage purchase-tax ‘manipulation’ of 25

top leadership attributes favoured by employees and 44–5

transatlantic ballooning attempts of 304

transatlantic speedboat attempts of 303

UFO stunt of 266–8

unconventional ‘offices’ used by 48–9

Virgin Atlantic customers cold-called by 66–7

Virgin Cola stunt by 305

Virgin logo stunt against BA by 301–2

voluntary jail stint of 23–4

Branson, Sam (son) 223

at party for new HQ 259

Branson, Ted (father) 13, 103, 147

death of 27–8

fake spanking of RB by 18–19, 26

and RB’s church insubordination incident 18–19, 26

and speaking no evil 25–6

stalwart efforts of 18

young RB’s ‘borrowing’ of money from# 19–20

Bridgeway Capital Management 359

Brin, Sergey 137, 191, 199, 288

Bristol-Myers 106–7

British Airports Authority 21

British Airways 31, 42, 77, 140, 156, 171–2, 298

and collaboration 312

and ‘diversion of market share’ 301

and Laker 299, 300

libel action against 300

and RB’s logo stunt 301–2

British Caledonian 140, 300

British Rail 144, 248, 317

British Telecom 159, 160

Bucknall, Matthew 108, 207–8

Buffett, Warren 195

bumblebee, flight anomaly of 177

Burns, Robert 53, 263

Caan, James 283

Cain, Phil 250–1

Calvin, Kathy 357

Cameron, Don 266–7

Canon 125

Carbon War Room 291, 355–6

Cardigan, Lord 295–6

Cardoso, Fernando 117

Carlson, Nicholas 307

Carnival Corporation 341

Carnival Triumph
341

Carter, Jimmy 38, 118

Castrol, Fidel 60–1

Caulcutt, John 301–2, 305

Change through Digital Inclusion 361–2

Chrysler 175

Churchill, Winston 31–2, 86

City Link 238

Civil Aviation Authority 21

climate change 355

Clinton, Bill 79, 80

CMG Communications 172

Coca-Cola 58–61, 147, 304–7

collaboration 222, 309–25

co-branding 310

and good causes 320

vs silo mentality 313–15

and team dynamics 322

Collins, Tony 241, 247–9, 337, 343–4

Columbus, Christopher 356

Comic Relief 23

Concorde 158, 256, 301

condoms 55–6

Connery, Sean 118

Consumer Reports
247

Continental Airlines 150–1

corporate culture:

coral reefs as metaphor for 237

differentiating nature of 51

‘eats strategy for breakfast’ 227

and exemplary leadership 228–9

and hiring 202

and ‘knowing your position’ 120

monitoring: the ‘we/they’ test 235–6

and pecking orders 121

people-first 228

Southwest Airlines’ 228–31, 233

and us–them standoff 234

Virgin’s, beginnings of 235

Costa Concordia
341

Costolo, Dick 365

culture, ‘eats strategy for breakfast’ 240

culture, corporate, see corporate culture

Cush, David 77, 209–10

customer loyalty 151–3

CV 203

Daily Telegraph
216–17

Darling, Alistair 187

decisions:

art of making 332–4

bad, notable examples of 340–2

considered 330, 334

and Just In Time (JIT) 327

and procrastination 328;
see also
procrastination

snap 329–30

delegation:

and leadership 124, 195, 198, 199–200

and Virgin Atlantic 200

Delta Air Lines 77, 312–13

Department for Transport 31, 41, 337, 338–40

Dr. No
118

Drake, Francis 293

Drolet, Phil 289

Drucker, Peter 127, 227, 240

Duende
48, 259

Duffell, Ian 182

Durex 55

easyJet 36

Ecomagination initiative 354

see also
General Electric

Econet Wireless Group 360

Edwards, Jamal 280–1

Eisenhower, Dwight D. 155

Elders, The 37–38, 118, 291

Emerson, Ralph Waldo 202

Enron 102

entrepreneurs 127–31

and established businesses 285–6

female 284–5

government help for 281–3

mentoring of 282, 283, 287–91

and ‘next big thing’ 369

nurturing of, early 276–9

and Pioneers programme 280–2

and social enterprises 360–4

and Virgin StartUp 283

VMP survey of 281–2

see also
Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship

Ertegun, Ahmet 135

Europe in Summer Café 275

‘Everybody Better Off’ (EBO) 188, 190

see also
Virgin Money

ex-prisoners 23–4

Exorcist, The
135

Facebook 131

Fadell, Tony 365, 366–7, 368–70

Fair Labor Standards Act 220

Faris, Ron 111–12, 171, 173

Fast Company
350

Financial Times
21

FirstGroup 335–40

Fiver Challenge 277–8

focus groups, informal 54

Food Basket Farm 275

Fortune
285

Founders Forum For Good 363

Fox, Nick 337

Fox, Robyn 275–6

Friedkin, William 135

Frost, David 255

G-Tech 31

Gabriel, Peter 323

Gadhia, Jayne-Anne 186, 188, 257–8, 285

Gandhi, Mohandas (Mahatma) 2

Gardner, Roy 200

Gates, Bill 195

General Dynamics 285

General Electric 353, 354

General Motors 285

Genesis 323

Giving Pledge 195

Global Entrepreneurship Week 279

Global Impact Challenge 361–3

Godfrey, Brett 72, 141, 178, 236, 243–5

GoGo 312

Goizueta, Roberto 60–1

Golden Bull Award 106

Goldman Sachs 330–1

Goodwin, Jonnie 363

Google 130–1, 137, 138, 198–9, 288, 312

April Fool stunts by 268–9

Global Impact Challenge of 361–3

and Nest 369

and Project Oxygen 214

Google Maps 310–11

Griffiths, Martin 338

Hail Merry Seasoned Nut Blend 286

Haji-Ioannou, Stelios 36–7

Happiness Advantage
,
The
(Achor) 259–60

Harvard Business Review
322

Hastings, Reed 56, 57–8

Helen (RB’s assistant) 338

Hemingway, Ernest 86, 104

Herwald, Kurt 231

hiring:

bartender who became airport manager 250–1

candidates from straitjacketed environment 210–12

and capability vs expertise 203–4

and character 202–3

cleaner who became station manager 249–50

and CV 203

and first impressions 204–5

as number-one priority 197–200

and promoting from within 205–6, 212

and retaining staff 213–14

HIV 55

HMV 181

Hoare, David 237–8

Hoberman, Brent 363

Holly Baking Company’s Chocolate Chip Cookies 286

home working 221–3

Hope, Allie 62–3

Horton, Willie 301

Howard, Anthony 90–1

HP 312

Huffington, Arianna 357, 358, 359

Huffington Post
357, 359

Hyundai 174–5

I Love Lucy
214

IBM 285

Immelt, Jeffrey 354

‘Insights into Organization’ 97

Intel 288

iPad 149

iPhone 149, 310, 366, 371

iPod 127, 262, 366, 368, 371

Isaacson, Walter 323

iTunes 126, 169, 182, 262, 315

Jagger, Mick 97

JBL 311–12

jetBlue 222

Jobs
365

Jobs, Steve 3, 68, 126, 130, 137, 148, 191, 262, 288, 365–8, 370

and collaboration 324

on creativity 323–4

movie about 365–6

Jones, Kelly 98

Jones, Kenton ‘Keny’ 208–9

Jones, Leesa 208–9

Junior Achievement (JA) 277, 278

Just In Time (JIT) 327

Kasbah Kamadot 209

Keep it simple, stupid (KISS) 80, 98–9

Kelleher, Herb 229, 231–4, 239

Keller, Helen 180

Kennedy, John F. 32

Kerby, Chuck 350

Kia 174–5

Kiam, Victor 64

King, Lord 42, 301

KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) 80, 98–9

Kodak 124–6

Krave Turkey Jerky 286

Kreeger, Craig 76–7

Laker Airways 200, 297–300

Laker, Freddie 200, 233, 287, 289, 297–300, 305–6

Lao Tzu 117

le Carré, John 5, 30

leadership:

and accessibility 47–51

akin to bringing up children 26–7

and culture 228–9;
see also
culture

and decisions,
see
decisions

defined and discussed 117–30

and delegation 124, 195, 198, 199–200

and entrepreneurs 127–31

Lao Tzu’s take on 117

listening as ‘bum rap’ in 31

and ‘next big thing’ 369

and oratory 31–2

and passion, see passion

and simplicity 79

and today’s teenagers 276

unexpected provenance of 13

Virgin research to define 43–7, 191

and women 284–5

Leal, Raul 63–4

Leica 125, 311

Lennon, John 5

Leonardo da Vinci 178–9

Liberty Global 162

Light Brigade, Charge of 295

light bulbs, low-energy 349–53

listening:

and accessibility 47–51

and anagrams 30

interrupting as opposed to 39–40

and leadership, Virgin companies’ views on 45–6

merely hearing is not 33

notable practitioners of 37–8

and note-taking 5, 30–1, 33–7

and reading between the lines 41–2

and unspoken word 40–1

Lockheed Martin 285, 311

London Marathon 322

Lone Ranger 293

M-Pesa 354

McCall, Patrick 337

McCallum, Gordon 160, 161

McCue, Mike 365

McDonald’s 147

Machel, Graça 117

McKinsey & Co. 96–7

McLaughlin, Patrick 338, 339–40

Magnuss Ltd 355

Malaysia Airlines 342–3

Manchester United FC 258

Mandela, Nelson 37–8

Markkula, Mike 288