26 lessons from Richard Branson, up close and personal

I was in Adelaide at the National Achievers Congress in Adelaide May 8-9, 2013 primarily to see Sir Richard Branson, which I believe is a once in a lifetime experience.

We had platinum access, which gave us front row and backstage access amongst a crowd of 3000 people. Mark Bouris was the other keynote speaker and I have written about my man crush on Mark Bouris in a previous blog post!

A group of members from the Entrepreneur’s Organisation from around Australia and New Zealand gathered to experience the event together and even sneak off for a few reds at the famous McLaren Vale winery region.

Richard Branson is a charming yet shy person who has trained himself over time to come out of his shell. He ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ far more than most and seems quite reserved yet was able to clearly articulate his thoughts and insights into life and business. He keeps things relatively simple and big picture focused.

Sir Richard has a reputation for being open to ‘pitches’ which was awfully embarrassing at times hearing ridiculous, self-interested pitches thrown in at every opportunity at the expense of the 3000 crowd hearing quality content from the great man.

Here are the key lessons I took away, which I would like to share with you for those who may never get a chance to see Sir Richard Branson in person.

1. Create something special that stands out.
2. Give lots of praise to staff and team members.
3. It’s important to have a team who believe in what you’re doing.
4. When taking on a big established corporation, you want to poke at their big bellies!
5. Art of delegation. Find others to run the day-to-day so you can free up your mind to focus on the big picture.
6. Learn the art of promotion, especially when it’s early on and you have no money. Find inventive ways of getting PR to get your company to stand out.
7. Be bold and fearless.
8. In developing a business, create something reasonably unique which makes a positive difference to other’s lives and be proud to tell others and not hide. Your business should make people smile and leave a good feeling with people.
9. Make sure the world knows about what you’re doing.
10. Have fun adventures.
11. Dwelling is counter-productive. Focus.
12. My favourite line of the weekend when discussing Virgin Galactic and taking people into space travel, “Well it isn’t rocket science… Well, actually it is!” Virgin Galactic aims to take 500 people to space a year when only 500 people to date have been into space.
13. Dream big, fulfil your dreams, they can become reality.
14. What the Virgin brand means to Richard: Well respected, something for staff to be proud of, synonymous with great quality and value, shaking up a market. David v Goliath, where it’s far more fun being David!
15. On the Virgin culture: Don’t take yourself too seriously. Let your hair down, have fun, enable flexible work arrangements, no stuffy suits, take more time off – unpaid if need. Life at work should be enjoyable and a pleasant experience, and not treated as a cog in a wheel. Treat people well and you get it back in spades.
16. Staff parties are a huge opportunity to actively participate and listen to your staff.
17. My other favourite comment: Carry notebooks wherever you go. Write down everything – ideas, suggestions and ways to improve. Richard hates it when he has a meeting and others aren’t writing things down, he feels the meeting is a waste of time.
18. Time on Necker Island is a place to let your hair down, recharge and focus on the big picture.
19. Build fitness into a busy schedule. Richard went for one hour bike ride before the event
20. Richard still wants to make a big difference.
21. You shouldn’t be uncomfortable meeting anyone. There isn’t one person Richard would feel uncomfortable meeting. Anyone you’ve fallen out with in the last 12 months, befriend them and invite them to lunch.
22. Don’t think about money. Think where there is a gap in the market where you have some personal interest, and want to improve things and then simply give it a go. If your idea sings you will be likely to encourage others to get people on board – staff and customers.
23. Surround yourself with great people and be a good listener to as many people as possible, then make a decision.
24. Just give it a go.
25. If you fall flat on your face, pick yourself up and go again. You shouldn’t be embarrassed about failure. Failure is those people who don’t try!
26. How would Richard like to be remembered? That he has made a difference in our lives in a positive way and bequeaths to his children the good points and they will hopefully continue to do great work.

So is all of this rocket science? Some of it actually is, funnily enough, but for the most part the messages from Sir Richard are not dissimilar from the many other successful entrepreneurs I have seen and heard.

However, what makes Richard so special, I believe, is his fearless attitude, desire for adventure, and that he is daring and willing enough to try and fail. I’m grateful for the experience and opportunity to hear and see Sir Richard in person and hope you will benefit from the lessons shared above.