Richard Branson: Like a Virgin

Masson, Margaret 137, 138

McAuliffe, Christa 48

McKinsey & Co. 276

mentor 105, 163, 179, 270-1, 272, 276, 297-300

a good coach tells it straight 299

build a mentoring team 299

get the message out 300

make the introductions 300

persistence is the key 300

teach them to be bold 299

who is RB’s? 4

micromanaging 89, 192-5, 325

Microsoft 10-11, 67, 74, 164

mistakes:

CEO 196-9

common 265-9

learning from 17, 60-2, 90, 104, 109, 139-40, 154, 184, 198-9, 200-1, 204, 206

staff 17, 90, 104, 109, 139-40, 154, 184, 196, 198, 199, 204, 206

Mitchell, Debbie 187

money, importance of 15, 162, 164, 178-9

Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station, Italy 147

Morgan, Sally 323

motivation 66, 93, 178, 301-5

Mowlam, Mo 180

Mtsolongo, Amos 271

‘Music Box’ 129

music industry 76, 102, 129, 159, 167-8, 234-8

Music Week 129

Musk, Elon 50

NASA 142, 174

National Australia Bank 61

National Lottery, UK 29

natural disasters 310-11

Necker 8, 15, 85, 86, 87, 100, 108, 207, 292, 307, 323

belongers and nonbelongers 111-12, 114

entrepreneur meetings on 112

typical day on 181-2

name and discovery of 111

Necker Nymph 85-6

negotiation 19-20, 65-6, 194

new ventures, which to pick? 149-52

nice guys can finish first 18-21

Nike 67

Noriega, General Manuel 36

Northern Rock 39, 200-1, 207, 243-4, 281

notepad, keep a 266-7

NTL-Telewest 189, 246, 250, 294

nuclear power 145-6, 275

Obama, Barack 202, 319

Odersun 147

office:

home or 314-17

layout 213-14

relationships 281-4

oil 148, 274-5, 320

Oldfield, Mike 3, 132, 150, 279

one-on-one meetings 55

opinion, second and third 120-3

Page, Larry 175, 265

Palm 197

paralysis by analysis 150

partner, choosing a 225-8

partnership, breaking up a business 124-7

passion, pursue your 45-6, 72-4

Payne, Les 90

Pendolino train 137

Perfect 10 56-9

Peterson, Jack 142

phone, why is it so hard to pick up the? 133, 134, 181

pitch, the perfect 39-42, 157-61

attention to detail 158, 159-60

be concrete 41

be unapologetically disruptive 41

demonstrate bench strength 42-3

dress 160

listening 160

pick three points 160

practice run 159-60

prove that growth is sustainable 42

Virgin Atlantic and 158-9

what’s in it for them? 40

Pixar 69

planet’s problems, opportunities in 273-6

Planta Solar 20 solar farm, Spain 147

Polanco, Isaac 149

Portugal 81

Powell, Nik 125, 184, 279

press/media 35, 37, 82, 101, 139-40, 164

pricing 185-6

pride of association works wonders 11

profits, focus on 45, 155, 164

protecting the downside 28, 46, 47

Pterodactyl Ascender 142

publicity ‘stunts’ 143, 250

Puerto Rican Trench 87

Qantas 16

raising money see investors

Reach for the Skies (Branson) 143

reach for the skies, it’s closer than you think 141-4

rebranding 39, 201, 207, 243-7, 281

recession 68, 125, 169-72, 235, 311

red tape 28, 320

Reed, Frank 16

regrets 26, 29, 236, 270

removing yourself from business’s day-to-day functions 108

reputation, protecting 140, 217, 240, 250, 277, 280

restructuring 188-91

Richard, Cliff 3

risks, taking 27, 28, 37, 41, 44-7, 58-9, 68, 78, 89, 102, 142, 152, 184, 194, 237, 264, 269, 279, 294

Rivera, Billy Loaiza 248

Robinson, Mary 312, 328

Rolling Stones 32, 287

Roscoe Wind Farm, Texas 147

Roy, Tanga 243

rulebook 257-60

rules of business, the 67

rules of the road 323-6

celebrate your successes 326

champion your people’s ideas 326

define the 324-5

focus, focus, focus 325

what’s the plan? Keep your team informed 324

when mistakes happen, learn from them and move on 326

who’s in charge? It’s up to you 325

Rutan, Burt 142, 170, 180, 328

ruthlessness 20

Sampson, Anthony 34

Scaled Composites 48-9

Screw Business as Usual (Branson) 211

sea science 84-8

Selfridge, Henry Gordon 63, 66

semantic business problems 112, 213

Seven Seas Water 275

Sex Pistols 3, 194, 285

sign every check and examine every invoice every six weeks 103

small and lean business, keeping a 12, 28, 30-3, 109, 153-6, 165, 170, 171-2, 189, 190-1, 193, 195, 237

social media 222, 229, 250-1

Sojka, Christian 216

Solana, Javier 80

solar power 49-50, 145, 147, 209, 275

Solazyme 117

Somalia 86-7, 175

South Africa 16, 179, 218-19, 271, 308, 312

Southwest Airlines 64

Space Shuttle Challenger 48

space travel/tourism 32, 48-51, 84, 86, 142, 143, 144, 151, 170, 173-7

cost barrier 49

Mars, colonising 175, 328

off-planet solar panels 49-50

re-entry problem 142-5

satellites, launching 49, 176

Virgin focus on 173-7

Space X 50

SpaceShipOne 142, 180

speedboating 4, 7, 28-9, 35, 173

Spitzer, Eliot 37

staff see employees/people

starting a business/start-up 128-32

be innovative – create something different 10-11

be visible 12-13

five secrets to 9-13

if you don’t enjoy it don’t do it 9-10

launch stage of business 102-5, 192-5, 261-5

lead by listening 11-12

pride of association works wonders 11

Stowe School 1, 212-13

Stoyanova, Pavlina 130-1

Stringfellow, John 143

Student 45-6, 112, 113, 129, 144, 158, 185, 193, 225-6, 307, 329

success:

celebrating 326

handling 155

what is? 162-5

Sununu, John 35

sustainable/renewable energy 115-19, 145-9

Switzerland 81-2, 138

Taliban 80

Tan, Victor 204

Thames Estuary 147

third-person problems 52-5

ties 200-3

time management 106-10

T-Mobile 151

training, staff 239-42

trust 15, 16, 41, 69, 104, 109, 124, 140, 231, 277-80, 282, 284, 285-8, 292, 294, 297, 316

tsunami, Japan, 2011 145, 275

Tubular Bells (Oldfield) 132, 150, 279

Tutu, Archbishop Desmond 8, 179, 312

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Verne) 84, 88

Twitter 160, 218, 222, 248-9, 251

Ulusaba Private Game Reserve 303, 308, 317

uncertain times, best time to set up a business 273

United Nations Global Commission on Drug Policy 80

University of Lausanne 81-2

US Drug Enforcement Agency 80

Virgin see Virgin Group

Virgin Active 16, 19, 96, 218-19, 224, 227-8

Virgin America 15, 19, 96, 217, 230, 231-2, 251-2, 258

Virgin Atlantic 19, 96, 254, 266-7

bank attempts to cut off credit of 39

birth of 11, 73-4, 282, 292

cabins 113

complaints 223

customer service 23-5

expansion of 284

first airline with personal movies 58, 65

fun and 34-7

intrapreneurs 113

investment, securing 158-9

renewable fuels test flight 116, 117, 118

safety of 138

social media and 250

staff/service 15

Upper Class 23-5, 31, 388

Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer 180

Virgin Australia 15-16, 67-8, 73-4, 90-2, 96, 100-1, 118, 284

Virgin Blue see Virgin Australia

Virgin Cola 61

Virgin Express 284

Virgin Galactic 23, 32, 48-9, 50, 86, 100, 142, 143, 151, 170, 173-5, 176, 328

Virgin Green Fund 117, 147, 152, 275

Virgin Group 19, 39, 44

birth of 9-10

brand 8, 44-5, 65, 69-70, 256, 293-6

chief executives 91

culture of 17, 19, 31, 72, 82, 91, 153-6, 189, 217, 219, 244, 246, 258, 259, 260, 267, 303, 304