RICHARD BRANSON Founder, Virgin Group

RICHARD BRANSONFounder, Virgin Group

RichardBransonBorn on July 18, 1950, in Surrey, England, Richard Bransonstruggled in school and dropped out at age 16—a decisionthat ultimately lead to the creation of Virgin Records. Hisentrepreneurial projects started in the music industry andexpanded into other sectors making Branson a billionaire. HisVirgin Group holds more than 200 companies, including therecent Virgin Galactic, a space-tourism company. Branson isalso known for his adventurous spirit and sportingachievements, including crossing oceans in a hot air balloon.2

How To FindA FulfillingCareerRichard Branson@richardbransonRead it onlineOne of the things I’m most thankful for as I wake eachmorning is having a job that I love. Not only that, it’sincredibly rewarding to be surrounded by people who alsolove what they do. Virgin is a company that prides itself on ahappy, motivated workforce.Sadly there are a lot of people who are not fortunate enoughto have a job which they are passionate about. This was alltoo apparent when I recently watched a short film on careerfulfilment made by my son Sam’s production companySundog Pictures. There were a few lines that really struckhome, in particular one person explaining how a change ofcareer had made them feel:“In my old job I felt like I was plodding every step of the way,but now it feels like I’m gliding through life.”We would all like to have a fulfilling career, but what steps doyou need to take to make it happen? One of the majorstumbling blocks for most people is fear, quite understandably.You might have found yourself in a well-paid and highlyrespected position; even if you’re unhappy in the role,leaving it behind can be a daunting task.3

When most people think about taking a risk they associate itwith negative connotations, when really they should view itas a positive opportunity. Believe in yourself and backyourself to come out on top. Whether that means studying acourse to enable a change of direction, taking up an entrylevel position on a career ladder you want to be a part of, orstarting your own business—you’ll never know if you don’tgive it a try.“In my old job I felt like I was ploddingevery step of the way, but now it feelslike I’m gliding through life.”It can be easy to find reasons not to do something. Howeveryou might be surprised by how much help is at hand if youput yourself out there and commit to a project. It doesn’thave to be a case of struggling along by yourself. When westarted Virgin Atlantic it was a rather uncertain time, butthankfully I found myself a mentor in Sir Freddie Laker—theLaker Airways founder—who was able to offer some expertadvice and plenty of reassurance.Looking inside the Virgin Group there are countlessexamples of how members of staff have progressed withinthe organisation to find their dream role. This year I waslucky enough to meet Danielle Stokes, who works for VirginAustralia and has a remarkable story of career progression.Now a young pilot Danielle used to be cabin crew for theairline, and previous to that she worked in a café to savemoney for pilot training. The moral of this story? Never giveup on your dreams! A fulfilling career is waiting for thosebrave enough to find it.4

How To CreateFantasticCompanyCultureRichard Branson@richardbransonRead it onlineWhen recently looking at images of the impressive newFacebook offices designed by Frank Gehry, I was struck bythe accompanying comments of Mark Zuckerberg. “Our goalwas to create the perfect engineering space for our teams towork together. We want our space to feel like a work inprogress. When you enter our buildings, we want you to feelhow much left there is to be done in our mission to connectthe world.”That statement, along with its realisation in physical form, isfitting with the vision of the company. It wouldn’t necessarilywork for other organisations, but you’re left in no doubt asto the thinking behind the design. Many other businesseswould do well to follow this example of creating workspacesto complement and enhance their brand’s ethos. The samegoes for embedding a strong company culture.What works for one company culture may be unsuitable foranother. The key is working out what’s best for the team and5

creating something unique in order to be able to delivereven better performance.Embedding a company culture that’s unique to yourbusiness is something I’ll enjoy raising with SherylSandberg during next week’s live Virgin Disruptors debate.Much like Virgin, Facebook have been making headlines asa result of some rather different employee wellness policies.There has never been a one-sizefits-all solution to making sure yourstaff are happy and healthy.Although many would argue that what Tony Hsiesh andZappos are building in downtown Las Vegas is even moreadventurous than free fertility treatment and unlimitedannual leave. “We want Zappos to function more like a cityand less like a top-down bureaucratic organization,” explainsTony. “Look at companies that existed 50 years ago in theFortune 500—most don’t exist today. Companies tend to dieand cities don’t.”This is another genuinely unique take on the idea of company culture. There has never been a one-size-fits-allsolution to making sure your staff are happy and healthy,but that doesn’t stop people trying to apply tired andineffective motivational tactics or perks. Offeringsomething that will set you apart from the competition canbe your greatest asset, especially for new companies tryingto break into competitive markets.6

How ToConductA GreatInterview? DoSomethingPracticalRichard Branson@richardbransonRead it onlineThe best way to find out if somebody can do something wellis to give them the chance to do it. While this isn’t alwayspossible at the interview stage, you do have the opportunityto get candidates to carry out practical tasks.Better still, have a conversation with them while you dosomething new together. You can see how they interact,collaborate and react to a new challenge. Generally, you canget a glimpse at their character.If you have the time, take a journey together. Trips oftenresult in the best conversations, and the moments when youlearn the most about other people. The writer Michael Lewis7

said his most intimate, deepest conversations with hissubject Billy Beane, the baseball genius behind Moneyballtheory, were in his car, driving back and forth from matches.“I learned this technique in college, during the best jobinterview I ever had, he told Robert S Boynton in The NewNew Journalism. “I was applying for a job to lead a bunch ofhigh school girls on a tour of Europe. When I arrived for theinterview, the guy who was supposed to see me wasflustered, and apologised.Have a conversation with them whileyou do something new together.“He said he was in the middle of moving his furniture fromone office to another, and asked if I could help. So we spentthe next hour moving his furniture together. It was brillianton his part. The way he interviewed people was to makethem do something with him. He believed he saw charactermore clearly that way. I agree.”Next time you carry out an interview, don’t sit at a desk foran hour and ask them what their biggest strengths andweaknesses are. Get them out of their chair and find out.8

How ToKeep YourBest StaffRichard Branson@richardbransonRead it onlineHaving launched hundreds of Virgin companies across anumber of different industries, we’ve learned so manyvaluable lessons. One that always rings true, regardless ofthe industry, is that the best way for a company to succeedis to listen to its people.Making money or moving up the corporate ladder is nolonger considered the be all and end all of career success.Today, one of the biggest indicators of success is purpose.And, in a world where purpose reigns supreme, it’s onlynatural for people to want to be heard and have theiropinions valued.More and more people are leaving their jobs out offrustration. If their ideas are not being listened to, or if theyfeel that their voice doesn’t count, they are likely to goelsewhere. Employers often shrug this off, making the excusethat they were simply not the right person for the role—this,in my opinion, is lazy thinking.I recently blogged about why all companies and leadersshould listen to their employees’ ideas. I explained thatcompanies that give their people an outlet to express their9

ideas, not only give their staff a sense of purpose, but also givetheir company a better chance at success. It’s a win-win. Whoknows, one suggestion could be a million dollar idea!At Virgin, we encourage all of our companies to seek feedback from staff and implement great ideas wherepossible. Virgin Trains and Virgin Money have a long history oflistening to their employees’ ideas, and as a result have aproud record of innovation and staff retention. Wonderfully, aquarter of the original cohort that launched Virgin Money 20years ago are still with us today.The best way for a company tosucceed is to listen to its people.By supporting and encouraging the ideas of our people, wehave been able to focus on staff wellbeing, and in turn createopen working environments where people feel v alued andthrive. And, if people do leave, they often move within theGroup to a different Virgin company, or rejoin us later downthe track.Frustration in the workplace should be fleeting. A companywith a listening culture is more likely to attract and retaingreat people. The message is clear: if you take care of youremployees, they will take care of your business.10

How HumanIs YourCompany?Richard Branson@richardbransonRead it onlineI’ve always believed that when you spend so much of yourlife working, you should do everything you can to make itfun. It should be something you can be passionate about andcare deeply about.I’ve been privileged to be involved in forming and being partof The B Team, a group of global business leaders catalysinga better way of doing business for people and the planet. Atour annual meeting in Italy recently, we spent a lot of timedebating how to make companies more human.We believe that the time has come for business to stoplooking at people as resources and to start looking at themas human beings. Businesses should be moving away from afocus solely on maximising profits and profitability. Instead,they should be focusing on how we can help people reachtheir highest potential and purpose—which will naturally havea positive impact on the bottom line. The aim is to createcompanies that are 100% human at work.11

As part of this, over the past 18 months we’ve been buildingand growing a wonderful community of over 60 businessesaround the world that share our passion for drivinginnovative and human centered people practices.We have collated many of the insights from this PeopleInnovation Network in our New Ways of Working report, suchas the growth of purpose-driven organizations, lifelonggrowth opportunities for employees and the trend towelcoming well-being. This work has made us more optimisticthan ever before that work is changing for the better.The aim is to create companies thatare 100% human at work.We’ve initially identified what we see as the nine elements ofa 100% human-centred company, which we’re road testingwith the People Innovation Network over the coming months.But we’d also love to know what you think. Here they are: Dignity & Fair Treatment Diversity & Equal Opportunities A Positive Work Space & Environment Well-being for the Whole Person Fair Pay & Benefits Continuous Learning & Development Purposeful Leadership Global Belonging (connecting with local / globalcommunities and other sectors) Meaningful Work, Delivering Purpose & Joy12