Just watched the two-hour premiere of The Rebel Billionaire, and I have to say, I liked it quite a lot. I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of Fear Factor type shows, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But right from the start, with a dig at Donald Trump by having a Donald look-alike get out of a posh limousine while Branson got out of an average black cab, the show was very amusing while also making excellent points about what really matters for business success.  

The Scotsman has a review, which includes this:

Mr Branson argues that entrepreneurship involves more than just business acumen and smart boardroom skills, taking a direct swipe at Donald Trump’s gameshow, The Apprentice, in which contestants are judged on their corporate attributes. It also takes spirit and character, he says.

"Bravery takes the ability to say no. On my TV show, I am looking for people who don’t just blindly follow leaders, but who can question them," explained Sir Richard, who at one point asks players to dance naked in front of a crowd.

"I’m looking for people who have great imagination, I’m looking for people who are great team players."

Two of the young hopefuls were ejected from the competition even before the first stunt, after Sir Richard disguised himself as a chauffeur to collect them from Heathrow airport, drove them to his Oxfordshire estate for a reception and took exception to their bad manners en route.

This observation of how they treated the cab driver was my personal favorite, and something I’ve wanted to see in a business-reality show for ages. This is one of the most important things I critically observe about nearly everyone I work with, in how they treat the people who they consider less important, and it was almost the best example of the stark contrast between Sir Richard and The Donald (who treats nearly everyone on the planet worse than the rudest contestants treated their driver).

(The show’s official website is updated weekly with more photos and video, by the way.)

The single most poignant moment of contrast, though, was watching Sir Richard on the verge of tears when elimating the third candidate. It was an honest portrayal of humanity from a man who can afford to not care— not surprising in the slightest to Branson fans, I suspect, but a simple reminder of why he has such loyal fans. I remember sitting in the front row of a business conference in 2002 where Branson spoke, with several rabid fans, including a French exchange student who had come to an MBA program in California. She was so thrilled to be there, couldn’t believe she was getting to see him, and kept saying over and over what an incredible example he set, and how she would have to work so hard to live up to that example. That’s the sentiment behind this fan site as well, a site built to honor not mere achievement, but rather, treasuring the brilliance of someone who achieved so much without stepping on people to get to the top. It was absolutely obvious that Branson took no pleasure at all in eliminating these candidates, even though it was necessary for the game.

This doesn’t mean the show was perfect, of course. The Fear Factor melodrama was a bit much at times, and it seemed odd to choose challenges which some of the contestants physically could not perform. (One larger contestant had to choose a surrogate contestant to compete for him in a challenge tonight.) It was also strange to choose a physical challenge to determine elimination but to then create a challenge with no clear winner. Sure, it highlighted the need for cooperation, but that seemed the wrong place for that lesson, and the build-up of eliminating someone who just succeeded at a great challenge is emotionally jarring to the viewer. (From the looks of it, it’s jarring to Sir Richard as well.)

But overall, it’s a fun show with great insights from a brilliant businessman (and perhaps more importantly, a good person too), and one which we Branson fans will obviously be watching each Tuesday night. Hopefully many millions of Americans will join us as well… And if nothing else, I think we can all agree that these are, without a doubt, the most fantastic commercials that Virgin Group has ever created.