There are many ingredients that go into Virgin’s recipe for business success. In fact Richard’s new book, Business Stripped Bare, discusses some of these key factors - people, brand, delivery, social responsibility and innovation to name but a few.

Within the book, innovation is described as a driver for business. It allows us to do something fresh, keep the brand relevant, and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

One of the reasons I believe Virgin has been successful in so many diverse market places is because we think about innovation through product design, distribution, partnerships, marketing, pricing and service – as well as at industry level. Importantly, innovation the Virgin way is always about delivering customer benefit. We look at where consumers are being underserved then build businesses around them.

It is easy to think of innovation as technology or design led, but at Virgin we think about innovation in its broadest sense, tackling the status quo and shaking up cosy conventions.

Einstein said ‘it is impossible to solve a problem by using the same thinking that created it’ and that’s spot on. Innovation, both large and small, is imperative for sustainable value creation.

Years ago I remember Richard saying, ‘sometimes you just have to make potentially irrational business decisions in order to protect the brand.’ He was talking about the decision to reduce the price of airline tickets in Australia by 50%. At the time that struck me as an ‘interesting’ approach to business but I quickly realised this was just another form of innovation and disruption in a market place that needed a shake-up. The results speak for themselves.

One of the key things I have learnt from Richard over the past 15 years or so is always challenge. Challenge your business to innovate by asking the unaskable, challenge industry norms and always ask, why? And then more importantly, why not?

I think of our Virgin brand as one of the premier ‘way of life’ brands in the world. Whether you’re in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, India, Europe, Russia, South America or China, the Virgin brand means something. The Virgin brand is about enjoying life to the full. By offering customers excellent value for money in so many areas of their lives, we aim to make them happier.

Most businesses concentrate on one thing, and for the best of reasons: because their founders and leaders care about one thing, above all others, and they want to devote their lives to that thing. They’re not limited in their thinking. They’re focused. The conventional wisdom at business school is that you stick with what you know. Of the top twenty brands in the world, nineteen ply a well-defined trade. Coca-Cola specialises in soft drinks, Microsoft’s into computers, Nike makes sports shoes and gear. The exception in this list is Virgin – and the fact that we’re worth $5 billion and counting really gets up the noses of people who think they know ‘the rules of business’ (whatever they are). We’re the only one of the top twenty that has diversified into a range of business activities, including airlines, trains, holidays, mobile phones, media – including television, radio and cable – the Internet, financial services and healthcare.

Hopefully what I’ve written here is relevant to your business no matter what sector you are in.

Following Richard’s previous video diary of his day in London promoting his new book Business Stripped Bare, this next ‘day in the life’ film follows Richard on a recent whirlwind day around New York including TV interviews and a book signing session at Virgin Megastore in Times Square…

I believe that today’s businesses – regardless of their size – must be prepared to do good in societies around the globe. I am cautiously optimistic that we can make the world a far better, safer and more equitable place – but business and enterprise must sit at the heart of this process.

So what do you need to be an entrepreneur? You need a huge amount of tenacity in order to get things off the ground. Whatever you’re trying to do there are always a million things going wrong, people saying no, people saying it’s impossible. To have resilience and that tenacity is absolutely critical.

When the three of us were putting innocent together there might have been two of us feeling absolutely down in the dumps and one of us saying ‘this is going to work because of x,y and z’. We manage to play off of each other and when two are down, one is up and vice versa. If you’re doing it on your own that’s all going on in your own head. Pretty damn tough I think.

Secondly, you’ve got to be able to get people to do stuff for you. You’ve got to be hugely persuasive because you’re often starting out with very limited resources, even nothing, and creating something out if it. It means getting other people to do stuff for you, not necessarily for monetary reasons, but because they believe in where you’re going, they want to be involved and they’re excited.

Thirdly, people say it’s all about risk taking but I don’t think that’s necessarily true. If you’re taking risks for the hell of it you might come unstuck. If you’re playing everything ultra-safe you won’t ever get anywhere. There may be a few people for whom it is all about risk but I think that the majority of entrepreneurs would say: ‘You know what – this is risky but I reckon this is how I’m going to cover the downside’. So I‘m not subscribing to the romantic notion about taking risks in order to succeed as I suspect that you’d get unstuck pretty quickly.

As described in the previous post about the Branson School of Entrepreneurship, Richard and Virgin Unite are supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs in South Africa. Watch the video here to meet Lazarus Seema - one of the first students to graduate from the school and launch the business of his dreams, Milestone Communications. This marketing, communications and event management company is based in Johannesburg with an additional office in the Vaal, South Africa.

Ever wondered what a day in the life of Richard Branson was like? Well the Virgin Group chairman recorded a video diary over one eventful day while visiting London to promote his new book Business Stripped Bare.

Following up on recent posts about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, I think it’s interesting to also consider how entrepreneurs can have a positive impact on wider society, especially in places like South Africa where they are identifying gaps, providing critical new services and creating jobs.  In fact, it’s been reported* that the country’s economic growth is actually under threat because of a shortage of new entrepreneurs.

In light of this, Virgin Unite has partnered with CIDA, South Africa’s first virtually free university, to launch the Branson School of Entrepreneurship in Johannesburg. This programme identifies and nurtures budding entrepreneurs, and equips them with the skills and start-up funding to launch successful businesses of their own. The students receive intensive mentoring and are also given exposure to successful local and international entrepreneurs.

With the right support and encouragement, these young entrepreneurs can make a huge difference not only to their immediate families and communities, but ultimately the whole of South Africa.

* A report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in 2007

People will always tell you your idea won’t work. To be successful long term and across a lot of different businesses you need to recognise when you need a manager. When your business gets too big to handle – you have to know when to let go.

We get lots of entrepreneurs sending us business propositions here at Virgin and we judge them against our Virgin brand criteria:

• value for money

• good quality

• innovation

• brilliant customer service

• competitively challenging

• fun

We then ask - is it a profitable and sustainable offer? It has to meet a customer need and deliver great customer service, and then be able to sustain that position over the long-term.

It has to be different and have a clear unique selling point.

The proposition has to have international appeal so that it can be taken more widely into other markets. As Virgin is so big, it’s vital that it is scalable and signifcant.

Once your business is up and running you should strive to always be open, honest, straightforward and you should stay practical to deal with.

People are at the heart of the organisaton and are fundamental to your success. Respect for the individual is therefore key. At Virgin we really encourage a tolerant and diverse organisation and I think this really motivates people to do their best work.

Following up on Richard’s recent post about Entrepreneurs and leadership, I think one of the most exciting initiatives supported by Richard and Virgin Unite under this banner has been The Elders. This esteemed group of global leaders, headed by Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel and Desmond Tutu, are contributing their wisdom, independent leadership and integrity to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To celebrate and support the goals of the Universal Declaration, the Elders have launched the Every Human Has Rights campaign in partnership with a number of international organizations. Please check out the video and add your name to a pledge in support of the Universal Declaration at www.everyhumanhasrights.org. You can also read profiles of activists around the world who are working to realise human rights in their communities.