bransonblog.com

New 2.0 Site Launches July 18th

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 08:18:11 GMT

So much Branson news to get to, and we’re obviously lagging pretty badly these days. It’s hard to explain the start-and-stop nature of our work on this site without sounding like we’re making excuses. But the reality is, as we’ve tugged at various strings along the way toward building a better site, we’ve gone off on tangents about technology and features that are just as important to the few of us having fun with this site. (This isn’t a paid site— just a resource to aggregate news about Sir Richard Branson and his various companies worldwide.)

In the meantime, if you’ve seen the latest Superman Returns movie, you might have seen Sir Richard’s brief cameo as one of the shuttle engineers on a Virgin Galactic launch that figures prominently in the movie’s early scenes. In an interview in The Guardian, Branson confirms that he has cameos in both this Superman movie and also in the next Bond movie— definitely much higher profile than his Friends appearance back in the day. I’m sure this was considered a great product placement opportunity for the Virgin Galactic brand, but I’m also not entirely sure that the impression you want to leave with people is that of your plane plumetting out of the sky… Interesting trade-off in the brand marketing vs. viewer impression equation.

On a more serious note, Sir Richard also had a BBC interview that’s worth reading, where he discusses the issue of wealth and the disparity between the richest and poorest segments of the world’s population…

How does it feel to go to an impoverished part of Africa when you’re a multi-millionaire?

"Anyone would feel an enormous sense of guilt going to one of these places - and if you’re in a position to do something about it you’ve got to make an effort," says Sir Richard Branson.

The Virgin boss, who has turned entrepreneurialism into a boy’s-own adventure, is increasingly engaged in the serious business of supporting health and education projects in Africa.

And, speaking at his west London home, he spells out the type of extreme hardship caused by HIV and Aids that puts his own financial success into perspective.

These are some of the reasons that we find Branson an interesting person to track, and hopefully some of the upcoming site features will let us do a better job tracking not only his commercial ventures but also his non-profit efforts worldwide. There’s a lot to be learned from his successes (a very long list of several hundred ventures) and also from his disappointments ("Virgin Cola is still #1 in Bangladesh"), and we’re hoping to add more analysis and discussion of his ventures rather than simple reporting of them as well. So check back again on July 18th, for a new site launch hopefully less fiery than the one in Superman Returns!

Branson's Inspiring Life Lessons: "Screw It, Let's Do It"

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 12:24:03 GMT

Yesterday, April 12th, was "National Drop Everything and Read Day" here in the US, and I used the day as a perfect excuse to… drop everything and read. As noted earlier, Branson’s new book, Screw It, Let’s Do It, is available next week, and the good folks at Virgin Books were kind enough to send a review copy. Admittedly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a book about Sir Richard’s general life philosophies or how much it would differ from his earlier book, Losing My Virginity, which covers the history and background of Branson’s life and adventures very well. This new book, however, is much shorter and an easy read even for younger audiences or "emergent adult readers," and presents chapters focused on Branson’s core principles — be bold, challenge yourself, live in the moment, value family and friends, have respect, etc.

In the end, the stories are of course the strength of this book, and of almost any book that Richard Branson writes. Succeeding in business his own way while mostly ignoring the staid old-school rules that others take as non-negotiable, Branson is the only global business leader who could write a book about everything from growing Christmas trees (and shooting rabbits)… to diving out of an off-course balloon into the ocean… to pretending to buy an island when you can’t afford to stay there (and later buying it for 6% of the asking price)… In one story, Branson hires a fishing boat on holiday in Mexico, then gets caught in a storm and swims two miles back to shore. "After the storm cleared, they searched [for the fishing boat] for two days, but found nothing." You’ll have to read the book to see how he works this into his chapter on Living in the Moment, or to later see his up-front, un-varnished explanation of how he landed himself in jail in the ’70s. Best of all, even some of his "business" stories are re-told here from a personal angle… When building the original Virgin Records recording studio, for example, Branson found a great manor house to buy and took out loans… but still needed £7,500 more to reach the needed £30,000… [Read more]

Branson's New Book: Screw It, Let's Do It

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 10:08:44 GMT

Richard Branson apparently has a new book titled — in that irreverent Branson style, as always — Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life, available April 18th according to Amazon. Here’s the blurb for this book:

Learn the Secrets of a Global Icon

Throughout my life I have always strived for success - as a businessman, in my adventures, as an author and a proud father and husband. I want to share the many truths I’ve learned along the road to success which have helped me to be the best I can. They include:

Have faith in yourself

Believe that anything can be done

Live life to the full

Never give up

Learn these and other simple truths, and I hope you will be inspired to get the most out of your life and to achieve your goals. People will always try to talk you out of ideas and say: "It can’t be done," but if you have faith in yourself you’ll find you can achieve almost anything.

Quick Reads books are written to appeal not only to emergent readers but to anyone wanting a quick, powerful and fast-paced read.

Sounds like an interesting (and fast) read for anyone interested in the personal philosophy that powers Sir Richard’s rebel adventures…

PS: Kudos to the clued-in folks at Virgin Books for keeping us apprised directly. Now that’s intelligent blog marketing— reaching out to the target audience of Branson fans already predisposed to read this new book. Well done.

Branson vs. Trump, On the Scoreboard

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 15:59:32 GMT

It wasn’t long ago that the reality billionaires battled it out in primetime, with Sir Richard’s Rebel Billionaire challenging The Donald’s Apprentice and Marc Cuban contributing his own take. (Cuban’s show had the best business lessons, by the way, while Branson’s had the best adventure.) Along the way, the billionaires also took jabs at each other, with Trump at one point even saying that Branson couldn’t be worth much because airlines lose money.

Well, the good people of Forbes Magazine beg to differ…

245. Richard Branson, Britain, age 55, $2.8 billion (from Virgin)

278. Donald Trump, New York, age 60, $2.6 billion (from real estate)

428. Mark Cuban, Texas, age 48, $1.8 billion (from Broadcast.com)

It’s still pretty close, but good to see that Branson edged out Trump by "just" $200 million. Amusingly, from Trump’s eternal arrogance, you would think that he was among the top 10 richest in the world, but a whole 277 people are richer. And much more than the money, if Sir Richard can show young children that a high-school dropout and balloon enthusiast can do business his way and still make more money than The Donald, well… that’s practically a public service announcement. The More You Know, indeed. :-)

PS: For anyone who thinks I admire Branson for his money, a long-time family friend is listed in the top 25, much higher than Sir Richard— but you don’t see me blogging about him. (Would be easier for me to get an interview with him too.) But Branson’s business style and flair for adventure are what make him worth writing about…

The BransonBlog Wishlist

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:29:49 GMT

Still busy here, with a bit of travelling on my part as well. Flying to Dallas on American Airlines last week, I was suddenly jolted back to the reality of normal airline travel— dear God, have I been that utterly spoiled on Virgin Atlantic?! On AA, the seats were cramped, flights were late, staff was unenthusiastic, and the "$4 for snacks" pitch made me laugh out loud. Actually (true story), I picked up some food at TGI Fridays at DFW and was waiting at the gate when I thought I’d use the restroom before the flight. I asked the AA woman at the counter if I could leave my single-clear-plastic food container there for a minute, and she quite authoritatively told me I wasn’t allowed to and that she’d have to throw it away. Talking to a friend a few minutes later, we joked: "Damn, if this were Virgin, they’d not only hold it for me, but when I got back, they’d ask if I wanted it reheated!" It’s hardly surprising that Virgin Atlantic passengers rave about the airline while American and other airlines stumble their way toward bankruptcy with business-as-usual obliviousness. (I wasn’t even joking when I said the VAA staff at the gate mailed my postcards, etc.)

Also reminded me yet again of why we blog about Branson companies here on BransonBlog.com… With our 1.5 year milestone quickly approaching, our spring cleaning is well underway behind the scenes. We’ve been promising new features on the site forever now, but got caught up in something bigger along the way, and that work will benefit this site shortly. Here are some of the features we’re working on these days… [Read more]

Branson Interviewed on Podcast

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:20:28 GMT

Yes, yes, I know… tons of stories backlogged here, and we’ve been distracted elsewhere… This one couldn’t wait, though— Recently at Davos (the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland), Sir Richard Branson made his first appearance, mingling with presidents, kings, and other billionaires (including Bill Gates). French blogger/podcaster Loic Le Meur (who’s also president of Six Apart Europe) managed to interview Branson briefly, and it’s definitely worth a listen.

Asked why he doesn’t go into politics to change the world, Branson notes that politicians are relatively ineffective given their short terms, and points out that business leaders can often exert more influence and do more to change the world for the better. He’s absolutely right, of course. Also interesting that he apparently considered running for Mayor of London a couple years ago, and as much as I love London, that certainly seems incredibly limited for someone with Sir Richard’s international influence. (To put it in perspective, I think the Branson quote most heard at the time was his view in favor of decrminalizing marijuana…)

Answer Your Phone!

Sat, 17 Dec 2005 09:58:17 GMT

If your phone is ringing and you don’t recognize the 203-750-2000 CallerID, go ahead and answer your phone. It’s just about the coolest marketing trick I’ve seen yet. I’ll write more about it next week, but for now, I’m not going to give away the surprise. This is just one more extra step that you almost come to expect of Virgin Atlantic, and that you couldn’t imagine any other airline even attempting without sounding like cheesy telemarketers. But with Virgin Atlantic, it works, and it’s pretty cool. Marketing done right. And if you’re going to bother to have a "brand" in this new age of "conversations," you better deliver like these folks do.

Oh, and while I’m on the topic of Virgin Atlantic’s extra steps, let me also say a very big Thank You to the excellent Virgin Atlantic staff in LA and in London, from the LAX staff that went above and beyond when my sister had to reschedule her flight, to the woman at the gate at Heathrow who mailed my last handful of postcards so I wouldn’t have to leave the gate area. All those little extras add up quickly. Bet you can guess which airline I’m flying next time I’m off to London.

PS: If you’re impatient or want to make sure they call you (and you don’t mind putting your phone number in their database), you can sign up here. You can also have them call your friends; my sister just called me laughing non-stop after I had them call her. :-) Happy holidays everyone!