Richard Branson - Like a Virgin

diversification 67, 68, 95, 106, 156, 253-6, 302

older people, employing 93-7

focus on green sector 116, 274

focus of 68

management structure, decentralised 60, 156

name 13

rationale behind approach of 44

Stars of the Year dinner 90, 259

‘stick to what you know’ and 68

vertical disintegration 156, 253-4

see also under individual company/subsidiary name

Virgin Limited Edition 317

Virgin Media 189, 190, 246, 250, 294

Virgin Megastores 58-9, 206, 235-6

Virgin Mobile 37, 68, 151, 189, 210, 246, 250, 255

Virgin Money 23, 39, 61-2, 100, 201, 207, 210, 243-4, 281, 308

credit card 61-2, 293

Giving 210

London Marathon and 308

Northern Rock and see Northern Rock

Virgin Saver 62

Virgin Music 56, 58-9, 125, 206, 235-6, 291-2 see also Virgin Records

Virgin Pulse 197-8

Virgin Rail 137

Virgin Records 236, 237, 254, 29, 320

birth of 150, 226, 302

communication and 167-8

delegation in 72-3

first shop 57

handshake deals 278-9

sale of 284

small size as an advantage 32

staff 16-17

Virgin Retail 235

Virgin Trains 19, 138, 139, 245

Virgin Unite 29, 179, 209-10, 307, 312, 328

Virji, Shezad 106

visible, be 12-13, 27, 91, 316

Voyager 180

walkabout, manager/CEO 134-6, 166-8, 202

Walsh, Willie 116

Warner Brothers Records 129

Warren, Doug 206

water 147, 211, 274, 275-6, 310

Wax, Ruby 7

‘we’ and ‘they’ 52-5

weakest link, the 22-5

web-based businesses 129-33

websites 76-8, 129, 248, 249

West Coast Main Line 137, 304

Westpac Banking Corporation 61

work-life balance 96, 241, 289-92, 306, 308, 314-17

Williamson, Phil 259-60

wind energy 147, 275

Zuckerberg, Mark 164

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)

Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:

80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published in the United Kingdom by Virgin Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing 2012

First published in the United States of America by Portfolio/Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2012

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Copyright © Richard Branson, 2012

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-101-60317-8

Printed in the United States of America

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.