Branson Virgin Quotes

The brave may not live forever – But the cautious do not live at all

I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive then I believe you are better off not doing it. A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.

Only a fool never changes his mind.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

It is only by being bold that you get anywhere. If you are a risk-taker, then the art is to protect the downside.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Most "necessary evils" are far more evil than necessary.

to be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running

In the same way that I tend to make up my mind about people within thirty seconds of meeting them, I also make up my mind about whether a business proposal excites me within about thirty seconds of looking at it. I rely far more on gut instinct than researching huge amounts of statistics.

I have always believed that the only way to cope with a cash crisis is not to contract but to try to expand out of it.

You’re guaranteed to miss every shot you don’t take.

the best motto to follow is ‘Nothing ventured; nothing gained’.

I believe that listening is one of the most important skills for any teacher, parent, leader, entrepreneur or, well, just about anyone who has a pulse.

Listen – it makes you sound smarter

They encouraged me to always look for the good in people instead of assuming the worst and trying to find fault.

Acquiring the habit of note-taking is therefore a wonderfully complementary skill to that of listening.

Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.

There have been times when I could have succumbed to some form of bribe, or could have had my way by offering one. But ever since that night in Dover prison I have never been tempted to break my vow.. My Parents always drummed into me that all you have life is your reputation: you may be very rich, but if you lose your good name you'll never be happy.

Whenever you are setting up a new project, the most important thing is to surround yourself with people who are better than yourself, have different skills and a healthy combination of enthusiasm and experience.

Developing mental toughness isn’t just about being resilient – it’s about accessing your reserve tank when you think you just can’t go any further.

Live for the present –’ I heard my parents’ old maxim in the back of my head ‘– and the future will look after itself.

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a ride!

Fun is at the core of the way I like to do business and it has been key to everything I've done from the outset. More than any other element, fun is the secret of Virgin's success. I am aware that the ideas of business as being fun and creative goes right against the grain of convention, and it's certainly not how the they teach it at some of those business schools, where business means hard grind and lots of 'discounted cash flows' and net' present values'.

Throughout my business life I have always tried to keep on top of costs and protect the downside risk as much possible. The Virgin Group has survived only because we have always kept tight control of our cash. But, likewise, I also know that sometimes it is essential to break these rules and spend lavishly.

If only we had the power to see ourselves in the same way that others see us.’ Of all the mantras one might adopt in life, this is surely one of the better ones and for anyone in a leadership role it should be an essential part of the checks and balances that are built into a company’s standard operating procedures.

The way to become a great leader is to look for the best in people – seldom criticise – always praise.

is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

how slim the line is between genius and insanity and between determination and stubbornness.

The key enterprising skills I used when first starting out are the very same ones I use today: the art of delegation, risk-taking, surrounding yourself with a great team and working on projects you really believe in.

What we are trying to do at Virgin is not to have one enormous company in one sector under one banner, but to have two hundred or even three hundred separate companies. Each company can stand on its own feet and, in that way, although we've got a brand that links them, if we were to have another tragedy such as that of 11 September - which hurt the airline industry - it would not bring the whole group crashing down.

If I had to give one reason why I have been fortunate enough to experience some success, it would be my knack of bringing together wonderful people.

It’s so much better, where possible, to try and forgive offenders and give them a second chance, just like my mother and father did so often with me as a child.

Capitalism – which in its purest form is entrepreneurism even among the poorest of the poor – does work; but those who make money from it should put back into society, not just sit on it as if they are hatching eggs.

I don’t believe it can be taught as if it were a recipe. There aren’t ingredients and techniques that will guarantee success. Parameters exist that, if followed, will ensure a business can continue, but you cannot clearly define our business success and then bottle it as you would a perfume. It’s not that simple: to be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running; and, if you have a good team round you and more than your fair share of luck, you might make something happen. But you certainly can’t guarantee it just by following someone else’s formula. Business is a fluid, changing substance.

Roman philosopher Seneca who some two thousand years ago said, ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

when you make mistakes at least try to make them quickly.

expected, look for someone with a sense of humour, who is fun, friendly and caring, because that is a person who likely understands teamwork and will help others.

We call this the spirit of Ubuntu, that profound African sense that we are human only through the humanity of other human beings.

Try everything once. Except incest and folk dancing.’ Sir Thomas Beecham

YOU NEVER LEARN ANYTHING BY LISTENING TO YOURSELF SPEAK.” —SIR RICHARD BRANSON, Entrepreneur and Founder of the Virgin Group

In thirty years’ time, as technology moves forward even further, people are going to look back and wonder why offices ever existed. —RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER OF VIRGIN GROUP

In thirty years’ time, as technology moves forward even further, people are going to look back and wonder why offices ever existed. —RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER OF VIRGIN GROUP*

If you go around the world saying that, in order for the world to survive you have to make huge changes in your way of life, it does help if you yourself walk the walk and talk the talk.

You fail if you don’t try. If you try and you fail, yes, you’ll have a few articles saying you’ve failed at something. But if you look at the history of American entrepreneurs, one thing I do know about them: An awful lot of them have tried and failed in the past and gone on to great things.” —RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER OF THE VIRGIN GROUP

In every potential sponsor’s eyes, I was a nobody. And soon I had notched up more rejection letters than is healthy for any one man to receive. I tried to think of an entrepreneur and adventurer that I admired, and I kept coming back to Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin. I wrote to him once, then I wrote once more. In all, I sent twenty-three letters. No response. Right, I thought, I’ll find out where he lives and take my proposal there myself. So I did precisely that, and at 8:00 P.M. one cold evening, I rang his very large doorbell. A voice answered the intercom, and I mumbled my pitch into the speakerphone. A housekeeper’s voice told me to leave the proposal--and get lost. It’s not clear quite what happened next: I assume that whoever had answered the intercom meant just to switch it off, but instead they pressed the switch that opened the front door. The buzzing sound seemed to last forever--but it was probably only a second or two. In that time I didn’t have time to think, I just reacted…and instinctively nudged the door open. Suddenly I found myself standing in the middle of Sir Richard Branson’s substantial, marble-floored entrance hall. “Uh, hello!” I hollered into the empty hall. “Sorry, but you seem to have buzzed the door open,” I apologized to the emptiness. The next thing I knew, the housekeeper came flying down the stairs, shouting at me to leave. I duly dropped the proposal and scarpered. The next day, I sent around some flowers, apologizing for the intrusion and asking the great man to take a look at my proposal. I added that I was sure, in his own early days, he would probably have done the same thing. I never got a reply to that one, either.

Forty years ago, Richard Branson, who ultimately founded Virgin Air, found himself in a similar situation in an airport in the Caribbean. They had just canceled his flight, the only flight that day. Instead of freaking out about how essential the flight was, how badly his day was ruined, how his entire career was now in jeopardy, the young Branson walked across the airport to the charter desk and inquired about the cost of chartering a flight out of Puerto Rico. Then he borrowed a portable blackboard and wrote, “Seats to Virgin Islands, $39.” He went back to his gate, sold enough seats to his fellow passengers to completely cover his costs, and made it home on time.

Forty years ago, Richard Branson, who ultimately founded Virgin Air, found himself in a similar situation in an airport in the Caribbean. They had just canceled his flight, the only flight that day. Instead of freaking out about how essential the flight was, how badly his day was ruined, how his entire career was now in jeopardy, the young Branson walked across the airport to the charter desk and inquired about the cost of chartering a flight out of Puerto Rico. Then he borrowed a portable blackboard and wrote, “Seats to Virgin Islands, $39.” He went back to his gate, sold enough seats to his fellow passengers to completely cover his costs, and made it home on time. Not to mention planting the seeds for the airline he’d start decades later. Sounds like the kind of person you’d like to hire

A typical Virgin airline employee is the sort of person who will joke with passengers and smile, not just nod their head and say: ‘Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir.’ I shared a story about one occasion when we had a short delay before a Virgin flight and people had to queue up at the gate. One of the passengers jumped the queue and marched up to the desk. Our team member very politely asked him to get back into the queue. He turned on her and said: ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ So she picked up the intercom and announced: ‘I have a young man at gate 23, who seems to be lost – he doesn’t know who he is.’ The other passengers roared with laughter. ‘Fuck you!’ shouted the self-important man. She kept a straight face and replied: ‘I’m afraid you’re going to have to get in line for that too, sir!

Pregunta: ¿cuántos Wal-Marts se necesitan para cambiar un bombillo? Respuesta: 3 230. La historia que hay detrás de esta anécdota es interesante. Tiene que ver con el interés de Wal-Mart por ahorrar energía, con lo cual no solamente le hicieron un favor al medio ambiente y a sus clientes sino a sí mismos. Allá por el año de 2008, se dio una conversación en Wal-Mart sobre la nueva tecnología de bombillos de luz fluorescente compacta (CFL), que les permitiría a los clientes ahorrar dinero en las cuentas de electricidad. Alguien preguntó: “por pura curiosidad, ¿qué diferencia veríamos si cambiamos los bombillos incandescentes en todos nuestros ventiladores de techo y ponemos bombillos ahorradores?”. Al parecer, un almacén típico de Wal-Mart en los Estados Unidos tiene diez ventiladores de techo, cada uno de los cuales utiliza cuatro bombillos. Eso equivale a un total de cuarenta bombillos por almacén, multiplicados por los 3 230 almacenes que tienen en el país. Alguien se puso a hacer las cuentas en el respaldo de un sobre y se encontró con la asombrosa cifra de seis millones de dólares en ahorro de energía, simplemente cambiando los bombillos incandescentes por ahorradores, en todas las tiendas de Wal-Mart.

entrevista para la revista Fast Company, Chuck Kerby, vicepresidente de hardware de Wal-Mart (que se encarga de los ventiladores de techo) declaró: “no podía creer que estuviéramos pagando seis millones de dólares de más para encender esos aparatos. Fue toda una revelación para mí”. Así, al ver el efecto que podía producir el cambio de unos cuantos bombillos en las cuentas de la luz, Wal-Mart se embarcó en una misión en el nombre de la conservación y de la responsabilidad corporativa. El gigante de las ventas al por menor decidió que le vendería al menos un bombillo ahorrador a cada uno de sus clientes habituales: eso equivalía a 110 millones en total. Calcularon que si cada uno de sus clientes se llevaba un bombillo ahorrador y lo usaba para reemplazar un bombillo ordinario de 60 vatios, la energía ahorrada bastaría para darle electricidad a una ciudad de 1,5 millones de habitantes. Otra equivalencia más impresionante es que, en términos de petróleo no consumido o de gases de efecto invernadero no emitidos a la atmósfera, ese bombillo por persona equivale 1.3 millones de automóviles de menos en las calles. En el proceso de reducir el consumo de energía y aumentar la conciencia del público respecto a los beneficios de algo tan sencillo como cambiar un bombillo, Wal-Mart se propuso mejorar su propia reputación —algo menos que

estelar— mostrando lo mucho que se tomaba en serio su nueva postura como activista ambiental. Como ocurre casi siempre, un avance en materia ambiental por lo general trae muchos otros más. En este caso, dado que cada bombillo CFL tiene una vida útil equivalente a la de seis a diez bombillos incandescentes, si Wal-Mart vende 110 millones de bombillos ahorradores, se elimina la necesidad de fabricar, empacar, transportar, comprar y desechar 110 millones de los bombillos antiguos en los próximos seis años. Según Wal-Mart esos 110 millones de bombillos ocupan el espacio de casi 300 camiones articulados al año y eso sin contar la flota de camiones de basura necesarios para llevar los 110 millones de bombillas incandescentes quemadas al botadero y la gasolina que consumen en el proceso. Es evidente que, en el largo plazo, Wal-Mart podría estar perjudicándose a sí misma, pues, en un ciclo de reemplazo de seis a ocho años con los bombillos ahorradores, los ingresos obtenidos por ventas de bombillos incandescentes obviamente disminuyen. No obstante, los ejecutivos de Wal-Mart declaran que esperan con ansias la llegada del día en que sus estantes de bombillos ocupen la mitad del espacio. Aunque en apariencia esta parece una táctica comercial negativa, no hay tal: ¡Wal-Mart no se convirtió

en la mayor empresa de ventas al por menor del mundo haciendo mal sus cuentas! Los bombillos CFL dan la misma cantidad de luz que los clásicos bombillos incandescentes, pero usan hasta ochenta por ciento menos electricidad. Wal-Mart confía que el dinero que sus clientes ahorrarán en las facturas de luz finalmente regresará a ellos, pues en los estantes donde antes se encontraban bombillos ahora verán otros productos a precios atractivos. ¡Sin embargo, no se acostumbre todavía a esos nuevos bombillos ahorradores CFL! Es posible que en el mundo de los bombillos estemos presenciando la misma evolución acelerada que vimos en la industria de la música, cuando pasamos de los discos de vinilo a la era digital, a través de los casetes y de los CD. La tecnología CFL, con diez años como líder en el mercado, ya vislumbra la amenaza de la tecnología LED: un bombillo LED es mucho más caro, pero puede durar hasta veinticinco años y su precio ya está cayendo dramáticamente. ¿Quién lo diría? ¡La decisión de cambiar un bombillo ya no es tan sencilla como era antes!

En primer lugar, tenemos la ley de los grandes números. Cuando a un individuo le dicen que cambiando un simple bombillo le puede ayudar al planeta, la respuesta típica suele ser: “ay, por favor, lo que yo haga no va a cambiar nada. Lo único que voy a cambiar es un bombillo”. Sin embargo, como lo sabe muy bien Wal-Mart, una pequeña acción multiplicada por decenas o cientos de millones puede tener unos efectos impresionantes. En efecto, para hacer una cosa grande se necesitan muchas cosas pequeñas. Por ejemplo, si una persona no deja abierta la llave del agua mientras se cepilla los dientes, dos veces al día, ahorra a la increíble cantidad de 7 000 litros de agua al año, que equivale a la misma cantidad de agua que un residente de África subsahariana consume en un año, para diversos uso: beber, bañarse y cocinar. Por eso, diga: “¡a la m… hagámoslo!”. Con unos cuantos bombillos CFL y apagando la llave mientras se cepilla los dientes, ¡usted puede convertirse en un gran poder ecológico! En segundo lugar, el clout de Wal-Mart demuestra la capacidad que tienen las empresas privadas y, en particular, los grandes negocios para mover montañas. Wal-Mart es, de lejos, el mayor cliente de General Electric en consumo

Ecomagination Nation”,

Would I ever support Trump? No. But would I try to talk to him about issues I care about, from climate change to criminal justice reform, and encourage him to take a better approach? Of course. As I told him all those years ago, life is too short for enemies and the spirit of forgiveness is far stronger than the spirit of revenge. Would Donald agree? Sadly, I doubt it.

On 8 December 2003 we floated Virgin Blue on the stock market for A$2.3 billion. A$2.3 billion! This, the same airline we’d started with A$10 million only four years earlier, and had rejected a A$250 million offer for only two years previously.

Los grandes líderes casi siempre son unos grandes simplificadores, que reducen las discusiones, los debates y las dudas a sus elementos esenciales, a fin de ofrecer una solución que todo el mundo pueda entender”. COLIN POWELL

KISS (por “keep it simple, stupid”)

El matemático francés Blaise Pascal describió muy bien este problema en su célebre frase: “Lamento haber escrito esta carta tan larga, pero no tenía tiempo para hacerla más corta”.

La improvisación es algo muy difícil. Yo lo hacía de la siguiente manera: una semana antes empezaba a prepararme, escribía la improvisación y me la aprendía de memoria”.

De hecho, si Da Vinci hubiera tenido un mantra, sería algo así como: “Esto funciona en la práctica, pero no en teoría”.

Sin embargo, al llegar la década de 1970, se empezó a acusar al banco de ser discriminatorio contra el macho de la especie y finalmente cerró sus puertas en 1997. Adelantemos un poco la película y ubiquémonos en el año 2007. Jayne-Anne, ahora en Virgin Money, con su mente ultracreativa, recordó la idea de la sucursal para las damas al ver unos hermosos salones con paneles de roble que heredamos (por coincidencia) en Edimburgo y no necesitábamos. Así se le encendió el bombillo: había nacido el concepto del “Lounge de Virgin Money”. Por supuesto que la gran diferencia es que, esta vez, el servicio era para todo el mundo: hombres, mujeres y niños. De lo del paracetamol no estoy muy seguro.

Pero dejemos que sea el propio Ron quien lo explique, como lo hace en su “manifiesto”, que a mí me pareció un documento profundamente emotivo: En la actualidad, se venden demasiadas cosas. Se gasta más energía en la comodidad para comprar que en la pasión por aquello que se va a comprar. Ya nada significa nada. Todo está en todas partes. La comodidad no tiene alma. Es hora de volver a las compras en pequeñas cantidades. Volver a lo alternativo. Si en el mundo impera la ubicuidad, a nosotros nos interesa la escasez y la intimidad. Virgin Mega vende productos inspirados en grupos musicales y en la cultura pop que no es posible encontrar en

otra parte. Lo nuestro es el “ahora”, no lo que va a pasar en diez minutos ni lo que ocurrió diez minutos atrás. Lo nuestro es lo que está pasando. Ese momento entre la fila que hiciste durante horas y la recompensa épica. ¡La emoción! En Virgin Mega el asunto no es comprar, sino irse de cacería, desear. Los verdaderos fans hacen fila, bajo la lluvia, durante horas. Porque les interesa lo que buscan. A veces, lo que haces para obtener algo es tan estimulante como lo que obtienes. Es la experiencia. Son los amigos y las cosas que descubres mientras haces fila. Virgin Mega es para los fanáticos. Lo que te haga vibrar. A ti te gusta la música y a nosotros nos gustan los fans de la música. Te acercaremos a los artistas que admiras mediante el lanzamiento de ropa, zapatos, arte y boletos, inspirados en la música y la cultura pop que te mueve, para alimentar tu adicción por una actitud con estilo. Todos nuestros productos son limitados y numerados. A veces, lo que vendemos no es fácil de encontrar. Y a veces, si no estás atento, esas cosas desaparecerán frente a tus narices, ¡para siempre! Tienes que estar atento. Tienes que probar tu fanatismo. Y tendrás que hacer filas. Largas. Y te encantará cada minuto que pases en ellas. Ven a Virgin Mega. Gózatela toda y gózatela ya.

A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.

(something that reads the same backwards as forwards) I have ever seen. It reads, ‘A man, a plan, a canal – Panama.

Our educational systems need to give young people the opportunity to plug into curriculums that encourage them to rise to their full potential, take risks, embrace failure, and challenge the established norms wherever and whenever they can. The leaders of tomorrow will be so much more effective if they are taught to retain and refine that childlike curiosity for the unknown, rather than having it ‘schooled’ out of them, as seems still to be the case today in so many schools and universities. Secondary education should be encouraged to place greater emphasis on developing emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and real-life problem-solving skills – algebra and calculus don’t cut it – all of which are key traits of successful entrepreneurs and indeed successful adults in any walk of life.

– I became the lease holder of the Roof Gardens after a bouncer refused me entry for wearing jeans and looking too scruffy. I bought the place the next day, and gently informed the bouncer to let me in regardless of my clothing. He turned out to be a delightful gentleman and ended up working for us for another three decades.

We owe our freedom to extraordinary people,’ he told the assembled crowd. ‘The bad, the evil, doesn’t have the last word. It is ultimately goodness and laughter and joy and caring and compassion.

Somebody said to me after Strive that there are three stages to life: youth, middle age, and ‘you’re looking well’! Sadly, it’s probably true. I found myself getting more ‘you’re looking well’ comments than usual after Strive. But the adventures we do as a family help keep me young, and give me another reason to stay fit and healthy.

Act Different, Think Different, Make a Difference “Care about something enough to do something about it.” —Richard Branson, founder, Virgin Inc.

El arte de delegar es una de las habilidades claves que cualquier emprendedor debe dominar. “Contrate gente que no tenga sus debilidades”. Si

Convention also dictates that ‘big is beautiful’, but every time one of our ventures gets too big we divide it up into smaller units. I go to the deputy managing director, the deputy sales director and the deputy marketing director and say, ‘Congratulations. You’re now the MD, the sales director and the marketing director of a new company.’ Each time we’ve done this, the people involved haven’t had much more work to do, but necessarily they have a greater incentive to perform and a greater zest for their work.

Helium-3 is made under extreme pressure and extreme heat. It was made when the moon ripped out of the Earth and flew into orbit around it, and continues to be made by solar winds down countless millions of years. Scientists can make only minuscule amounts, at a cost of billions of dollars, in the accelerator at Cern. Getting it from the moon – where it would be ‘mined’ from the dust and then heated to release the gas itself – would not be wildly expensive, nor beyond our ability. Helium-3 could supply all of the Earth’s energy needs way into the future by using fusion, which is both clean and safe.

Acima de tudo, nunca se esqueça de que a superação das adversidades é a marca característica de um verdadeiro empreendedor.

One of the things I’ve learned over my years in business is that, once you have a great product, it is essential to protect its reputation with vigilance. It’s not just a question of getting it into the marketplace. As a result, every day I receive a bundle of press cuttings – everything that mentions Virgin. These – and staff letters – are the first things I read in the morning.

I called up Coca-Cola and told them that Pepsi had just booked a big advertisement but that the back page was still free. I called up the Daily Telegraph and asked them whether they would prefer to advertise before or after the Daily Express. Another tack was to ask an innocuous question that they couldn’t easily deny: ‘Are you interested in recruiting the highest-calibre school-leavers and university graduates?’ No personnel manager would ever admit that they were looking for mediocre recruits. ‘Then we’re publishing just the magazine for you …

If I had refused to contemplate skydiving, hot-air ballooning or crossing the Atlantic in a boat, I think that my life would have been the duller for it. I never think that I am going to die by accident, but if I were to die then all I can say is that I was wrong, and the hardened realists who kept their feet on the ground were right. But at least I tried.

Soon a number of journalists from the national papers came to interview me to see what all the buzz was about. We developed a foolproof way of impressing them. I sat at my desk, the telephone at my elbow. ‘Great to meet you. Take a seat,’ I would say, waving the journalist down into the beanbag opposite me. As they shuffled around trying to retain their dignity, get comfortable, and remove the drips of houmous and piles of cigarette ash from the folds, the telephone would ring. ‘Can someone take that, please?’ I would ask. ‘Now –’ I turned my attention to the journalist ‘– what do you want to know about Student?’ ‘It’s Ted Heath for you, Richard,’ Tony would call across. ‘I’ll call him back,’ I’d say over my shoulder. ‘Now, what did you want to know about Student?’ By this time the journalist was craning round to watch Tony tell Ted Heath that he was sorry but Richard was in a meeting and he’d call him back. Then the telephone would ring again, and Tony would pick it up. ‘David Bailey for you, Richard.’ ‘I’ll call him back, but will you ask if he can change that lunch date? I’ve got to be in Paris. OK –’ I’d flash an apologetic grin at the journalist ‘– now, how are we doing?’ ‘I just wanted to ask you –’ The telephone rang again. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt,’ Tony would apologise, ‘but it’s Mick Jagger for you and he says it’s urgent.’ ‘Please excuse me for a minute,’ I’d say, reluctantly picking up the phone. ‘Mick, hello. Fine thanks, and you? Really? An exclusive? Yes, that sounds great…’ And on I went until Jonny couldn’t stop laughing in the call box opposite or the pips went. ‘I’m sorry,’ I’d say to the journalist. ‘Something’s cropped up and we’ve got to dash. Are we finished?’ The journalist would be ushered out in a daze, passing Jonny on the way, and the telephone would stop ringing.

Dream Big. Play Big. Take Risks !! Keep working towards things that really matter. It is only by being bold that you get where you wanna get.

Dream Big. Play Big. Take Risks !! Keep working towards things that really matter. It is only by being bold that you get where you wanna get.

Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say “Wow” and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.

Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways and numerous other Virgin enterprises, once defined an entrepreneur as “Someone who jumps off a cliff and builds an airplane on the way down.

You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” Richard Branson, Entrepreneur, founder of Virgin Group

have always found it to be one of the more intriguing idiosyncrasies of the human condition that a problem that is handled quickly and effectively will almost always serve to generate more long-term customer loyalty than when the original service was delivered satisfactorily.

In future just remember one thing: you’re guaranteed to miss every shot you don’t take.

A New Yorker by birth is David Karp, the child prodigy who at age 21, in 2007, founded Tumblr, whose headquarters are located just one block east of Hunch. The son of a composer and a science teacher, at 14 Karp began working as an intern in an online animation company; at 15, tired of traditional school, he continued to study at home alone, learning, among other things, Japanese; then he became the chief technology officer of the Internet site UrbanBaby and at 17 he went to Tokyo for five months by himself. In 2006, UrbanBaby was bought by CNET, and Karp used his share of proceeds to establish Tumblr, a blogging platform with elements of social networking that allows its users to follow other bloggers. Tumblr allows users to build a collection of content according to their own tastes and interests. Easy to use, with a format of short entries to be enriched with photos and videos, Tumblr has quickly gained many followers among the creative community as well as the public at large. Today it is home to nearly 70 million blogs, including those of Lady Gaga and Barack Obama, with a total audience of 140 million users. At 26, Karp is leading a company with over 100 employees, valued at more than $800 million, with shareholders of the caliber of Virgin Group’s Richard Branson. He defines Tumblr as new media, as opposed to technology, and seeks to attract non-traditional ads, inviting brands to create awareness and desire in their ads, rather than just trying to capture intent. Karp has already received several acquisition offers from other media groups, but he has always refused because he thinks big: he wants to reach billions, not millions of users and one day be in a position to acquire rather than be acquired. Meanwhile, in order to grow he is convinced that New York City, the capital of media and advertising, is the right city.[47]

All ideas are second-hand, consciously or unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources, and daily used by the garnerer with a pride and satisfaction born of the superstition that he originated them.

Virgin Food Orgy A rich friend of mine, Richard Branson, sent me an invitation to his book launch party. The invite read, 'Come to our Virgin Food Orgy. Treat yourself to our $100,000 buffet of exotic and erotic treats.' I came to the party, stuffed $1000 of caviar into a dozen condoms and swallowed them like a Colombian drug mule. Great fucking party!

Keeping it short goes a long way.

Ultimately, brands are built by people who passionately believe in their brands. Indeed, many of the world’s best brands can be linked to a single person: Howard Schultz created Starbucks, Steve Jobs built Apple, Pleasant Roland formed American Girl, Richard Branson developed Virgin, and Phil Knight was the driving force behind Nike. Brand builders understand and believe in the power of brands.     Tim

Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Branson is the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group of companies. An immensely successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, and television star, Sir Richard was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999. In 2002, Sir Richard was voted one of the “100 Greatest Britons” in a poll sponsored by the BBC. I was fortunate enough to know Diana for most of her adult life. For most of those years, I saw the sunny side of her personality. She was great fun, she was very caring, she did much for charity, and yet she was no saint and certainly wouldn’t have wished to be portrayed as one. On her death, the outpouring of grief was understandable, but she would have smiled wryly if she had seen the deference paid to her in the weeks following it.

Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Branson is the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group of companies. An immensely successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, and television star, Sir Richard was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999. In 2002, Sir Richard was voted one of the “100 Greatest Britons” in a poll sponsored by the BBC. She was a very loyal friend. When British Airways tried to drive Virgin out of business, I took them to court and won a celebrated victory. Lord King, BA’s chairman, stepped down, and later a handwritten note from Diana was delivered to me. It was just three words: “Hurray! Love, Diana.” She also named one of our planes Lady in Red. We took a flight in Lady in Red with Diana commentating from the cockpit with William on her lap. As we flew past Windsor Castle, her voice came over the loudspeaker: “On our right, you have Grandma’s house!” Everyone on the plane fell about laughing.

Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Branson is the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group of companies. An immensely successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, and television star, Sir Richard was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999. In 2002, Sir Richard was voted one of the “100 Greatest Britons” in a poll sponsored by the BBC. Eighteen years later, my daughter Holly was enjoying Prince William’s twenty-first birthday party at “Grandma’s house.” A giant elephant had been constructed out of ice, and “shots” were being poured down its trunk and young ladies were drinking from it. Holly found herself kneeling with her mouth around it, glancing upward to see the Queen looking down at her disapprovingly. If Diana had still been alive, she would have laughed until she cried.

We just got word that Virgin Airlines (which Branson owns) was awarded a commercial route into Shanghai. So the balloon must be doing some good.

a living. Without Jonny, Student almost fell to pieces.

Experimentation and Adaptation The best, most solid way out of a crisis in a changing market is through experiment and adaptation. —Richard’s Blog, November 27, 2008

As their uncle, Earl Spencer, says their characters are very different from the public image. “The press have always written up William as the terror and Harry as a rather quiet second son. In fact William is a very self-possessed, intelligent and mature boy and quite shy. He is quite formal and stiff, sounding older than his years when he answers the phone.” It is Harry who is the mischievous imp of the family. Harry’s puckish character manifested itself to his uncle during the return flight from Necker, the Caribbean island owned by Virgin airline boss Richard Branson. He recalls: “Harry was presented with his breakfast. He had his headphones on and a computer game in front of him but he was determined to eat his croissant. It took him about five minutes to manoeuvre all his electronic gear, his knife, his croissant and his butter. When he eventually managed to get a mouthful there was a look of such complete satisfaction on his face. It was a really wonderful moment.” His godparent Carolyn Bartholomew says, without an ounce of prejudice, that Harry is “the most affectionate, demonstrative and huggable little boy” while William is very much like his mother, “intuitive, switched on and highly perceptive.” At first she thought the future king was a “little terror.” “He was naughty and had tantrums,” she recalls. “But when I had my two children I realized that they are all like that at some point. In fact William is kind-hearted, very much like Diana. He would give you his last Rolo sweet. In fact he did on one occasion. He was longing for this sweet, he only had one left and he gave it to me.” Further evidence of his generous heart occurred when he gathered together all his pocket money, which only amounted to a few pence, and solemnly handed it over to her. But he is no angel as Carolyn saw when she visited Highgrove. Diana had just finished a swim in the open air pool and had changed into a white toweling dressing gown as she waited for William to follow her. Instead he splashed about as though he were drowning and slowly sank to the bottom. His mother, not knowing whether it was a fake or not, struggled to get out of her robe. Then, realizing the urgency, she dived in still in her dressing gown. At that moment he resurfaced, shouting and laughing at the success of his ruse. Diana was not amused. Generally William is a youngster who displays qualities of responsibility and thoughtfulness beyond his years and enjoys a close rapport with his younger brother whom friends believe will make an admirable adviser behind the scenes when William eventually becomes king. Diana feels that it is a sign that in some way they will share the burdens of monarchy in the years to come. Her approach is conditioned by her firmly held belief that she will never become queen and that her husband will never become King Charles III.

Although she has a tendency to be overly impressed by those with academic qualifications, Diana admires people who perform rather than pontificate. Richard Branson, the head of Virgin airlines, Baron Jacob Rothschild, the millionaire banker who restored Spencer House, and her cousin Viscount David Linley who runs a successful furniture and catering business, are high on her list. “She likes the fact that David has been able to break out of the royal mould and do something positive,” says a friend. “She envies too his good fortune in being able to walk down a street without a detective.” For years her low intellectual self-esteem manifested itself in instinctive deference towards the judgments of her husband and senior courtiers. Now that she is clearer herself about her direction, she is prepared to argue about policy in a way that would have been unthinkable several years ago. The results are tangible. Foreign Office diplomats, notoriously hidebound in their perceptions, are beginning to realize her true worth. They were impressed by the way she handled her first solo visit to Pakistan and subsequently discussed trips to Egypt and Iran, the Islamic republic where the Union Jack was routinely burned until a few years ago. This is, as she would say, a “very grown-up” part of her royal life.