I loved, loved, loved the Virgin Way!
In The Virgin Way, Branson shares stories and anecdotes about his various companies in order to prove his points. Humorously, he touches on both serious and fun topics and gives the reader an idea about how he lives, how he runs his companies, how he grew to be where he is and how he keeps happy both his employees and clients.
Whilst I and we know many of his principles, in theory at least, it’s great to see a great leader applying them as well. When many companies couldn’t care less about employees nor clients, when bosses are power-obsessed rather than worried about becoming true leaders benefiting of the respect of everyone who’s lives they touch, it’s refreshing to see the other side of the coin.
To the point, giving specific examples and building curiosity throughout, The Virgin Way is an inspirational easy read, structured to keep the narrative flowing in a logical and well structured manner.
Here are 7 of the things Branson confirmed in The Virgin Way, not that they needed any confirmation. I could have written many more, but these should be enough to give you a taste of the book and determine you to read it!
1. Money is not the sole motivator
“… contrary to popular perceptions, money is seldom the prime motivator. […] People take a lot of satisfaction from knowing that they are doing a good job, and that their efforts are appreciated – and the simplest way to stroke this passion is for leaders to use ample doses of gratitude.”
2. You too can create your own luck
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”
3. A CV is just a piece of paper
“… we now hire for attitude and not paper qualifications.”
4. Have fun
“If the Manor parties could have made it to the Guinness Book of World Records so too could 1984 inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic. Not because of any particular aviation achievement but rather for the greatest amount of champagne consumed in a single flight between London and New York”
5. Being copied is a good sign!
“Today you will find that the naysayers are all playing catch-up as they try to emulate the success of our lounges, which are a testament of our philosophy of seeing how much we can incorporate into our product and customer service to build genuine loyalty…”
6. Dare to pick on the big guys
“More people switch to Virgin Atlantic from British Airways than from any other airline”
7. Collaboration is the key
“As all of the Virgin companies we always make a concentrated effort to ensure that everyone who might be able to offer any valid input is involved from the very beginning of a new product development”
