SIR RICHARD BRANSON

SIR RICHARD BRANSON

• Born July 18, 1950, England • Virgin Group - 400 companies • Companies cost  $ 25 billion 

« A Frugal Billionaire » « Is an English industrialist (business magnate) » « The quintessential entrepreneur »

MilestonesHe was knighted in 1999 for his  “Services to entrepreneurship“ Sir Richard appears at No. 85 on the 2002  list of “100 Greatest Britons”

Sir Richard was also ranked in 2007's Time Magazine"Top 100 Most Influential People in the World".

On 7 Dec 2007, United Nations Secretary presented Branson with the United Citizen of the World Award for his  support for environmental and humanitarian causes

“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”.

When he was 16 years old, he dropped out of school to move  to London and launch Student Magazine, which did

relatively more  success.At 19 founded the Virgin mail order record companySuccess in selling mail order records, opening of a 

record shop  then  launched own record label, Virgin  Records. 

On May 25, 1973, the Richard Branson biography  took  on a  whole  new dimension with the release of Mike Old fields ‐the first release  for Virgin Records, which quickly became a best‐seller throughout  England 

 GREAT SUCCESS

How he began

Virgin Records music label  Virgin Atlantic Airways (USA) Virgin Mobile (India) Virgin Media (UK's fastest broadband) Virgin Blue Australia Virgin Galactic

Top known companies

Branson’s Empire

Branson didn’t  run his businesses by  strategies.Instead, he keeps a ‘to do’ list, that he writes at the

  beginning of each day.In recent years, Branson has taken steps to 

define a strategy for the Virgin Group ‐ Branded Venture  Capitalism was what his strategy advisor called it.

Mingle like a common man, go ahead like a bullet.Size does matter: you need to challenge and

compete with big brands to become big yourself. Take it easy, mix fun with work. 

Virgin brand

Main characteristics • Ability to connect with people.

• Innovative approach to the business. •Like challenges and always disengage difficulties.

•I’m not good at theory.Almost everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned  by doing. •Topping my list of gut feelings is this: business has to give people  enriching, rewarding lives, or it’s  simply  not worth doing.

STRATEGY

• Listen to peopleEncourage communication and feedback.  

• Integrate personnel in

to other parts of organization.

BRANSON'S SKILLS•Public Relations genius

 ‐he understands what the

media wants and gives it to them.

• He is likeable. He knows

when to disappear.

CORE BELIEFS AND VALUES • Helping people achieve things that they did not know they were capable of • Being a catalyst to the success of others •Constantly learning

VALUES AND BELIEFS •He says that he never listens to critics. • He is a sponge for new ideas•Inspire people to think like Entrepreneurs

Quiet, serious, sensitive and kind. Do not like conflict, and not likely to do things which may generate conflict

Loyal and faithful. Extremely well developed senses, and aesthetic appreciation for beauty

Not interested in leading or controlling others Flexible and open-minded. Likely to be original

and creative. Enjoy the present moment.

Personality

Leadership Skills

Employee Empowerment

Patiently listens to Employees’ ideas

Not a conventional business person

Never forces a consensus

Energizes people towards higher performance

Collaborating, Competing, Compromising, Avoiding,

Accommodating

Transformational Leadership-

Focused on bringing about changes in organization by building vision, securing commitment and empowering people.

Path Goal Theory(Participative Leadership)-

Leaders to provide information, support and resources to help followers achieve the goals.

Leadership theories

Situational Theory (Hersey & Blanchard): High concern for relationship and low concern for task i.e. Participative behavior.

Ohio State Studies: He is a consideration type of leader who believe in fostering informal relations. Establish warm, friendly and supportive climate for the subordinates to perform well.

Leadership theories

Art of delegation… I have to be good at helping  people run the individual businesses…

Branson says his philosophy of  "look for the best and  you'll get the best" helped  him build an  empire recognized for its young, fun culture…

• “If a flower is watered, it flourishes. If not, it shrivels up & dies.” Employee should be given the 

opportunity to do well in a different Virgin Group  job. Firing is seldom an option…

Leadership qualities

Motivational strategies extend to innovative ideas. The key to encourage innovation within the Virgin  ranks, suggests Branson, is to listen to any and  all ideas and to offer feedback.

Inspire people to think like entrepreneurs, and  whatever you do, treat them like adults.

“One thing is certain in business. You & everyone around you will make mistakes. You have to trust  people  around you to learn from their mistakes.  Blame and recriminations are  pointless.”

Leadership qualities

Team Spirit

Family oriented

Good in sports

Flexible

Open-minded

Welcomes different ideas and does not impose

his decisions on employees

Had his own Advisory team

Abilene Paradox: Avoids Conflicts

• 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).

WORLD RECORD ATTEMPTS

• In March 2004, Branson set a record by travelling from Dover to Calais in a Gibbs Aquila in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 6 seconds, the fastest crossing of the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle.

RICHARD BRANSON NET WORTH IS $4.2 BILLION AS ON MARCH 2012

HE OWNS AN ENTIRE ISLAND FOR HIM SELF !

VIRGIN ISLAND

THANK YOU