You can apply the association technique when you have to present a technical report, or if you have to learn a text by heart. Underline the key words, and invent unusual associations for them. If your images are strong enough, they will become infallible guides for remembering your text. An actor friend who uses the technique to memo rize his lines assured me that it is remarkably effective.
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When the business consultant Don Cruickshank was brought in as group managing director to prepare Virgin for privatization, he quickly realized that trying to get Branson to fi t into a conventional organizational structure was pointless – and would be self-defeating. Instead, he sensibly concluded, the company would have to be structured around its energetic chairman.
Recognizing his talent for enthusing others, Cruickshank, the ex-McKinsey consultant, encouraged Branson to “continue to dream up new ideas, to look at a bewildering array of new ventures and to start more companies in two years than most entrepreneurs do in their whole careers.”2
Branson should not try to alter his nature, Cruickshank warned. Instead he should stick to what he is really good at: motivating others and passing on his confi dence and belief that every new project would succeed. In short, Branson should devote all his energy to acting as a catalyst. All that was needed was a corps of people to tidy up behind him, and to help him clarify what he was trying to achieve.
One of Branson’s great talents is getting people fi red up about a new business idea and then letting them loose on it. His own enthusiasm is contagious, focusing excitement on a goal or destination which then allows him to step back and let others run with it. Somehow, too, he spurs people on to achievements they wouldn’t have believed were possible.
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
Another vital aspect of Branson’s role as “leader” of Virgin is that of planning the future. Unlike business visionaries such as Microsoft’s Bill Gates, and Intel’s Andy Grove, however, he is not in the business of crystal ball gazing or strategizing. Rather, Branson is a prospector, panning the multitude of business ideas that Virgin attracts for nuggets of purest gold.
He is always on the lookout for new business ventures. He and his two expert advisers consider somewhere close to 50 proposals a week. Most will be rejected out of hand, but if there is a gleam of an opportunity for a new Virgin company they will take a long hard look.
It is one thing to recognize potential for a business, and quite another thing to make it a reality. This is one of Branson’s secrets: the ability to make things happen. He is the catalyst that triggers a chain reaction that transforms potential energy in a project or idea into kinetic energy that sends people scurrying in a thousand directions.
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
“Virgin staff are not mere hired hands. They are not managerial pawns in some gigantic chess game. They are entrepreneurs in their own right.”1 – Richard Branson
Don’t lead sheep; herd cats – that’s the Branson style of leadership. Rather than expect people to follow blindly where he leads, he relies on his ability to get the best from individuals by creating a challenging environment. Like herding cats, it’s much harder to do but a lot more lively.
In many ways, the Virgin boss is the archetypal leader of the future.
He rarely coerces, inspiring instead. He possesses that most precious of all leadership assets – credibility. You could say he obtains the best performance from the people around him not through threats but through pure adulation. Alternatively, he is a just a fairly talented entrepreneur carried along by his own enthusiasm and a long run of luck. Unlikely. In reality, it is because he doesn’t “play” the big leader like an actor, but works hard at it, that he is so effective in the role. What Branson understands better than most is that leadership is an art: but one that is more akin to the skill of the orchestra conductor than the soloist.
Leadership is, perhaps, the most diffi cult of all human attributes to defi ne. In terms of style of leadership, there is much to be said for timing. Cometh the hour, as they say, cometh the man. Whatever else we think about the business leaders of the 21st century, it seems clear that in terms of style they will be more Branson than Lord Hanson. The days of the asset strippers are numbered. The ability to manage start-ups and put empires together is more valued than that of selling off the family silver.
But all the style in the world cannot compensate for a lack of substance. Perhaps that is why inadequate business leaders prefer
to hide behind their job titles and status symbols, relying on hierarchical power for their authority. Successful entrepreneurs, on the other hand, have tended to be fi gures of awe; inspiring fear and wonder in equal measure.
Today, we are less impressed with either of these styles. The modern view is that leadership relies on people being willing to follow. When Richard Branson started out in business back in the 1960s there was little to suggest that command and control was crumbling, certainly not in the corporate world. By discarding hierarchical power in favor of inspirational leadership, Branson was 25 years ahead of his time.
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
He may not look like a fi nely tuned PR machine, but Richard Branson has turned himself into a walking, talking logo. Every time his picture appears in a newspaper or magazine, it promotes the Virgin brand. Promoting your business the Branson way has a number of subtle and not-so-subtle twists to it. These include:
? Understand what the media want, and give it to them. Where other companies spend huge sums of money on advertising, Branson generates yards of column inches for free. And where other fi rms employ expensive PR fi rms to organize contrived media events, Branson delivers a much more valuable commodity – news.
? Think in pictures. Branson will do almost anything to promote
his brand. He is especially good at creating stories with visual impact.
? Stand up and be counted. Branson has a remarkable knack of popping up at unexpected moments of public drama.
? Remember, philanthropy and stamp collecting are two different things. Over the years, Branson has been involved in a number of high-profi le community activities. Although these are generally separate from his business empire, they also generate publicity for the Virgin group.
? Know when to duck. Almost as impressive as Branson’s ability to steal the limelight when he wants to is his ability to avoid negative publicity for his business activities.
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
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Branson has managed to keep a veil around the inner workings of his fi nancial empire. In 1986 he fl oated his Virgin business on the London Stock Exchange, only to buy it back because he didn’t like the constraints a market listing brought with it.
It has been suggested that there are two Richard Bransons: the
people’s champion known to millions and the deal maker known
to his business partners.
His ability to step out of the limelight and virtually disappear from view is both part of the secret of his enduring success, and also part of the way in which he protects his business interests from damaging speculation. Nor will you see his children in the media spotlight – his wife Joan sees to that. How Branson achieves this remarkable conjuring trick is unclear. Perhaps it is part of the art of being an everyman character to be able to disappear into the woodwork when it suits. Having a Caribbean island of your own to disappear to and throwing excellent parties for the media probably help, too.
NOTES
1 And despite an allegation of sexual harassment.
2 Mitchell, Alan, Leadership by Richard Branson, Amrop International,
1995.
3 “I’m Richard, fl y me,” Roy Hattersley, The Guardian, June 20, 1998.
4 Brown, Mick, Richard Branson: The Authorized Biography, 4th edn, Headline, 1998.
5 Virgin Group Literature.
6 Jackson, Tim, Virgin King, HarperCollins, London, 1994, p. 126.
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
“I believe there is almost no limit to what a brand can do, but only if used properly.” – Richard Branson
One of the most frequently asked questions about Virgin is how far the brand can stretch. Some commentators believe that by putting the Virgin name on such a wide range of products and services, Branson risks seriously diluting the brand.
Branson’s answer to this criticism is that as long as the brand’s
integrity is not compromised, then it is infi nitely elastic.
Just how powerful the Virgin brand is was shown by a 1997 survey.
It found that 96% of British consumers have heard of Virgin and 96% can correctly name Richard Branson as its founder.
“Virgin is a unique phenomenon on the British business scene,” notes one commentator. “It has, essentially, one principal asset, and an intangible one at that – its name. From fi nancial services through airlines and railways to entertainment Megastores and soft drinks, clothes and even bridal salons, the brand is instantly recognizable to the consumer, conjuring up an image of good quality, cheap prices, and a trendy hipness that few others can match.”1
Branson intends to keep it that way. But he acknowledges that the Virgin strategy would not work for any brand; it is based on what he calls “reputational branding” rather than traditional product and service branding.
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
The UK 2000 campaign was an initiative to pool the resources of a number of private and government schemes to improve Britain’s environment and provide meaningful work experience for unemployed youngsters. At the request of Margaret Thatcher’s government, Branson accepted the role of chairman. From the very outset, however, the campaign was plagued by hostile press coverage, with the British tabloids determined to portray it as no more than an exercise in picking up litter. Branson left the post a year later, licking his wounds.
Another public spirited foray involved the launch of Mates, a brand of cut-price condoms aimed at shaking up the near monopoly position of Durex. The launch of Mates was a business success, putting condom advertisements on British television for the fi rst time. But, despite raising public awareness of HIV, the advertising had little real impact on public health, which was its stated aim. Branson was criticized by the press even though he risked his own money to launch a product whose proceeds were intended for charity. When the company was sold to Australian business Ansell, the entire £1 million proceeds were used to launch the Virgin Healthcare Foundation.
Branson’s bid for the UK National Lottery franchise also earned him unfavourable press coverage. Despite his insistence that he would make no profi ts from running the lottery and that all of the proceeds would be administered by a charitable foundation entirely separate from the Virgin group, Branson failed to get his message across to the public. Once again, cynical journalists played fast and loose with his altruistic intentions.
It is an interesting insight into Branson’s personality, too, that he appears to be surprisingly sensitive to such criticism. Where most people in the public eye would expect to be misunderstood, Branson appears almost naïve about why the press might pick on him. Indeed, he seems genuinely disappointed that journalists should question the motivation behind his public-spirited displays. Perhaps he has just become used to positive coverage. Alternatively, he may see playing the hurt party as the best way to defl ect criticism.
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
There is also another aspect to Richard Branson that receives media attention. Over the years, he has been involved in a number of high-profi le community activities. These include his bid to run Britain’s National Lottery, with all profi ts to go to a charitable foundation. Plus his involvement in the Aids awareness campaign, which gave rise to the launch of Mates condoms to challenge the near monopoly position of Durex in the UK market and from which all profi ts went to charity; when the business was sold to Ansell, the proceeds went to the Virgin Healthcare charitable foundation. And not forgetting his support for a nonsmoking campaign aimed at children; and his involvement in the UK government sponsored UK 2000 initiative to help unemployed youngsters and clean up the litter from Britain’s streets.
There was even talk of Branson taking on a major public offi ce, with rumors that he would enter the race for the new post of Mayor of London. It is a testament to his public popularity, too, that polls indicated that he would have been the fi rst choice of many Londoners.
These “public spirited” activities reveal Branson the philanthropist.
Although they are generally separate from his business empire, they also generate publicity for the Virgin group. This has prompted some people to question Branson’s motives.
Many celebrities, of course, are well known for their less-thancharitable reasons for taking on charitable works. Film stars, pop stars and politicians are not above milking sentiment from the odd good cause for a bit of popular press. In Branson’s case, however,
such accusations seem misplaced. Certainly, his personal reputation has benefi ted from championing worthy causes, but his reasons, in the main, seem to be genuinely idealistic. This is the man, after all, who at the age of 18 founded the non-profi t Student Advisory Centre to help with young people’s problems. That was back in 1968, before he’d even started the mail-order record business that laid the seeds for the Virgin empire.
In fact, if there is one area where Richard Branson has not received
the credit he is due, it is his charitable work. For such an enthusiastic and able self-publicist, he has shown himself to be uncharacteristically clumsy when it comes to obtaining positive coverage for his good works. Although he does not give vast amounts of money to charity, Branson has given generously of his energy and time to support causes he believes in. He has been involved in a number of major public projects.
Taken From: Richard Branson 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder
