Childrens Corner

One of the characteristics of the Branson leadership style is knowing when to get out the way and let people get on with it. The way that Virgin is structured means he really has no choice. With 200 and upwards companies in the Virgin family – it is hard to keep count – it simply isn’t feasible to think he could be hands-on boss of all of them. Whether by luck or design, then, Branson is forced to be a back-seat leader. (The one company that he doesn’t seem able to leave alone is Virgin Atlantic.)

By and large, though, the hands-off leadership style is highly benefi cial. Managers in the group enjoy the opportunity of run-ning their own show; they fi nd it highly motivating. Unlike most companies, too, they don’t waste time on unnecessary meetings and pointless reports to give corporate headquarters something to do.

So if he isn’t running the business on a day-to-day basis what does Virgin’s back seat leader actually do? It’s hard to describe exactly. You could say, he enthuses other people, contributing to the buzz that emanates from every part of the group.

Beyond that, Branson is also important as a fi gurehead for the Virgin brand. He puts his full support behind new ventures. The publicity he generates, promotes all of the companies in the group. These days, he has to ration his personal appearances to one or two media events per business per year.

But there is something more to the Branson leadership model. He stands for something that makes people feel good to work for his company, a set of values that are important to Virgin employees. It’s hard to pin down exactly what those values are, but they have something to do with running a business for a purpose other than purely profi t.

Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder

The letter T has one leg, so it represents the number 1. D sounds a lot like T, so let’s say that D and T represent 1.

The letter N has two legs, and therefore suggests the number 2. GN will also correspond to 2.

The letter M with its three legs refers to the number 3. For the number 4, we’ll use R. Think about the word fouR, visualizing it for a few seconds.

In Roman numerals, L means 50, so in our system L will be 5.

I has a hook on the bottom, like the number 6. So J represents 6. The CH sound uses the identical mouth formation as J, but is nonvoiced. So CH will also represent 6.

Add wings to a 7 and you get K. Letters like hard C, Q, and G resemble the K sound, so they’ll represent 7 as well.

8 resembles a manuscript style F. The letters V and PH resemble F, so we’ll use them to represent 8 as well.

9 has a loop at the top, and so does P. So P equals 9. B is similar in sound and also has a loop, B also equals 9. And finally 0 will be represented by S, by soft C (cedar), by Z and by X (pronounced as in six).

Taken From: HOW TO USE YOUR MEMORY TO EARN MORE MONEY

Branson uses the physical environment at work to reinforce the
Virgin culture. The companies that make up the group are located
in buildings – big houses rather than offi ce blocks – that resonate with informality. They have been likened to “hippy hideouts.”3

Branson also uses an unorthodox “loose” organizational structure
to give employees free rein. Virgin is made up of a cluster of small companies that operate independently of each other. This creates more freedom for maneuver. Employees often work harder in small entrepreneurial groups where the wholehearted contribution of everyone is vital to the success of all. There is no room for coasting or passengers at Virgin.

Because they are in friendly competition with other parts of the
group too, the different Virgin businesses are encouraged to behave in a more entrepreneurial manner. This also restricts interference from the centre, making it more diffi cult for senior Virgin executives (apart from Branson) to meddle. In this way he has created the classic “divide and rule” model, which allowshim to give his people their heads but maintain absolute control whilst also preserving his cult-like status.

Taken From: Business The Richard Branson Way
10 Secrets of the Word’s

Everyone would like to have phenomenal number recall. We’re going to take a look at some ways to develop this ability. We’ll also show you how to make do without an agenda, and how to deliver a speech without using notes.
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He has always been prepared to hire bright young people with no proven track record, and let them loose on projects. In the early days of Virgin Music, the record label, for example, Branson was happy to take people who had little formal experience of the industry but had a real love of music and passion for making records.
Unsupervised, they would put huge effort and energy into their work – to justify the company’s belief in them. It was common in those days for staff at the company to turn down job offers from other companies that would have doubled their salaries. The reason? They enjoyed working at Virgin so much.

Empowerment – delegating decision-making authority to staff lower down the organization – became fashionable with management gurus in the 1980s; it has always been in vogue at Virgin. From the very beginning, Branson has surrounded himself with talented people and given them the freedom to be creative. Time and time again, they have rewarded his confi dence with dazzling results.

Take the example of Simon Draper, Branson’s South African cousin and long-time head of the Virgin record label. Draper it was who spotted many of Virgin’s greatest musical discoveries, including Mike Oldfi eld, Tangerine Dream and Culture Club.

Yet when he joined the company he had no formal training or
experience, just his enthusiasm for music to guide him. On occasions,
too, Draper had to tell Branson why a certain artist would not fi t with the label’s avante garde image. For many years, Virgin Music, due largely to Draper’s freedom to sign the artists he wanted, bankrolled the entire Virgin empire.

A similar approach cascades down the organization, with Virgin
employees typically having far more discretionary power than staff in other companies at the same level. Virgin Atlantic cabin crew are much more likely to use their initiative than those from certain other airlines who have to follow company dictat to the letter.

Taken From: Business The Richard Branson Way
10 Secrets of the Word’s

Test A
Study the following words for 3 minutes, then write them down in their proper order. Give yourself 10 points for each correct series. - pineapple, lamp, box, painting, chair, brick - rope, tree, cake, skirt, pin, notebook
1st try result:
2nd try result:
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What Branson didn’t know, however, was that his plan had been tumbled, and arrangements made to turn the joke on him. On his arrival at the address, he was met by the police, who arrested the protesting Virgin boss and locked him up for the night. In the morning, the entire Virgin staff went down to the police station to bail him out. His release was greeted with loud applause.

Branson’s sense of humor has landed him in trouble on other
occasions, too. One of his trademark party tricks is to seize hold
of glamorous guests and turn them upside down. Ivana Trump, former wife of the American billionaire businessman Donald Trump, still hasn’t forgiven Branson for hanging her upside down over a swimming pool in front of hundreds of guests at a black-tie party.

The story of his 1992 meeting with the late Sir James Goldsmith
shows that he just can’t help himself sometimes. Two more different
tycoons than Branson and Goldsmith would be hard to imagine. Branson the hippy, who built his empire by growing his own businesses, meets Goldsmith, the corporate raider and takeover baron. Invited to Goldsmith’s retreat in Mexico, Branson pushed the billionaire into the swimming pool on the fi rst morning – after promising not to – and was promptly asked to leave. Joan Branson’s only comment was “Thank God.”2

Branson on the offi ce
environment: “I get the best people, I ask questions, and then I say: ‘let’s have some fun’.”

The story shows Branson’s reckless disregard for the business
establishment. (Others have observed that it was an outstanding
example of man management.)

Taken From: Business The Richard Branson Way
10 Secrets of the Word’s

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You now have a clear picture of the problem. Check to make sure you haven’t left out any information that might have a bearing on the situation. If any of your data is vague, take the time to do some more research and clear it up.

Ask yourself what the causes of the problem are: under what circumstances
did it arise? Which people or what factors were involved in creating the situation? You should look into all possible causes.

Weigh the pro’s and con’s, and then ACT! You now possess all the information you need to eliminate the problem. You have your experience and intuition to guide you in your search for the best possible solution.

After examining the question from all angles, it’s time to concentrate your efforts on making a decision, and then to act on that decision. Determine when your decision will take effect, who will be responsible for carrying it out, and who the decision will affect, either directly or indirectly.

Try to make sure that your solution doesn’t cause any new problems.
If this cannot be avoided, try to have solutions already prepared for them.

Here is a quiz to help make sure that you’ve understood the material in this first chapter. Use a pencil to fill in your answers, or copy the test on another sheet of paper, so that you can do it again later on.

Taken From: HOW TO USE YOUR MEMORY TO EARN MORE MONEY