Richard Branson, British billionaire and owner of the Virgin brand is unquestionably a successful entrepreneur. His actions speak for him and he is one of a type of successful person who likes to speak about their experience with often unconventional methods of doing business. The last time we wrote about Richard Branson was when he offered his employees unlimited vacation. Today we will focus on his observations regarding leadership. Our article is based on the summary of the latest of Branson's books entitled The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership published on businessinsider.com. The book describes the 10 leadership lessons from his more than 40 years of experience in business.
1. Follow your enthusiasm
If you have an idea, do not get discouraged by critics and take risks. Do not, however, enter projects that will completely ruin you if you fail.
2. Do something good for others
Richard Branson, like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, is a billionaire who is committed to devoting half of his assets to charity. He also involves his employees in doing charity work and perceives it not only as a way contribute to a good cause, but also to strengthen team spirit.
3. Believe in yourself
Be proud of what you do. To succeed, you must believe in your goals and your business.
4. Have fun
If you do not enjoy your work, do something else. All four hundred companies under the Virgin brand, such as Virgin Records or Virgin Atlantic Airways, have fun in common. The aim is to break down barriers between people and enable the open sharing of ideas.
5. Hold on
Keep in mind that you will have to overcome challenging obstacles. Sometimes you will not succeed (e.g., when the Virgin Cola brand tried to defeat Coca-Cola), but it is not the end of the world. If you fail with one thing, start something else and be smarter.
6. Listen to others
Richard Branson has had problems with dyslexia since he was a child. Therefore, the learned to carry a notepad everywhere with him and write what others said in order not to forget it. This has paid off well in business.
7. Learn to delegate
Admit that you cannot do everything. Let carefully selected people lead things you are not good at or things you would only waste time doing. Spend more time with your family because family is the most important thing.
8. Meet new people
Do not spend every day locked in the office at the computer. Meet with employees or interesting people in your field. Build personal relationships which can't be replaced by anything else.
9. Communicate with all employees
Even a CEO is made by his team. Richard Branson is not in favor of strict hierarchy levels in the company and promotes communication and cooperation among all people across the company.
10. Find your happiness
Richard Branson understands success as constantly experiencing happiness. If you do not enjoy what you are doing and you are not surrounded by people you love, even huge profits will not make you happy.
Book:
BRANSON, Richard: The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership. New York: Penguin Group, 2014. 352 p.
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