Recently I had the opportunity to sit in on a conversation with Sir Richard Brandson. We all know about Virgin Records, Virgin America, Virgin Mobile, and more recently Virgin going to outer space He is the man behind the vision, the dream, and the change.
During his short talk with another prominent business leader, CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, we all sat around and embraced their exchange in conversation about his life. From jokes about drugs and music, to serious political views about world problems.
So what did I learn? Well, not only did I learn a few things, others were confirmed as true.
Keep An Open Mind
Openminded people are able to take in and experience life and ideas in a different way than those who are first to judge and criticize. Sir Richard Brandson holds true to this when building Virgin Records. His open mindedness to different music is what led in part to the success of the Rolling Stones. Also to the coming together of Virgin America and the new technical innovations it is now providing to its customers.
Open mindedness drives progress, which drives innovation, which is the catalyst for greater good and change. See how that works?
Respect vs. Fear
He spoke about the way of work. There is a lot of successful companies and people out there who have worked and become large when instilling fear in their employees and customers. Fear rules many and holds people back from accomplishing more because there comes the risk of loss or disapointment.
On the other hand, there is respect which like fear, can also drive for cetain results, however it does it with a positive twist. Respect towards others skills and abilities promotes growth by encouraging individuals and companies to promote and thrive off of those things that make them great to begin with. The fact that he has dared to go where no other person has dared to go before with his vision of sending many people into outerspace and is making it a reality shows that he has used the abilities of those around him and respected their knowledge and expertise to drive the innovation forward.
Choose Your Cause
Sir Richard Branson talked about finding what you stand for and making something of it. Taking a stand for what you believe in, truly embracing it and running with it is what makes so many companies and individuals great. This includes that ridiculous vacuum cleaner that we all know isn’t necessarily worth the price or that handbag who’s real value is a mere fraction of what people value it to be. What people have done is talked up the value of these things because they really believe in it, that is their cause. Think of the effect someone has on you who does not stop talking about how important the color green is. Before you know it, the one thing you see about that person is the color green. Focus and passion are part of realizing your cause and what you stand for. Sir Richard Branson emphasized how important it is to find your cause. It is very important!
These are three examples of what can be done on our personal journey to our greatness. They worked for him and if implemented, they can work for us as well in our own way. Here is his TED video interview for others to learn more about this successful man.
