I went to sit in the crowd at the London Business Forum interview with Richard Branson last week and thought I would share some insights gained from the experience. Love him or hate him (few in the latter I imagine), the interview was enjoyable. It was one of those expensive experiences that don't leave you with all the answers to business, but do leave you enthused.
Q - How have you managed to keep a 'challenger culture'?
A - By empowering people. He spoke of when they first started the company and it grew to around 100 people. At that point he believed that it was getting too big, so they split the company in two and established separate offices for each, with a new MD etc. They have kept doing this ever since, keeping the challenger 'David versus Goliath' culture alive and empowering people in the process.
Q - Do you write and respond to emails yourself?
A - Branson clearly didn't 'get didge'. You couldn't even call him a digital immigrant, for he'd had his first computer lesson the week before the interview and openly stated that he didn't send or read emails himself.
Q - Where does he focus his attention these days?
A - 60% social issues and 40% business.
Q - Three things he felt keep people motivated and enthused?
A - Responsibility, passion for what you believe in and parties
Q - What do you want to do when you retire?
A - His immediate response was that he never wanted to retire. He said that he did not want to waste his privileged position. He wanted to spend his time doing all he could to try and make a difference.
Q - What is a business?
A - He spoke of the preoccupation business people have with balance sheets, profit and loss. He said that he still didn't understand the difference between net and gross and stated his belief that a companies prime role was not about making money. Business was about the act of creation. It was about passionately believing in something and then trying to do it better than others. Profit was just the by product that helps you try new projects.
Q - What are his key strengths as a manager?
A - He liked to think of himself as a people person and a good listener. He spoke of always looking for the best in people, never the worst, stating that too many managers spend their time waiting for people to slip up. A positive culture is one that lets people realise their own mistakes, rather than highlighting them.
Q - What makes a new project interesting to you?
A - If it immediately excites him, it is being done poorly at the moment, and if it sounds like fun
Q - Is Virgin in danger of stretching the brand too far?
A - 'Every time I have started a new venture we have been told we have gone too far'.
Q - How have you kept growing through down turns?
A - He felt that a down turn was an opportunity. If you sat back you made the doom a self fulfilling prophecy. His belief was that you need to keep investing and expanding.
Q - When will you be offering the public trips to outer space?
A - In three years time, once he and his family have gone up on the first flight.
Aside from the above, the thing that stuck out was just how laid back and likeable he is. Clearly he is a people person who cares passionately about both his company and wider social issues. Cynics will have wanted to catch him out in some way, but small points like him coyly answering his mobile phone in front of a crowd of 500 business people would have frustrated them. He could have rejected the call, but didn't, he answered it and spoke to the person asking if he could call back.
If the above is all a little too sickening for you, then you won't like his response to the final question either..
Q - So thank you Richard, your time had been much appreciated by all. One final question we thought would be entertaining - you are sitting opposite Alan Sugar on The Apprentice. He points his finger at you in his demeaning way and asks "So Richard, why should I not fire you?"
A - (Branson laughs and then gives a small pause for thought) "Because if you do fire me, I will compete against you".
All too often we Brits like to knock down our business heroes, but there's far worse things you could do than read his biography. If there was ever a case for a person that makes things happen, it is he.
Sam
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