Like a Virgin

Even the best people need great leadership. A good leader must know the team, its strengths and weaknesses; socialising and listening to the team face to face is key.

Finding them, managing them, inspiring them and then holding on to them is one of the most important challenges a business leader faces, and your success or lack thereof plays a vital role in the long-term success and growth of your business.

Let’s get right to the point: good people are not just crucial to a business, they are the business!

Be visible
A good leader doesn’t get stuck behind a desk. I’ve never worked in an office – I’ve always worked from home – but I am constantly out and about, meeting people. It seems I am travelling all the time but I always have a notebook handy to jot down questions, concerns or good ideas.

If you don’t enjoy it don’t do it
Starting a business takes huge amounts of hard work and time so you had better enjoy doing it. When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn’t set out to build a business empire. I simply wanted to create something people would enjoy using, have fun doing it and at the end of the day prayed that it would make enough to pay the bills.

What drives you crazy?
A:Negativity. People who only look for the worst in others and ‘glass half-empty’ types. I can’t stand gossips!

Actually, I also hate the word ‘hate’.

Q: What’s the first thing you think of when you wake up?
A:Like most people, I think about the time! Often followed by ‘What country am I in?’

Q: What’s the first thing you think of when you wake up?
A:Like most people, I think about the time! Often followed by ‘What country am I in?’

I talk a lot in the articles I hope you are about to read about the important role I believe entrepreneurs have to play in this world.