The Virgin way : everything I know about leadership /
Richard Branson.
- 392 pages ; 24 cm
Includes index.
Preface: Life's too short. Don't enjoy it? Don't do it! pt 1. Listen Old blocks and young chips : leadership lessons begin at home The dying art of listening : listen, it makes you sound smarter Mirror mirror : how do you look to your customers? K-I-S-S and tell : simplicity wins every time Burn down the mission : mission misstatements pt. 2. Learn Defining leadership : and its multiple myths What chance luck? : fortune favours the bold Typically atypical : an aversion to the average Big dogfights : don't always go to the biggest dogs Innovation is nothing new : ask any passing bumblebee Hiring 'em and keeping 'em : engagement in a digital world pt. 3. Laugh Culturing the culture : it takes time and work The fruits of passion : beyond definition The party line : fancy dress and April fools pt. 4. Lead Leaders of the future : new skills for a new world Being there : driving the chariot Collaboration is the key : getting it together Decisions, decisions : putting the pro in procrastination Good business : is good for business Epilogue: Start it up : designing designers
While building the Virgin Group over forty years, Richard Branson has never shied away from seemingly outlandish challenges that others (including his own colleagues on several occasions) considered sheer lunacy. He has taken on giants like British Airways and won, and monsters like Coca-Cola and lost. Now Branson gives an inside look at his strikingly different swashbuckling style of leadership. Learn how fun, family, passion, and the dying art of listening are key components to what his extended family of employees around the world have always dubbed (with a wink) the "Virgin Way." This unique perspective comes from a man who dropped out of school at sixteen, suffers from dyslexia, and has never worked for anyone but himself. He may be famous for thinking outside the box-an expression he despises-but Branson asserts that "you'll never have to think outside the box if you refuse to let anyone build one around you." This is a unique book on leadership from someone who readily admits he has never read a book on leadership in his life. So expect the unexpected--