In part, Business Stripped Bare is an attempt to win the argument on several debates, such as his unhappiness with government decisions regarding Network Rail and the collapse of Northern Rock – on both counts this has led to nationalisation, much to Branson’s annoyance. Other targets include British Airways, which Virgin Atlantic has always enjoyed contrasting against. Yet there’s no mention of Sky TV or Rupert Murdoch, probably for legal reasons, as Virgin Media is battling them
in the courts.
Words of advice
Business Stripped Bare is not a ‘how to’ guide for running a business Branson-style, and this is hardly surprising as there’s no real Virgin formula. But Branson recommends that entrepreneurs get out there where the action is taking place and take notes.
“I think company owners and chairmen should get out from behind their desks and go and sample their own products as often as possible,” he says. “I do see many bosses doing their rounds speaking to staff, but they never write the details down, so they will never, ever get anything sorted.”
So perhaps the secret of Branson’s success is having a very ambitious ‘to-do’ list and the fact that he’s managed to tick the biggest ideas off it. He’s a risk taker, a showman and has boundless energy – this book is actually tiring to read, simply
because he has achieved so much.
But entrepreneurs don’t need to be like him to succeed. You don’t need to pilot balloons or space craft, take part in crazy publicity stunts or go to war against big business to be a great entrepreneur. That’s just Branson’s way. Don’t forget that he has also made a lot of mistakes, and owns up to many of them in this book. But he has still gone on to succeed, a lesson which is perhaps the most valuable of them all.
Business Stripped Bare, Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur by Sir Richard Branson, is available from Virgin Books, www.virginbooks.co.uk
