What is the main message of The Virgin Way?

The main message of The Virgin Way is to lead with authenticity, empower your team, and take calculated risks.

Is The Virgin Way a good book? Is it worth reading?

The Virgin Way is a worthwhile read. It provides valuable insights into Richard Branson's leadership style and principles for business success.

Who is the author of The Virgin Way?

Richard Branson is the author of The Virgin Way.

Management & Leadership

The Virgin Way Book Summary - The Virgin Way Book explained in key points

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The Virgin Way summary

Name: The Virgin Way
Rating: 4.4 (409 reviews)
Author: Richard Branson

Richard Branson

Everything I Know About Leadership

4.4 (409 ratings)

19 mins

Brief summary

The Virgin Way by Richard Branson is a book about his unconventional leadership style and how it helped him build the Virgin Group into a successful and innovative company.

Topics

Biographies Autobiographies

Table of Contents

The Virgin Way
Summary of 7 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Life lessons from the billionaire school dropout.

As a multi-billionaire and the owner of hundreds of successful businesses, Richard Branson knows a thing or two about leadership. This legendary leader has put pen to paper to share over four decades of triumph, failure and lessons about the Virgin way to lead. But as you’ll find out, the Branson brand isn’t built on great leadership alone. You’ll discover how exemplary listening skills, a generous spirit and a zest for fun have all shaped his story and philosophy of life.

From his early childhood and years as a high-school dropout to opening his first-ever Virgin Records store, you’ll witness the formative experiences of one of the world’s most eccentric entrepreneurs and learn that he’s never been afraid to do things differently. So sit back and enjoy Branson’s insightful anecdotes about some of the world’s most famous brands.

In these blinks, you’ll discover

what leadership lesson Branson learned from his father;
how procrastination saved him from the financial crash; and
why innovators are always being told no.

Branson’s upbringing made him a compassionate leader.

Our parents give us a lot, from their time and attention to their eye colors. But what about the less obvious things that make us who we are, such as our personality and general life philosophy? Richard Branson believes that his approach to leadership is all thanks to the way his parents raised him.

As a young boy, Branson often visited the local shop to buy chocolate bars. Unfortunately, he paid for his chocoholic habit by pilfering small change from his parents’ bedroom. When the shopkeeper eventually told his father Ted of her suspicions, the young Branson expected a mighty punishment.

But to his surprise, his father took little action – he didn’t even acknowledge that he knew about the theft. In fact, all his father did was give his son the cold shoulder for the rest of the day. Though he escaped punishment, Branson never stole his parents’ money again. Why? Because he knew full well that he had disappointed his father – Ted’s silence made that clear, and no harsh reprimand was needed.

As an adult and an employer of tens of thousands of people, Branson has tried to live up to his dad’s example of leniency. When Branson was running Virgin Records, for example, he became aware that one of his younger employees, a talented Artists and Repertoire (A&R) person, was stealing records and selling them to other stores. Though Branson would have every reason to fire him, he remembered his own experience of stealing and his father’s kindness.

Thus, after privately confronting the employee about his theft, he gave him a second chance and allowed him to keep his job. The result? Just like the younger Branson, this employee never stole anything again. Moreover, he became a great asset to the company, discovering several hit artists, including the singer Boy George.

Unfortunately, Branson’s humane attitude is at odds with some of his business contemporaries. US President and billionaire businessman Donald Trump, for instance, previously delighted in publicly denigrating people and firing them on his TV show The Apprentice. This may have all been for entertainment, but it nonetheless reflects the hard-nosed and authoritarian values that many business leaders subscribe to.

Fortunately, though, that’s not the Virgin way of doing things.

The ability to truly listen is the unsung secret of business success.

When it comes to qualities we look for in a leader, listening features rather far down on the list. Instead, we focus on their powers of oration – their speaking skills.

Just consider two esteemed leaders of the twentieth century, Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy. Ask anyone what made these men great, and they’ll probably mention great speeches. Indeed, Churchill’s ‘Finest Hour’ speech in 1940 and Kennedy’s famous inaugural address in 1961 have defined both leaders’ legacies.

A successful company is also a fun one.

Ask someone what their company culture is like, and they may look at you blankly. Indeed, for many of us, the only way we feel as if we’re experiencing any ‘culture’ in the office is if we eat yogurt at our desks. But that’s not the Virgin way. In fact, Branson agrees with Peter Drucker, the wise management consultant who famously said: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

What does a winning company culture look like?

Luck favors the brave and the well-prepared.

How can you make your own luck? Well, an ancient philosopher wisely opined that “luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation.” In other words, when opportunity knocks, you’d better make sure you’re ready to greet it. Let’s take a look at an example from Branson’s own life to see what happens when these two elements come together.

The first album that Branson’s fledgling Virgin Records ever released was Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. Unfortunately, though the album was a hit in the UK, Branson was having a hard time selling it to the Head of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun, who thought the record would be unpopular with American audiences.

Procrastinate your way to a great decision.

Making great decisions is arguably the most important part of being a leader. As the top decision-maker at Virgin, Branson understands that there’s no secret formula for making the correct call every single time. Indeed, after decades of getting it mostly right, but sometimes wrong, there’s only one thing he’s sure about – the best decisions usually take time.

Interestingly, Branson didn’t always take such a measured approach to decision-making. In fact, for most of his career, he admits he’s been guilty of jumping into things feet-first, with varying results.

Conventional wisdom is often the enemy of innovation.

As an innovator, your biggest challenge is often persuading naysayers that your idea will work. In the sixteenth century, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Bayazid II wanted to build a bridge across Istanbul’s River Bosphorus, an act that would connect Europe and Asia. Unfortunately, the engineers of the day were stumped. Eventually, the Sultan asked an Italian artist named Leonardo da Vinci to come up with a design.

Incredibly, da Vinci produced a beautiful rendering, based on cutting-edge mathematical concepts that he was sure would hold. But the rest of the engineering world sneered at his efforts and told the Sultan that the design was too fantastical to succeed. Da Vinci’s bridge was never built.

The leaders of tomorrow need to be guided toward entrepreneurship.

Branson is proud to say that the Virgin way is to always lend a hand to the young people who will become our next generation of entrepreneurs. Of course, finding budding entrepreneurs and equipping them with the skills they need to succeed cannot be done by the business world alone.

That’s why Branson is calling on schools to wake up to the enormous potential of entrepreneurship and change the way they teach our children. As a school dropout at the age of 16, Branson believed, as he still does, that the mainstream school system places too little emphasis on the skills needed for an entrepreneurial career.

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What is The Virgin Way about?

The Virgin Way (2015) explores Richard Branson’s secrets of leadership. Drawing on real-world anecdotes from the author’s decades of experience and eccentric way of doing business, these blinks are an insight into one of the world’s most innovative minds.

The Virgin Way Review

The Virgin Way (2014) by Richard Branson is a captivating book that offers valuable insights into the leadership principles that have shaped the success of the Virgin Group. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It provides practical advice on leadership and decision-making, giving readers actionable strategies to implement in their own lives.
Through real-life stories and personal anecdotes, Branson shares his experiences and lessons learned, making the book relatable and inspiring.
With its intriguing behind-the-scenes look at the Virgin Group and Branson's unconventional approach to business, the book is far from boring, keeping readers engaged from start to finish.

Best quote from The Virgin Way

Having grown up with dyslexia, I learned very early in life that if I wanted to take anything in then I had to force myself to listen intently.

—Richard Branson

Who should read The Virgin Way?

Budding entrepreneurs looking for inspiration
Business enthusiasts wanting a fresh perspective
Fans of uplifting true stories

About the Author

Richard Branson is a business magnate, author and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Virgin Group, which encompasses over four hundred companies. Branson has a net worth of around $4 billion and, in 2007, was listed as one of Time Magazine’s most influential people in the world.

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Management & Leadership Biography & Memoir

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