1/22 topic

“Having a personality of caring about people is important,” says Branson. “You can’t be a good leader unless you generally like people. That is how you bring out the best in them.”

Branson is often criticized for his management style – or lack thereof. He holds no regular board meetings, has no business headquarters, and has no idea how to operate a computer. But, with his brand name licensed to over 250 companies, Branson has had to develop the necessary leadership skills to ensure his survival.

Branson has a unique view of leadership and you can easily see why people like working for him. He feels that the greatest leaders listen and continue to learn after they have become leaders, they learn to delegate, and, while he didn’t say this, he implied that they have a passion for what they do. Great leaders get out in front and aren’t afraid to fight for what they believe in.

On this last note, he spoke about British Airways and how they played dirty tricks like hacking into Virgin’s computers to gain competitive information, and an aggressive campaign to disparage Virgin’s executive team. He went to war and got one of the largest legal settlements against this larger competitor.

In the end, you are left with the image of a man who enjoys what he does, ensures he balances work and personal life, is a fair competitor who doesn’t tolerate dirty tricks from others, and someone who leads from the front a group of folks who are likely to follow him anywhere – because he truly cares about them and the firm she owns.

I fly Virgin Airlines myself and have found it to provide one of the best experiences in the air. In short, from personal experience, Branson seems to drive a level of customer satisfaction that is in line with Apple, but without the unfortunate consequences.

Richard Branson on Steve Jobs

Branson is a fan of Steve Jobs, but the management style is vastly different. Branson delegates heavily and provides for significant autonomy, Jobs was a massive micro-manager. Branson focuses on making his companies great places to work ,Jobs not so much.

Both executives had a deep connection to their products and were the face of their companies, but Branson appeared to be very focused on ensuring he had fun and Jobs was more driven. This partially led to his demise, because it put massive amounts of stress on him.

The lasting lesson is that you can be successful and still have fun, you can be successful and still treat your folks well, and you can still be successful and do a few truly crazy things like Virgin Galactic. In the end, you are left with the view that the ad that focused on “The Crazy Ones” was more about Branson than Jobs.

Branson clearly admired Steve Jobs and thinks highly of Apple’s products, but he also thinks there are other important aspects of running a successful company.

He demonstrates that belief and he spends a great deal of his time to tackle international problems associated with making the world a better place. In short, Branson puts what he cares about first and this is reflected in his companies, employees, and philanthropic efforts.

He drives ideas like job sharing, which shift more focus on the personal lives he argued could massively reduce unemployment while improving work/life balance for many.

In short, he argued you could be a success and still be a great leader, with great products, by just having the right priorities.

■ Discussion Questions

1. Who are the first leaders come to your mind?

- What makes those people great leaders?

2. Have you ever been in positions of leadership?

- What leadership qualities do you have?

- What leadership qualities do you want or need in the future?

3. What leadership quality do you most value/admire?

4. What different kinds of leadership styles are there?

5. Why is good leadership important?

6. What characteristics does a bad leader have?

7. What are some of the biggest challenges of leading a country like China?

8. What do you think of the leadership of the US President and your country’s leader?

9. If you were the leader of your English class now, what changes would you make?

10. Does leadership exist in a romantic partnership?