Michael S. Winicki
February 15, 2003, 10:52 PM
Here are some thoughts by Virgin founder, Richard Branson on achieving success in business (these quotes were taken out of his "Virginity" book)…
“Even though I’m often asked to define my business philosophy, I generally won’t do so because I don’t believe it can be taught as if it’s a recipe. There aren’t ingredients and techniques that will guarantee success. Parameters exist that, if followed, will ensure that a business can continue, but it’s not as if you can clearly define our business success and then bottle it as if it’s a perfume. It’s not that simple: to be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running, and if you have a good team around you and more than a fair share of luck, you might make something happen. But you certainly can’t guarantee it just by following someone else’s formula.”
A good honest opinion on what it takes to succeed… some might be saying “But where are the secrets? All the guru’s have secrets… There must some secret Richard Branson is holding back… maybe he’ll let me in on it when he holds a $5,000 boot camp”
Personally I think Richard Branson said it all when he says that to have any chance of success you must:
1. Be out there or in other words be visible.
2. Hit the ground running. I don’t think anyone could ever convict Richard Branson of “Paralysis by analysis”.
3. Have a good team around you. In order to achieve any magnitude of success you need to have access to talented people.
Then Branson is honest enough to admit that “luck” does play into it.
A few pages later I think Branson does give out a “secret” of his success:
“I have always lived my life by making lists—lists of people to call, lists of ideas, lists of companies to set up, lists of people who can make things happen. Each day I work through these lists, and that sequence of calls propels me forward. Back in the 1970s I spent my time juggling different banks and suppliers and creditors, playing one off against the other to stay solvent. I’m still living the same way, but I’m now juggling bigger deals instead of banks. Once again, it is only a matter of scale.”
Absolutely brilliant in its simplicity and effectiveness. Your level of success can be measured by whom you correspond with and what you correspond with them about. Obviously everyone has to start somewhere but the sooner you can propel yourself from corresponding with others about deals that make you a few hundred bucks to those that make you a few thousand the better.
Richard Branson also has a “secret” tool that he has used to make millions, what do you think it is? The Internet? A PDA? A Intranet in his company? I’ll let Richard tell you about this secret tool in his own words:
“As anyone in my office knows when I’ve lost it, my most essential possession is a standard-sized school notebook, which can be bought at any stationery shop on any high street across the country. I carry this everywhere and write down comments made to me by Virgin staff and anyone else I meet. I make notes of all telephone conversations and all meetings, and I draft out letters to send and lists of telephone calls to make. Over the years I have worked my way through a bookcase of them, and the discipline of writing everything down ensures that I have to listen to people carefully.”
Geez a notebook, how 20th century right? I’m sure it works as well in the 21st century. Sort of a “Write & Grow Rich”.
Take care,
Mike Winicki-Business Specialist
“Even though I’m often asked to define my business philosophy, I generally won’t do so because I don’t believe it can be taught as if it’s a recipe. There aren’t ingredients and techniques that will guarantee success. Parameters exist that, if followed, will ensure that a business can continue, but it’s not as if you can clearly define our business success and then bottle it as if it’s a perfume. It’s not that simple: to be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running, and if you have a good team around you and more than a fair share of luck, you might make something happen. But you certainly can’t guarantee it just by following someone else’s formula.”
A good honest opinion on what it takes to succeed… some might be saying “But where are the secrets? All the guru’s have secrets… There must some secret Richard Branson is holding back… maybe he’ll let me in on it when he holds a $5,000 boot camp”
Personally I think Richard Branson said it all when he says that to have any chance of success you must:
1. Be out there or in other words be visible.
2. Hit the ground running. I don’t think anyone could ever convict Richard Branson of “Paralysis by analysis”.
3. Have a good team around you. In order to achieve any magnitude of success you need to have access to talented people.
Then Branson is honest enough to admit that “luck” does play into it.
A few pages later I think Branson does give out a “secret” of his success:
“I have always lived my life by making lists—lists of people to call, lists of ideas, lists of companies to set up, lists of people who can make things happen. Each day I work through these lists, and that sequence of calls propels me forward. Back in the 1970s I spent my time juggling different banks and suppliers and creditors, playing one off against the other to stay solvent. I’m still living the same way, but I’m now juggling bigger deals instead of banks. Once again, it is only a matter of scale.”
Absolutely brilliant in its simplicity and effectiveness. Your level of success can be measured by whom you correspond with and what you correspond with them about. Obviously everyone has to start somewhere but the sooner you can propel yourself from corresponding with others about deals that make you a few hundred bucks to those that make you a few thousand the better.
Richard Branson also has a “secret” tool that he has used to make millions, what do you think it is? The Internet? A PDA? A Intranet in his company? I’ll let Richard tell you about this secret tool in his own words:
“As anyone in my office knows when I’ve lost it, my most essential possession is a standard-sized school notebook, which can be bought at any stationery shop on any high street across the country. I carry this everywhere and write down comments made to me by Virgin staff and anyone else I meet. I make notes of all telephone conversations and all meetings, and I draft out letters to send and lists of telephone calls to make. Over the years I have worked my way through a bookcase of them, and the discipline of writing everything down ensures that I have to listen to people carefully.”
Geez a notebook, how 20th century right? I’m sure it works as well in the 21st century. Sort of a “Write & Grow Rich”.
Take care,
Mike Winicki-Business Specialist
