Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson

Born Richard Charles Nicholas

Branson

18 July 1950 (age 63)

Blackheath, London, England, UK

Residence London, England

Occupation Founder of Virgin Group

Years active 1966–present

Net worth US$4.6 billion (2013)[1]

Spouse(s) Kristen Tomassi (m. 1972–1979)

(divorced)

Joan Templeman (m. 1989)

Children 2 daughters (1 deceased), 1 son

INTRODUCTION:-

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 of more than

400 companies.

His first business venture was a magazine called Student at the age of 16.[3] In 1970,

he set up a mail-order record business. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores,

Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson's Virgin brand grew

rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic and expanded the Virgin

Records music label.

Branson is the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom, according to

the Forbes 2012 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of US$4.6 billion.

Early life

Branson was born in Blackheath, London, the son and eldest child

of barrister Edward James Branson (10 March 1918 – 19 March 2011 and Eve

Huntley Branson (née Flindt). His grandfather, the Right Honourable Sir George

Arthur Harwin Branson, was a judge of the High Court of Justice and a Privy

Councillor.[6] Branson was educated at Scaitcliffe School (now Bishopsgate School)

until the age of thirteen. He then attended Stowe School until the age of sixteen.

Branson has dyslexia and had poor academic performance as a student, but later

discovered his ability to connect with others.

Career

Record business:-

Richard Branson started his record business from the crypt of a church where

he ran The Student. Branson advertised popular records in The Student

Magazine and it was an overnight success. Trading under the name "Virgin",

he sold records for considerably less than the "High Street" outlets, especially

the chain W. H. Smith. Branson once said, "There is no point in starting your

own business unless you do it out of a sense of frustration." The name

"Virgin" was suggested by one of Branson's early employees because they

were all new at business. At the time, many products were sold under

restrictive marketing agreements that limited discounting, despite efforts in

the 1950s and 1960s to limit so-called resale price maintenance. In effect,

Branson began the series of changes that led to large-scale discounting of

recorded music.

Branson eventually started a record shop in Oxford Street in London. In 1971,

Branson was questioned in connection with the selling of records in Virgin stores

that had been declared export stock. The matter was never brought before a court

and Branson agreed to repay any unpaid tax and a fine. Branson's mother, Eve, re-

mortgaged the family home to help pay the settlement.

Earning enough money from his record store, Branson in 1972 launched the record

label Virgin Records with Nik Powell and bought a country estate, in which he

installed a recording studio. He leased out studio time to fledgling artists, including

multi-instrumentalistMike Oldfield, whose debut album Tubular Bells (1973) was

Virgin Records' first release and a chart-topping best-seller.

Virgin signed such controversial bands as the Sex Pistols, which other companies

were reluctant to sign. It also won praise for exposing the public to such obscure

avant-garde music as Faust and Can. Virgin Records also introduced Culture

Club to the music world. In the early 1980s, Virgin purchased the gay

nightclub Heaven. In 1991, in a consortium with David Frost, Richard Branson had

made the unsuccessful bid for three ITV franchisees under the CPV-TV name. The

early 1980s also saw his only attempt as a producer—on the novelty record "Baa,

Baa, Black Sheep", by Singing Sheep in association with Doug McLean and Grace

McDonald. The recording was a series of sheep baaing along to a drum machine

produced track and even made the charts at number 42 in 1982.

In 1992, to keep his airline company afloat, Branson sold the Virgin label to EMI for

£500 million. says that he wept when the sale was completed since the record

business had been the birth of the Virgin Empire. He later created V2 Records to re-

enter the music business.

Business ventures

Branson formed Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984, launched Virgin Mobile in

1999, Virgin Blue in Australia (now named Virgin Australia) in 2000. He was 9th in

the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, worth just over £3 billion. Branson wrote in his

autobiography of the decision to start an airline:

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.

In 1993, Branson took what many saw as being one of his riskier business exploits

by entering into the railway business. Virgin Trainswon the franchises for the

former Intercity West Coast and Cross-Country sectors of British Rail.

Virgin acquired European short-haul airline Euro Belgian Airlines in 1996 and

renamed it Virgin Express. In 2006, the airline was merged with SN Brussels

Airlines forming Brussels Airlines. It also started a national airline based in Nigeria,

called Virgin Nigeria. Another airline, Virgin America, began flying out of San

Francisco International Airport in August 2007. Branson has also developed a Virgin

Cola brand and even a Virgin Vodka brand, which has not been a very successful

enterprise. As a consequence of these lacklustre performers, the satirical British

fortnightly magazine Private Eye has been critical of Branson and his companies

(see Private Eyeimage caption).

A series of disputes in the early 1990s caused tension between Virgin Atlantic

and British Airways, which viewed Virgin as an emerging competitor. Virgin

subsequently accused British Airways of poaching its passengers, hacking into its

computers and leaking stories to the press that portrayed Virgin in a negative light.

After the so-called campaign of "dirty tricks", British Airways settled the case, giving

£500,000 to Branson and a further £110,000 to his airline and had to pay legal fees

of up to £3million  . Branson divided his compensation (the so-called "BA bonus")

among his staff.

On 25 September 2004, Branson announced the signing of a deal under which a

new space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, will license the technology

behind Spaceship One—funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and designed by

legendary American aeronautical engineer and visionary Burt Rutan—to take paying

passengers into suborbital space. Virgin Galactic (wholly owned by Virgin Group)

plans to make flights available to the public with tickets priced at US$200,000

using Scaled Composites White Knight Two.

World record attempts

A 1998 attempt at an around-the-world balloon flight by Branson, Fossett, and

Lindstrand ends in the Pacific Ocean on 25 December 1998.

Richard Branson made several world record-breaking attempts after 1985, when in

the spirit of the Blue Riband he attempted the fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing. His

first attempt in the "Virgin Atlantic Challenger" led to the boat capsizing in British

waters and a rescue by RAF helicopter, which received wide media coverage. Some

newspapers called for Branson to reimburse the government for the rescue cost. In

1986, in his "Virgin Atlantic Challenger II", with sailing expert Daniel McCarthy, he

beat the record by two hours. A year later his hot air balloon "Virgin Atlantic Flyer"

crossed the Atlantic.

In January 1991, Branson crossed the Pacific from Japan to Arctic Canada, 6,700

miles (10,800 km), in a balloon of 2,600,000 cubic feet (74,000 m3). This broke the

record, with a speed of 245 miles per hour (394 km/h).

Between 1995 and 1998 Branson, Per Lindstrand and Steve Fossett made attempts

to circumnavigate the globe by balloon. In late 1998 they made a record-breaking

flight from Morocco to Hawaii but were unable to complete a global flight

before Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones in Breitling Orbiter 3 in March 1999.

In March 2004, Branson set a record by travelling from Dover to Calais in a Gibbs

Aquada in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 6 seconds, the fastest crossing of the English

Channel in an amphibious vehicle. The previous record of six hours was set by two

Frenchmen.  The cast of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard

Hammond, attempted to break this record in an amphibious vehicle which they had

constructed and, while successfully crossing the channel, did not break Branson's

record. They were intercepted by a Coast Guard aircraft along the way, but after

Clarkson remarked "We're trying to beat 'Beardy' Branson!" the Coast Guard wished

them good luck, and left.

In September 2008, Branson and his children made an unsuccessful attempt at an

Eastbound record crossing of the Atlantic ocean under sail in the 99 feet

(30 m) sloop Virgin Money. The boat, also known as Speedboat, is owned

by NYYC member Alex Jackson, who was a co-skipper on this passage, with

Branson and Mike Sanderson. After 2 days, 4 hours, winds of force 7 to 9 (strong

gale), and seas of 40 feet (12 m), a 'monster wave' destroyed the spinnaker, washed

a ten-man life raft overboard and severely ripped the mainsail. She eventually

continued to St. George's, Bermuda.

Television, film, and print

Branson at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.

Branson has guest starred, usually playing himself, on several television shows,

includingFriends, Baywatch, Birds of a Feather, Only Fools and Horses, The Day

Today, a special episode of the comedy Goodness Gracious Me and Tripping Over.

Branson made several appearances during the nineties on the BBC Saturday

morning show Live & Kicking, where he was referred to as 'the pickle man' by

comedy act Trev and Simon (in reference toBranston Pickle).[40] Branson also

appears in a cameo early in XTC's "Generals and Majors" video.

He was also the star of a reality television show on Fox called The Rebel Billionaire:

Branson's Quest for the Best (2004), in which sixteen contestants were tested for

their entrepreneurship and sense of adventure. It did not succeed as a rival show

to Donald Trump's The Apprentice and only lasted one season.

His high public profile often leaves him open as a figure of satire—the 2000

AD series Zenithfeatures a parody of Branson as a super villain, as the comic's

publisher and favoured distributor and the Virgin group were in competition at the

time. He is also caricatured in The Simpsons episode "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" as

the tycoon Arthur Fortune, and as the ballooning megalomaniac Richard Chutney (a

pun on Branson, as in Branston Pickle) inBelieve Nothing. The character Grandson

Richard 39 in Terry Pratchett's Wings is modelled on Branson.

He has a cameo appearance in several films: Around the World in 80 Days (2004),

where he played a hot-air balloon operator; Superman Returns, where he was

credited as a 'Shuttle Engineer' and appeared alongside his son, Sam, with a Virgin

Galactic-style commercial suborbital shuttle at the centre of his storyline. He also

has a cameo in the James Bond film Casino Royale. Here, he is seen as a

passenger going through Miami Airport security check-in and being frisked – several

Virgin Atlantic planes appear soon after. British Airways edited out Branson's cameo

in their in-flight screening of the movie.

Achievement and awards

In 1993, Branson was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of

Technology from Loughborough University.

In the New Years Honours list dated 30 December 1999, Elizabeth II signified her

intention to confer the honour of Knight Bachelor on him for his "services to

entrepreneurship". He was knighted byCharles, Prince of Wales on 30 March 2000

at an investiture in Buckingham Palace.

Also in 2000, Branson received the 'Tony Jannus Award' for his accomplishments in

commercial air transportation.

Branson is the patron of several charities, including the International Rescue

Corps and Prisoners Abroad, a registered charity which supports Britons who are

detained outside of the UK.

Branson appears at No. 85 on the 2002 list of "100 Greatest Britons" (sponsored by

the BBC and voted for by the public). Branson was also ranked in 2007's Time

Magazine "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World". In 2009, Branson was

voted the UK's "Celebrity Dream Boss" in an opinion poll by Cancer Research UK.

On 7 December 2007, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon presented

Branson with the United Nations Correspondents Association Citizen of the

World Award for his support for environmental and humanitarian causes.

On 24 January 2011, Branson was awarded the German Media Prize (organised by

"Media Control Charts"), previously handed to former US president Bill Clinton and

the Dalai Lama.

On 14 November 2011, Branson was awarded the ISTA Prize by the International

Space Transport Association in The Hague for his pioneering achievements in the

development of suborbital transport systems with "Virgin Galactic". On 11 February

2012, Branson was honoured with the National Academy of Recording Arts and

Sciences' President's Merit Award for his contributions to the music industry. The

event took place the night before the 54th Grammy Awards.

On 2 June 2013, Branson received an honorary degree of Doctor Honoris

Causa from Kaunas Technology University in Kaunas, Lithuania.

.

Personal life

Branson has a daughter named Holly and a son named Sam. He stated in an

interview with Piers Morgan that he and wife Joan had a daughter named Clare

Sarah who died when she was just four days old IN 1978 The couple wed—at their

daughter Holly's suggestion when she was eight years old—in 1989 at Necker

Island, a 74-acre (30 ha) island in the British Virgin Islands that Branson owns. He

also owns land on the Caribbean Islands of Antigua and Barbuda. Branson has been

cited as a supporter of the football team Oxford United.

In 1998, Branson released his autobiography, titled Losing My Virginity, an

international best-seller.

Branson was deeply saddened by the disappearance of fellow adventurer Steve

Fossett in September 2007; the following month he wrote an article

for Time   magazine , titled "My Friend, Steve Fossett".

Influences

Branson has stated in a number of interviews that he derives much influence from

non-fiction books. He most commonly names Nelson Mandela's

autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, explaining that Mandela is "one of the most

inspiring men I have ever met and had the honour to call my friend." Owing to his

interest in humanitarian and ecological issues, Branson also lists Al Gore's best-

selling book, An Inconvenient Truth, and The Revenge of Gaia by James

Lovelock amongst his favourites. According to Branson's book, Screw It, Let's do It.

Lessons in Life, he is also a huge fan of works by Jung Chang.

Successful Entrepreneurs

 

Richard Branson is an English billionaire that is well known for his Virgin

brand. He has been involved in several business ventures over the years.

Recently, he has made news by establishing Virgin Galactic, which aims to

take passengers to space and create a new market for space tourism.

Richard Branson, as an entrepreneur, has been gifted with visionary

ability.

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin brand, was born on July 18, 1950,

to his lawyer father and stewardess mother. 

(article continues below)

He attended Stowe Public school in England. Being dyslexic and

nearsighted did not help him to achieve good grades in school.

His first business venture was a newspaper aimed at the students and

teenagers in school. At the time he was only sixteen years of age. Three

years later he founded the first of his Virgins, the Virgin mail order record

company.

His enterprises were given the name Virgin because it referred to them

being virgins in that particular business. Soon after, Richard Branson also

opened a record shop in London which eventually helped launch Virgin

Records.

Virgin Records is the most successful out of all the Virgin enterprises. It

made the Virgin brand well-known and increased Richard Branson's

prominence in the business and entertainment industries. Coming into the

record industry wasn't easy. There were many established record

companies, but Branson continued to be persistent and work hard at

getting the Virgin brand exposure.

Fortunately for Virgin Records, a legendary rock band fell into their laps

after being turned down by some of the bigger record companies when

they started playing. That rock band was none other than The Rolling

Stones. This early success led to other musical artists to fall under the

Virgin Record label. Such stars included the Sex Pistols, Culture Club, Phil

Collins, Janet Jackson and Lenny Kravitz. Now, Virgin Records are one of

the true heavyweights in the musical record industry globally.

As exemplified in his dealings in the music industry, Richard Branson

seems unfazed by large competitors, especially where there is an

advantage for the smaller company. This was also true in Branson's entry

into the airline industry with Virgin Atlantic. After more than two decades,

Virgin Atlantic can be considered a success.

Currently, Richard Branson is putting his entrepreneurship prowess on the

development of Space Ship One. This privately-funded project represents

Branson's innovative idea to bring passengers into sub-orbital space as

the very first "space tourists." It is his hope that space tourism will

become a major industry in the near future.

From a man who once said "the dinosaurs didn't last forever either," his

actions have demonstrated that he is not afraid to challenge the status

quo to achieve his business and personal objectives. This is the story of a

man with a vision that has crafted his entrepreneurial exploits.

Richard San Juan is currently pursuing an MBA degree with an emphasis in

Finance from DePaul University in Chicago. He is particularly interested in

writing about business news and strategies.

The Aims and Objectives :-

An aim is a general indication of what you should be achieving and how that specific

aim may be beneficial to a business. An objective gives more detail and is way of

assessing whether you are achieving your aims and to what extent. An objective

also tends to tell you what the outcome of the aim will be, for example; if all aims are

met on completion the learner will be able to conduct a business survey

immaculately. In addition Objectives can be targets for the business to achieve.

For my business to run effectively Aims and objectives are essential. These will be

done before we start the business to ensure that we know exactly what we are

hoping to achieve and how we’re going to achieve this.   In order to obtain a smooth

running of any business there are certain targets which should be met, These are;

Profit maximisation – try to make the most profit possible, Profit satisfying – try to

make enough profit to keep the owners comfortable, Sales growth – where the

business tries to make as many sales as possible and Survival. Our aim is to set up

a very successful golf putting business, with the intention of at least breaking even to

survive. We decided to limit the aims to a minimum as the more targets and aims the

harder it will be to achieve them.   There are various targets, which will essentially

help the running of our business, my group has decided on the most crucial one.

Similarly to that, below I have decided to add a few personal target to achieve

myself, which will help me achieve y own goal, although we are working as a group

we all are aiming to achieve different things out of this business.

RICHARD BRANSON BACKGROUND:

The Bullet Train Fiasco Reminds Us That California Is Our Greece

Passengers are supposed to be able to travel up to 220 miles per hour in

two-and-a-half ... I count 300 miles over 3650 days, which is less than 500

feet per day. Really? No one but Obama-friendly political cronies can do

this project faster ...

Virgin America Unveils Status Benefits For Elevate® Members, Top

Frequent Flyer To Earn The Ultimate Reward - A Virgin Galactic Space

Flight

Today, Virgin America also announces that in keeping with its mission to

elevate the travel experience - and the concept of loyalty rewards - to

new heights, the Elevate member who earns the most status points

between August 8, 2012 and August 7 ...

London 2012 Olympics: day four – as it happened

Different day, different role – this time up front in the PSA or pre-

screening area. Very customer-facing and very early start time. It turned

out to be quite a cool role – as the sun was shining ... hopes took a hit as

Richard Kruse was beaten by ...

The ruins of empire: Asia's emergence from western imperialism

Of course, as the historian Richard Drayton points out ... Japan struck the

decisive blow to European power in Asia. In about 90 days beginning on 8

December 1941, Japan overran the possessions of Britain, the US and the

Netherlands in east ...

Banana Republic Designs Stylish New Virgin America Airlines Uniforms

(Video)

Anyway, it seems the new VA uniform got the Banana Republic designers

so fired up that they also came up with travel collection pieces exclusively

... This new in-flight fashion line won't hit the skies until Aug. 8, which is

also the airline's 5-year .

Richard   San Juan - Contributing Author - Resources for Entrepreneurs

Richard San Juan is currently pursuing an MBA degree with an emphasis

in ... One methodof communication that entrepreneurs have to master is online

conferencing. .... Importance of Market Research - For startups and small

businesses, ... Richard Branson, as an entrepreneur, has been gifted with visionary

ability.

Business expantion:-

Branson expanded his entrepreneurial efforts yet again, this time to include the travel

company the Voyager Group in 1980, the airline Virgin Atlantic in 1984, and a series of

Virgin Megastores. But Branson's success was not always predictable. By 1992, Virgin was

suddenly struggling to stay financially afloat. The company was sold later that year to

THORN EMI for $1 billion.

Branson was crushed by the loss, reportedly crying after the contract was signed, but

remained determined to stay in the music business. In 1993, he founded the station Virgin

Radio, and several years later he started a second record company, V2. Founded in 1996, V2

now includes artists such as Powder Finger and Tom Jones.

Richard Branson biography

Born on July 18, 1950, in Surrey, England, Richard Branson struggled in school and dropped

out at age 16—a decision that ultimately lead to the creation of Virgin Records. His

entrepreneurial projects started in the music industry and expanded into other sectors making

Branson a billionaire. His Virgin Group holds more than 200 companies, including the recent

Virgin Galactic, a space-tourism company. Branson is also known for his adventurous spirit

and sporting achievements.

Biography - Information

Richard Branson is a flamboyant British entrepreneur with a seemingly insatiable

appetite for starting new businesses. His internationally recognized brand "Virgin"

is splashed across everything from credit cards, to airlines and music

"megastores". Branson is continuously seeking new business opportunities and

loves a good challenge, especially when he enters a market that is dominated by a

few major players.

Richard Branson was born on July 18, 1950. His entrepreneurial ways began early

when he was publishing a student magazine at just 16 years. Branson did not go

on to graduate school but in 1970 the now famous Virgin brand had its beginnings

in the form of a discount records mail order venture that he and his friend Nik

Powell worked on.

Virgin Records

Soon after opening a record store on Oxford Street, London, Branson began a

recording label in 1972, Virgin Records. This was to be the first major success for

the British entrepreneur as he started the label with a hit record. The instrumental

artist Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" released in 1973 was a cash cow for

Branson's Virgin Records and it stayed in the UK music charts for 247 weeks. The

record label went on to sign top music artists like "Genesis", "The Sex Pistols",

"The Rolling Stones" and "Simple Minds". The Virgin Records Group was sold in

1992 to THORN EMI for $1 billion USD. 

Richard Branson obviously wasn't finished with the music recording business as he

went on to start V2 Records in 1996. The V2 Music brand has a stable of artists

that include "Stereophonics", "Powder Finger", "Mercury Rev" and "Tom Jones".

The Virgin Brand

Richard Branson has created one of the most recognizable brands in the world. In

Britain where he focuses much of his attention, Branson has managed to

"Virginize" a very wide range of products and services. The variety of businesses

he controls is as vast as the geographical coverage the brand has, with business

located throughout The United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia,

Canada, Asian, Europe and South Africa.

Richard Branson Adventures

Branson is passionate about life and living every minute to its fullest. Since 1985

he has been getting his adrenaline rushes through world record breaking

attempts by boat and hot air balloon. Several distance and speed records have

been attempted and achieved, but his attempt to be the first person to

circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon was never achieved. Branson makes

each record attempt a media event with his Virgin logo prominently displayed

during every launch, which has been an excellent source of free advertising and

brand placement for the Virgin Group.

RICHARD BRANSON BIOGRAPHY

This flamboyant British entrepreneur with a seemingly insatiable

appetite for starting new businesses is the son of a lawyer and an

airline stewardess.

He was educated at the exclusive Stowe School but did not excel,

possibly due to his nearsightedness and dyslexia. In his teens he

developed a national magazine, Student at the Age of Sixteen. At

seventeen he began a student advisory service.

After leaving school, Branson entered the music industry.

Considering that he could sell records cheaper than the existing

average, he started a mail-order catalogue with friends. It was a

success, and they opened a record discount shop. They named

the business Virgin, because it was their first venture.

Virgin Records was formed in 1972. The first recording studio was

built in Oxfordshire, England. Mike Oldfield recorded the very first

album, and it sold over five million copies. When punk came

along, Virgin signed the outrageous Sex Pistols when other

record companies refused to touch them. The move turned out to

be a marketing coup.

Virgin Airlines is one of Richard Branson's main businesses.

Formed in 1984, it is part owned by Singapore Airlines, and it is

the second largest British long haul international airline, and has

won many awards.

To keep his airline afloat, Branson sold the Virgin music label to

EMI in 1992, a more conservative company which previously had

rescinded a contract with the Sex Pistols.

Branson apparently wept when the sale was completed since the

record business had been the genesis of his Virgin Empire.

In 1994, Sir Richard made a bid to run the National Lottery,

promising to give all the profits to charity, and lost. He failed with

a second bid five years later.

In 1997, Branson took over some of Britain's aging railway

network, under the title Virgin Rail. Despite the introduction of

new trains, the network is still dogged by delays and service

interruptions. More recently Branson has founded a mobile phone

network, an internet company, and a Cola, unsurprisingly titled

Virgin Cola.

In 2006, Branson sold his Virgin Mobile company to telecoms

company NTL:Telewest for £1 billion. As part of the sale, the

company pays a minimum of £8.5 million per year to use the

Virgin name and Branson became the company's largest

shareholder. The new company was launched with much fanfare

in February 2007, under the name Virgin Media.

On 9 February 2007, Branson announced the Virgin Earth

Challenge, which awards $25 million to an individual or team that

designs a viable product that will reduce greenhouse gases each

year for at least ten years without any harmful effects. Over

2,600 applications were made and 11 finalists were revealed on 2

November 2011.

In 2007, Branson also bought a ten per cent stake in Malaysian

airline AirAsia X and bid to buy a 30 per cent stake in Northern

Rock, which failed.

However, Branson was able to takeover Northern Rock for £747

million at the end of 2011, with the deal being finalised on 1

January 2012. He has now launched Virgin Money, with a range of

new products yet to be announced.

Branson expanded his healthcare empire in 2008 by opening

health care clinics offering traditional medical treatment as well

as homeopathy under the name Virgin Healthcare.

Marketing Strategies for Success from Richard Branson

Take a look at Richard Branson’s LinkedIn profile, and you may be surprised to see

how he describes himself: “Richard Branson: Founder of Virgin Group. Tie-loathing

adventurer and

thrill seeker, who believes in turning ideas into reality. Otherwise known as ‘Dr. Yes’

at Virgin!”

Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur behind Virgin Group, is celebrated for

both his adventurous spirit and proven marketing know-how. Worth an estimated

$4.2 billion, Branson has spearheaded more than 400 companies in a range of

markets, including: airlines, railways, mobile phones, media, the Internet, financial

services, health care and more.

We can all learn a little something from the marketing maverick, whether it’s on

branding, leadership, customer service, expanding into new markets, or – hey,

maybe even being a bit more adventurous.

Here we share some of our favorite strategies from Branson:

On Leveraging Inexperience as an Asset

“A lack of experience does not have to be a liability — it can be an asset. The key is

to pitch what is new about your product or service. How does your approach differ

from that of other businesses? How will you reach out to target markets? Why

should people choose your products and services over your competitors? Present

your prospects with a fresh take on a tired industry, and you will grab their attention.”

On Customer Service

“Delivering good customer service requires frontline workers to receive support from

co-workers — in effect, a chain reaction of teamwork that is consistent from

beginning to end. Going the extra mile with customer service builds massive loyalty

and brand-enhancing benefits.”

On Branding

“Brands exist as a means of communicating what to expect from a product or

service. Whatever you and your team decide your new brand will stand for, deliver

on that promise. That’s the only way you’ll ever control your brand. And beware:

Brands always mean something. If you don’t define what the brand means, your

competitors will.”

On Handling Success

“When a business does well, many start to focus solely on increasing profits, no

matter what the cost — leaving behind everything that originally made the business

special. If you are mulling over an expansion, tell all your employees about your plan

– include everyone from the truck driver to your senior team — and ask for their

input. If you can, it would be best to work out the details of the expansion plan

together, taking into account the challenges faced by your employees, and

incorporating improvements they would like to make.”

Timeline:-

Later years:

In 2003 Virgin Atlantic carried 3.8 million passengers. This increased to 4.6 million in

2006, placing it seventh among UK airlines, though the long-haul nature of its

operations made it second in terms of passenger-miles. During the 2012 Summer

Olympics bids, Virgin Atlantic attached London 2012decals to the rear of many of

their Boeing 747-400s.

On 31 October 2005, Virgin Atlantic operated a humanitarian aid charter

flight to Islamabad, Pakistan, with 55 tonnes of aid for the people affected by

the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.[21]

Two Virgin Atlantic aircraft featured in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale.

One Airbus A340-600 (G-VWIN) and one Boeing 747-400 (G-VWOW) along with

Branson and Virgin Atlantic crew, are part of a scene set at Miami Airport, although

the sequence was filmed at Prague's Ruzyně International Airport. Virgin Atlantic's

relationship with the James Bond franchise continued in Quantum Of Solace,

where James Bondand René Mathis travel to La Paz, Bolivia, on board Virgin

Atlantic, in Upper Class, although in reality the airline has never flown to any

destination in South America.

On 27 September 2006, Branson announced plans to reduce greenhouse

gas emissions by cutting aircraft weight and fuel consumption. There was also an

experiment in 2007 in partnership with Boeing to have aircraft towed to the runway

to save fuel, as a potential change to future operational procedures.Virgin also

volunteered a Boeing 747 for a test of biofuels in February 2008. The aircraft flew

without passengers from Heathrow to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, with 20% of the

power for one engine provided by plant-based biofuel. Virgin said it expected to

use algae-based biofuels in the future.

In April 2010, a tip-off from Cathay Pacific led to the OFT investigating alleged price

fixing between Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific on flights to Hong Kong between

2002 and 2006. Cathay Pacific received immunity from prosecution for reporting the

alleged offence. A maximum fine if found guilty was 10% of turnover which based on

the £2.5 billion in sales for the year to February 2009 would have been

£250 million. At the time, the OFT stressed that it should not be assumed that the

parties involved had broken the law. The OFT cleared both airlines in December

2012, concluding there were "no grounds for action".

Virgin Atlantic (a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited) is a British

airline which is majority owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. The Virgin

Group owns 51% of the airline, and Delta Air Lines own the remaining 49%. Virgin

Atlantic's head office is in Crawley, West Sussex, England, nearGatwick Airport. The

airline was established in 1984, and was originally planned by co-founders Randolph

Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. The pair

met Richard Branson, and through negotiations renamed the airline as Virgin

Atlantic. The maiden flight from London Gatwick to Newark was completed on 22

June 1984.

Virgin Atlantic uses a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-bodied jets and

operates between theUnited Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa,

the Middle East, Asia, and Australia from its bases at Gatwick

and Heathrow airports. The airline has operated domestic flights within the United

Kingdom since 31 March 2013.

In 2012 Virgin Atlantic carried 5.4 million passengers, making it the seventh largest

UK airline in terms of passenger volume. In the year to February 2013 the airline had

an annual operating loss of £128.4 million.

Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited holds a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Type A

Operating Licence, permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with

20 or more seats.

The key trends for Virgin Atlantic over recent years are shown below (figures are for

each year ending end February; they exclude Virgin Nigeria2005-2008):

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Turnover (£m) 1,630 1,912 2,141 2,337 2,579 2,357 2,700 2,740 2,900

Profits (EBT) (£m) 68.0 77.5 46.8 22.9 68.4 −132.0 18.5 −80.2 −69.9

Number of employees

c.9,000 9,580

Total flights 17,637 18,960 21,344 22,149 20,735 19,484 20,519

Number of passengers (m)

4.5 4.9 5.7 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.3 5.4 5.5

- passenger change year-on-year

8.9% 15.4% 1.4% 5.2% 2.3% 0.3% 2% 3.5%

Passenger load factor (%)

74.3 72.8 76.5 76.9 78.9 82.5 77.5 78

Number of aircraft (at year end)

40

Notes/sources [37][38] [37][38] [37][38] [37][38] [37][38] [37][38] [37][38] [38][39][40] [41][42]

In the past, Virgin Atlantic has operated a variety of aircraft. The retired fleet includes:

Aircraft Active Notes

Airbus A320-2001995–2004

Operated for Virgin Sun.

Airbus A321-2002000–2003

Operated for Virgin Sun.

Boeing 747–1001990–2000

G-VMIA named 'Spirit of Sir Freddie' after Sir Freddie Laker.

Boeing 747–2001984–2005

G-VIRG was Virgin's first aircraft.

Marketing

Richard Branson supports Legacy 10 campaign

A campaign supported by Richard Branson launches tomorrow to get more

people leaving 10% of their estate to charities after they die.

The Legacy 10 campaign was set up to encourage people to make the most of the

inheritance tax breaks announced by the government in the last budget. From April

2012, anyone who leaves at least 10% of their wealth to charity will have their

inheritance tax bill reduced from 40% to 36%.

Richard Branson and a number of other high profile business people are backing the

campaign by making their own 10% pledge in their wills. Gifts in wills are a vital part

of the funding for charities like the MS Trust and you don't have to have a huge

estate to make a difference. Once family and friends are taken care of, even a small

contribution to the MS Trust can help our work to continue for future generations.

Although 74% of us support charities during our lifetime, only 7% per cent of people

in the UK have left a gift to charity in their will. The Legacy 10 campaign aims to get

10% of the UK population to make a 10% pledge and to encourage everyone to

think about what they could leave to charities in their will. This could generate

billions more for good causes each year.

The campaign, set up by Roland Rudd of public relations firm Finsbury, launches

tomorrow at Tate Britain. The chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, and

culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt will be attending the launch to show their support.

Hypothesis:-

In a stroke of sheer brilliance, The Null has cracked the climate change

problem. Less than a month into Richard Branson’s five-year competition, Null

Hypothesis will take its winning idea to Virgin Earth and walk away with a cool

$25 million.

The solution to Branson’s problem (not to mention our, global, problem) is closer to

hand than we could ever have imagined. It is, quite simply, stop breathing; or at least

breathe less.

The average person takes 24,000 breaths a day, breathing in approximately 6g of

carbon dioxide, but breathing out around 800g during the same time. Over a year,

you personally will add a net 290kg of CO2 to the atmosphere, just by exhaling.

Multiply that by a global population of 6.5 billion and it adds up to a criminal 1.88

gigatonnes.

If we each merely cut out one breath in three, we could

decrease the amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere each

year by a staggering 0.63 gigatonnes. That’s 0.63 billion

tonnes - the same effect as saving 5 million acres of land (an

area the size of Wales) from deforestation, or recycling 192

million tonnes of waste instead of trashing it.

But we don’t want to stop there. Let’s get really ruthless. 

Perhaps the most carbon efficient solution would be to eliminate those members of

the population taking the most breaths and therefore expelling the most carbon

dioxide. 

Intuitively, you might expect these to be the sorts of idle layabouts who wouldn’t

know what a treadmill was if it hit them in the face. With their high resting heart rates

and shallow, wheezing breaths, they must be the least environmentally sound.

But that’s not the case. Being as there is no obvious difference between the

metabolic rates of the honed and toned, and the squashy and sluggish, we all burn

about the same amount of carbon whilst resting. However, all that time that the

super-fitties among us spend exercising, they’re guzzling extra oxygen and belching

out tonnes of CO2.

Employee Motivation in Virgin

Employee motivation can be divided into two groups: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic

motivation is “the work motivation in the absence of such external factors as pay,

promotion, and co-workers” (Aamodt, 2012, p.326). Extrinsic motivation, on the other

hand, arises from a range of compensational factors such as financial rewards,

career opportunities, co-workers etc.

Moreover, motivation in organisations can be divided into three different

perspectives: need-based, process-based and learning-based. Need-based

perspective on motivation is central to the idea that “humans are primarily motivated

by deficiencies in one or more important needs or need categories” (Griffin and

Moorhead, 2011, p.93).

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the most basic and the most popular

theoretical frameworks related to need-based perspective on motivation. According

to the theory human needs can be classified into several layers and an individuals’

most immediate needs have to be satisfied in order to upper layer needs to be used

as motivational factors Theoretical framework of Hierarchy of Needs is effectively

utilised by Virgin Atlantic in order to motivate its workforce at all levels depending on

the nature of their immediate needs. Specifically, while motivational tools for junior

level employees, mainly include financial incentives, emphasise is given to the

perspectives of personal and professional growth when motivating medium level

managers.

However, it is important to note that financial incentives remain to be one of the most

effective motivational tools for employees at all levels and this fact is fully

acknowledged by Virgin Atlantic management. Martins (2010) confirms this

viewpoint by informing that the compensation won by Virgin Atlantic from British

Airways for libel suit has been shared with all employees of Virgin Atlantic.

Two Factor theory of Frederick Hertzberg represents an alternative important

theoretical framework related to the topic of employee motivation. This need-based

theory distinguishes two factors – motivation factors and hygiene factors that play

significant role on the level of employee motivation. According to the theory,

motivation factors such as responsibility, achievement, and recognition are

perceived as primary causes of employee motivation.

Leadership at Virgin

Leadership is defined as “a collective and collaborative process focused on

relationships and networks” (Kezar et al, 2011, p.63) and it has crucial impact upon

the achievement of organisational aims and objectives. Traditionally, leadership has

been divided into autocratic, democratic and laisser-faire categories as it has been

argued by leadership theorist Kurt Lewin.

However, Fitzsimons et al (2011) convincingly argue that the range of leadership

styles and theoretical frameworks are much wider and more complex and not all of

them fit within the classification offered by Lewin. Specifically, additional leadership

frameworks include bureaucratic leadership, charismatic leadership, people-oriented

leadership, servant leadership, task-oriented leadership, transactional leadership, as

well as, transformational leadership.

There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ leadership style and the impact of exercising any

leadership style depends on a range of factors including the nature of the business,

personality of employee, team dynamics within the organisation, external market

environment etc.

Virgin Organisational Culture

Culture can be explained as “shared, socially learned knowledge and patterns of

behaviour” (Peoples and Bailey, 2011, p.24). Accordingly, organisational culture

relates to shared values and patterns of behaviour that is associated with a specific

organisation. Arguably, the most significant and popular theoretical framework on

the topic of culture relates to Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.

Specifically, Hofstede (1980) divides national cultures into the following dimensions:

power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty

avoidance, and long-term vs. short-term orientation. While this theoretical framework

has been primarily developed to distinguish between national cultures some

dimensions can be used to distinguish between organisational cultures as well.

For instance, Virgin Atlantic has low power distance cultural dimension with founder

Richard Branson encouraging feedback from employees at all levels (Azar and

Brock, 2010). In terms of uncertainty avoidance cultural dimension, on the other

hand, Virgin Atlantic organisational culture can be described as high in uncertainty

avoidance due to the company’s attempts of adopting an innovative approach in

dealing various tendencies in airline industry.

Concluding Points

Three important concepts related to organisational behaviour – employee

motivation, leadership and organisational culture have been applied and discussed

in relation to Virgin Atlantic in this article. It has been identified that Virgin Atlantic

management exercise a wide range of tangible and intangible motivational tools in

order to increase the levels of employee satisfaction and motivation. An analysis of

leadership style within the company, on the other hand, has revealed that

transformational leadership style is popular within Virgin Atlantic; the same way as it

is with other companies belong to Virgin Group. Moreover, organisational culture

within Virgin Atlantic has been found as creative, fun and non-conformist.

It is important to note that the concepts discussed in the essay are increasingly

interrelated, they contribute to the formation of each-other, and change in one

aspect of organisational behaviour is going to have inevitable implications on

remaining aspects as well.