I was
partly driven by a desire to prove myself when I started Student magazine at
16. My friends and I wanted to give our generation a voice in the issues of the
day, especially the Vietnam war
Bransonspeak
| Richard Branson
How do
you maintain your motivation to generate new ideas and execute them?
-Gunita
Migliniece, Latvia
My
motivations have changed a lot over the past 40 years. In retrospect, it’s
clear that this has been a long-term process, and I acquired new motivations as
time went on.
I am not
sure anyone could have predicted my future career arc, except perhaps my
parents. I was not a promising student, probably because of undiagnosed
dyslexia. My parents did not see my trouble with learning as a limitation.
Rather, they helped me to find my strengths by teaching me to constantly look
for new challenges. Achievements in sports and early business ventures such as
a Christmas tree farm taught me to be inquisitive, and also to rely on my own
persistence and creativity when problems came up.
Since I
wasn’t doing well academically, I was partly driven by a desire to prove myself
when I started Student magazine at 16. My friends and I wanted to give our generation a
voice in the issues of the day, especially the Vietnam war.
We
started the magazine on our own initiative and because of our convictions, and
we loved what we did. It didn’t matter that we were working out of a basement
in West London, in cramped conditions and with no financial backing. We had no
business or publishing experience, so we just threw everything we had into the
venture and secured advertisers and interviews. It was terrifically hard work,
but for us it was also fun and exciting and, above all, a project we felt
strongly about.
That
sense of fun, enjoyment and purpose underpinned our expansion to selling
records and then establishing record stores. Our stores had listening posts so
customers could sample recordings, it had bean bag chairs for people who wanted
to hang out, and the staff was passionate about the music we sold. Our next
move, into the recording business, was no different. My love of music and
concern for the people behind that music ensured I was never short of motivation—just
sometimes short of cash!
The UK’s
recession of the late 1970s coincided with a slowdown in our record sales and a
lack of hits. By that point we had created a close community at Virgin, and I
wanted the people I worked with and cared about to enjoy their jobs; I was also
deeply concerned about job security. We were running at a loss, and I had to
decide whether to consolidate our stores and rein back the recording business,
or follow my instincts and invest in new artists.
Hoping to
expand our way out of our financial problems, I bought two nightclubs and
invested more money in our record business. Its managing director, Simon
Draper, was a great talent, so I backed him to create the UK’s largest
independent label.
Our
resulting success in the music business saved the day. The strength of the
brand meant that we started to look beyond music for business opportunities,
and about this time my motivations broadened again. With our old and new
businesses, we were developing a community of customers, so my goals now
included Virgin’s becoming one of the world’s most respected brands.
At this
point, everything came together. The different motivations added up to a
strategy of setting up businesses Virgin employees were passionate about,
trying to shake up markets and win the trust of potential customers. We often
succeeded as we targeted leading companies in established sectors where we felt
the customer was no longer well served. In quick succession we moved into
airlines, trains, drinks, financial services, health clubs and hotels.
Over the
past decade, my motivation has broadened to encompass large-scale philanthropic
endeavours, as the global scope of the Virgin Group’s businesses has put us in
a position to help address the great challenges humanity faces. This led to the
creation of Virgin Unite, which was instrumental in establishing The Elders,
the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship and the Carbon War Room—all exciting
tools in the fight against poverty, illness and catastrophic climate change.
What will
keep me motivated in 2011? The thousands of people who work for Virgin, the
many people around the world who rely on us, and the work of Virgin Unite.
Also, of course, my restless curiosity and enthusiasm. I am constantly
challenging my management team with new ideas, innovations or ventures I would
like set up—in double-quick time.
Come to
think of it, my original inquisitiveness and desire to seek out new challenges
can be seen in our Virgin Galactic space adventure. Following a busy year
culminating in the inauguration of the Spaceport runway in New Mexico in
October, my dream of space tourism is getting that much closer. A big project
for 2011 will be getting our underwater exploration business up and running.
Drawing on the late Steve Fossett’s work, we are keen to chart the deep-sea
trenches.
You may
wonder if such adventures are appropriate for a man my age—60—which brings me
to my last motivational rule: “Screw it, let’s do it!”
BY NYT
SYNDICATE
©2011/RICHARD
BRANSON
Richard
Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group and companies such as Virgin
Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Active. He maintains a blog
atwww.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog.
