Losing My Virginity. Richard Branson

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What do I love about: Richard Branson?

The book is well written with timelines and short chapters to making reading a lot easier.

Richard’s approach towards life and the ethos that forms the soul of his companies are evident in the name he has chosen for his first book; Losing My Virginity. Richard, provides the reader a bird’s eye view into the man behind the Virgin vision. No doubt this mogul’s appetite for risk and adventure became the cornerstone for his accomplishments. He started student magazine as a youth culture platform for students to share ideas and information, access services at good rates and ultimately improve the overall student experience. Despite his dyslexia, Richard did not let his learning deficiencies stop him, he devised systems such as note taking, and surrounded himself with individuals who not only had the right intellectual capabilities but also shared in his vision. Student magazine soon metamorphosis into a record mail order business which led to the birth of Virgin labels. Richard believed he had the onus to always give an idea a first try, so each time he had some spare cash or itch for an adventure he embarked on a personal or business adventure. With business, he proceeded to start Virgin airlines, trains, music, drinks, health, galactic, unite etc. All formed as independent entities run by experts to reduce the risk from company inter-dependencies and improve the agility in making business decisions. Personally, he was fascinated with various transportation based initiative such as sailing, air balloons-risking his life at several occasions, trying to break world record. As Richard became much older he geared towards social enterprising. In the 1990’s he rescued women and children from Baghdad risking the only plane Virgin had at the time and also leveraging his relationship with Queen Noor and King Hussein of Jordan who he had taught how to fly air balloons. The success and impact of this adventure triggered a hunger for more. He is now involved in several initiatives in Africa and the world at large where he intends to use his success to influence and make the world a better place

What do I not love about: Richard Branson?

Zilch

Who should read: Richard Branson?

If you love biographies, are fascinated about businesses and businessmen or simply adore Richard Branson then you would love this book.

Who should not read: Richard Branson?

This book is quite thick so you may not be a fan if you detest long literature.

Notes from Richard Branson

Chapter 2: You will either go to prison or become a millionaire (1967-1970)

Pain must exist so that we must learn of goodness
I hope that people will trust a slow hesitant response more than a rapid glib one

Chapter 4-5: I am prepared to try anything once (1970) -Learning a lesson (1971)

I lived by the dangerous maxim that I was prepared to try anything once
My parents had always drummed into me that all I had in life was my reputation. You may be rich, but if you lose your good name, you will never be happy
It was a bold move but even then I knew that it was only by being bold that you get anywhere

Chapter 8: To be second choice means nothing (1976-1977)

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about

Chapter 12-28: Success can take off without warning (1998-1982) -victory(1992-1993)

Whenever Virgin has money, I always renew my search for new opportunities
My interest in life comes from setting myself huge unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them
If I would like to think about it more carefully I would say that I love to experience as much as I can of life
I never think that I am going to die by accident, but if I were to die than all I can say is that I was wrong, and the hardened realist who kept their feet on the ground were right. But at least I tried
Nothing ventured, nothing gained (Branson April 1991)
Live for the present- I heard my parent’s old maxim (Branson March 1992)

Chapter 29-30: Virgin Territory (1993-1998) –Diversity & Adversity (1998-2005)

We never employed fund managers, some of the world’s most highly paid people, since we discovered their best kept secret. They could never consistently beat the stock market index.
It was still all about service. Value for money and offering a simple product. The vision I have for Virgin does not run along the orthodox lines of building up a company with a vast head office and a pyramid of command from a central board of directors.
My vision for Virgin has never been rigid and changes constantly, like the company itself. I have always lived my life by making lists
Convention dictates that a company should look after its shareholders first, its customers next and last of all worry about it employees. Virgin does the opposite. For us, our employees matter most. It just seems common sense to me that, if you start off with a happy, well-motivated workforce, you are much more likely to have happy customers
Nepal is where the Buddha was born, but it is also known for the largest mountain on earth – Mount Everest – which soars up to nearly 30,000 feet
What we are trying to do at virgin Is not to have one enormous company in one sector under one banner, but to have 200 or even 300 separate companies
If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another. If you wish to know that you are safe, cause others to know that they are safe. If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible things, help others to better understand. If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness and anger of another.
I realized just how slim the line is between genius and insanity and between determination and stubbornness

Chapter 31-32: Changes 2006- Flying High 2007

Gaia Theory- Earth is a living entity, like a single cell, and like a single cell, everything it needs for its existence is contained within
In effect, 1986 marks the year that humans reached Earth’s capacity, and ever since we have been running the environmental equivalent of a deficit budget, which is only sustained by plundering our capital base. The plundering takes the form of over exploitation, fisheries, overgrazing, pasture until it becomes desert, destroying forests, and polluting our oceans and atmosphere, which in turn leads to the large number of environmental issues we face.
The human race must move to a planet beyond our solar system to protect the future of the species. Life could be wiped out by a nuclear disaster or an asteroid hitting the plane
Prizes became the main way in which almost all modern industrial development has taken place. The first cars- and ironically, also aeroplanes – were spurred in their development by prizes
They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent, said Winston Churchill
I feel that helping people towards self-sufficiency where possible, gives them more hope and confidence and can take them out of a cycle of poverty and despair.
If an organization is structured in the right way there is no reason why its ethos should not survive the death of the founder or even a change of ownership
I have always believed in healthy competition as a way of driving up standards and letting customers have the best possible deal
Whatever the future holds, I am as excited and curious about it as I have always been. It is that curiosity and sense of adventure about the unknown with all its challenges that drives me.
It was all our wishes that the elders become a powerful force for good in a very uncertain world and that they will go from strength to strength, sometimes to bring peace out of chaos, to calm dangerous flashpoints; and to help when plague, famine and disasters strike
But whatever techniques you use, I believe that in the end it is the kindness and generous accommodation that are the catalyst for real change