Richard Branson

For the purposes of our assignment I will attempt to put Richard Branson in a sort of box that he would surely object to and would certainly pop out of like a jack-in-the- box.

The difficulty with attempting to analyze the leadership style of Branson is that everything that has been written about him prefaces his achievement with his larger than life personality. There's no denying that Branson is fun and passionate, but he's also very bright and very hardworking. I think that if Branson took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Profile he would discover that he is ENTP: an extroverted, intuitive, thinking, perceiving human being. From his autobiography, Losing My Virginity it's clear that Branson is action oriented, enthusiastic and seems to work well in an every changing environment. When he was 15 years old he founded a magazine called Student with another classmate. They worked non-stop for years to make the magazine successful. His intuition was clear even at that young age. He talks about the work they put in, not to make money in the short run, but just to keep the magazine afloat until the next issue. For Branson it was more about the creative process. He says, "I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money...A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts." He realized that at some point there would be breakthrough and he could attract the advertisers he needed to really gain monetary success. At that moment he was having a great time just doing it.

His intuition for great ideas has also been well documented throughout his career. In an interview with an online magazine Branson admits that he carries a notebook with him at all times. He confesses, ""I keep a notebook in my pocket all the time...and I really do listen to what people say, even when we're out in a club at 3 a.m. and someone's passing on an idea in a drunken slur. Good ideas come from people everywhere, not [only] in the boardroom."

One might also argue that his extroversion is also well documented from his hot air balloon rides to the very name he selected to represent his brand. A brand name like "Virgin" demands recognition just for the name itself and I'm sure in 1970's England it drew the attention. Virgin seems to have a knack for doing things in a sort of "fun" way no matter what the product. When you think of Virgin Mobile, you think about how easy they made it for anyone (everyone) to have cell service. Similarly, Virgin Atlantic seems to make travel for anyone easier and a possibility by offering lower fares to many destinations. You imagine a younger hip executive flying Virgin Atlantic, while a stodgier older executive would fly British Airways. Even ventures that failed, such as Virgin Vodka, still conjure up the idea of fun. It's become "a way of life brand". In Good to Great, Collins discusses how Philip Morris found success when it diversified away from tobaccos by staying close to "sinful" products such as coffee, chocolates and beer. In a similar way, Virgin has branded its easy, fun, energetic way about doing things. We even joked in class that a Virgin bank might be the fun bank to transact business.

Branson is not only passionate about the business' that he at the helm of, but he also finds time to champion some personal issues he's passionate about. When he started the magazine Student, it was clear that he had very strong feelings about the involvement of the US in the Vietnam War and he used the magazine to highlight that issue. However, he is clear to state that he was far left on the war, but not on all the liberal ideals of the time. In recent years he has been very vocal on the need to curb Global Warming and in 2006 he pledged $3 billion of profits from his transportation businesses to be invested in alternative sources of energy. For Branson, it's a win-win. The $3 billion investment in renewable energy could lead to a discovery by Virgin that could in turn become a product for them to bring to market. That could lead to future profits. Even if the investment turns up with nothing new for Virgin in terms of monetary gain, they would have done their part in trying to address the problem and raising awareness. Altruistic or not, his action is not bad business practice.

Understanding Branson's passion for his ventures as well as his spirit for adventure gives us some insight at how best to approach him as a leader. We know he keeps a notebook in his pocket at all times so how would you pitch an idea to him if you happened to meet him in an elevator. Let's say you have about 10 floors to convince him that your idea is the next big thing, it's the next Virgin Records. I think that you would have to bring a lot of energy to the conversation to appeal to his sense of adventure and his own, seemingly endless, level of excitement. My husband often tells me that I'm animated in my interactions with other people. I'm never aware that I'm being "animated" while I'm doing it, but I can imagine afterwards what he's