Who is this guy ???

RICHARD BRANSON…

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate and investor. He is best known as the founder of Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400 companies. Branson was born in Blackheath, London. His father was barrister Edward James Branson. Branson had dyslexia and had poor academic performance as a student, but later discovered his ability to connect with others.

On one of Branson’s last days at school, his headmaster, Robert Drayson, told him he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire.

Sir Richard Branson

• Transformation Leader• Virgin group > 400

companies• Companies cost $25

billion• Employees approx.

50,000

“My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them…from the perspective of wanting to live life to the full, I felt that I had to attempt it”.

LEADERSHIP IS

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. Peter F. DruckerLeadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to Do it.

Dwight Eisenhower

Some simple strategies

• Size does matter: you need to challenge and compete with big brands to become big yourself.

• Take it easy, mix fun with work.

• Remember, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy ☺

• Haggling is possible in every business it brings down prices‐ Mingle like a common man, go ahead like a bullet.

• Be camera / media friendly ‐ ☺

What qualities ???

Leadership qualities

• Art of delegation… I have to be good at helping people run the individual businesses…

• Branson says his philosophy of ‘look for the best and you'll get the best’ helped him build an empire recognized for its young, fun culture…

• “If a flower is watered, it flourishes. If not, it shrivels up and dies. It’s much more fun looking for the best in people.

• Employee should be given the opportunity to do well in a different Virgin Group job. Firing is seldom an option…

Leadership qualities

• Interaction between employees and managers is fundamental. Encourage stuff to write him with any ideas or suggestions. Either way, they get the chance to be heard.

• Branson has developed a level of trust with his top managers by setting the direction & then stepping back to let them navigate. ‘I come up with the original idea, spend the first three months immersed in the business so I know the ins & outs and then give chief executives a stake in the company and ask them to run it as if it’s their own’…

• Motivational strategies extend to innovative ideas. The key to encouraging innovation within the Virgin ranks, suggests Branson, is to listen to any and all ideas and to offer feedback.

Leadership qualities • “Inspire people to think like entrepreneurs, and whatever you do, treat them l

ike adults. The hardest taskmaster of all is a person’s own conscience, so the more responsibility you give people, the better they will work for you.”

• “One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes. When you are pushing the boundaries this is inevitable—and it’s important to realize this. Even when things are running well, there is always the prospect of a new reality around the corner. Suddenly, all the good decisions you made last week are doing you untold damage. … Failure usually occurs when leaders avoid the reality of business. You have to trust the people around you to learn from their mistakes. Blame and recriminations are pointless.”

• “There are many ways to run a successful company. What works once may never work again. What everyone tells you never to do may just work, once. There are no rules. You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over, and it’s because you fall over that you learn to save yourself from falling over. It’s the greatest thrill in the world and it runs away screaming at the first sight of bullet points.”

THANK YOU