Hey – why not be Richard Branson?
I love reading about successful people – what makes them tick? How they lead? How they manage? I find it fascinating, and in my book Richard Branson is at the top. He’s successful – sure, but he also enjoys life and his team LOVES working for him. Why?
In an interview with Dan Schawbel for Forbes Magazine here’s what Richard said are his Top 3 Leadership Principals -
1. Listening is one of the most important skills that anyone can have. That’s a very Virgin trait. Listening enables us to learn from each other, from the marketplace, and from the mistake that must be made in order to get anywhere that is original and disruptive. I learn so much from guests and employees that way.
2. Learn: Learning and leadership go together. Too much credit goes to me for what we have achieved at Virgin but the successes happen from working and learning with some of the world’s most inspiring and inspired people.
3. Laughter: My number one rule in business, and in life, is to enjoy what you do. Running a business involves long hours and hard decisions; if you don’t have the passion to keep you going, your business will more than likely fail. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, then you shouldn’t be doing it.
Not rocket science by any means, but what stands out for me the most is the focus on his team. He doesn’t rule by fear, he hires on personality vs. degrees and he puts his ego on the back burner. The cohesiveness of his team is very important and is the “secret sauce” that has made Virgin a global empire.
What lessons can we learn from Sir Richard? Many. We all know there is no “I” in TEAM and that doing things the same way over and over and expecting different results simply doesn’t work. Why not take a page from Richard’s book and ignore the Status Quo – change it up a bit. Perhaps it’s time to sit back and look at your business – is it time for a different path?
At Sandler/PEAK we love working with leaders who want to move from good to great – who admire icons like Richard Branson and are really ready to make a change.
If like me, you are fascinated with great leaders and successful entrepreneurs, perhaps it’s time we compared notes!
Are you ready to be the next Richard Branson? If so, let’s get started!
Donna Bak
Partner & Certified Trainer.
If you'd like to learn more about Donna on LinkedIn click here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/donnabak
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