Just finished “Screw it, let’s do it“, the second of my four books on Richard Branson. This guy is an incredible agent of change in every industry that he enters. He seems to be like a walking hurricane that leaves results in its wake instead of destruction. He leaves the Virgin mark on everything he touches – a different way of doing business.
This book is very easy to read, and straight to the point. In a way supplemental to his “Losing my virginity“, it reveals the lessons that have helped him build a global business empire. His formula for creativity is so revealing – he says that he just stays really positive all the time (his staff call him “Dr. Yes”) and ideas just “drop into his head” (!!!!!)
The lessons that he explains in this book are the following:
Just do it!
Believe it can be done
Have goals
Live life to the full
Never give up
Prepare well
Have faith in yourself
Try and try again
Help each other
Have fun!
Have fun, work hard, and money will come
Don’t wAste time – grab your chances
Have a positive outlook on life
When it’s not fun, move on
Be Bold
Calculate the risks and take them
Believe in yourself
Chase your dreams and goals
Have no regrets
Keep your word
Challenge Yourself
Aim high
Try new things
Always try
Challenge yourself
Stand On Your Own Two Feet
Rely on yourself
Chase your dreams but live in the real world
Work together
Live the moment
Love life and live it to the full
Enjoy the moment
Reflect on your life
Make every second count
Don’t have regrets
Value family and friends
Put family and the team first
Be loyal
Face problems head on
Money is for making things happen
Pick the right people and reward talent
Have respect
Be polite and respectful
Do the right thing
Keep your good name
Be fair in all your dealings
Gaia capitalism
Leave the world a better place
Pull your weight
Take the long-term view
Always consider the implications of your actions
Big victories are made up of many small ones
Confront the big issues, they won’t go away
Understand the situation then consider whether to fight and how
Never lose sight of the end goal
If something is wrong – fix it
Sex appeal
Be passionate about the brand and make it sexy
Use the normal to engage the enemy, the extraordinary to win
Walk the talk
Create excitement in everything you do
If something needs doing, do it yourself
Look beyond the obvious and put your a$$ on the line
Be innovative
Nothing is impossible
Think creatively
The system is not sacred
To win you have to break the rules
Play the hand you’ve been dealt with
Find another way
Do some good
Change the world, even if in a small way
Make a difference and help others
Do no harm
Always think what you can do to help
Pow! Shazam!
Speed is the ultimate competitive weapon
Be first in the field
Do it now
Keep it simple
Cut red tape
Keep your eye on the ball
Think young
You’ve got to challenge the big ones
Keep it casual
Haggle: Everything is negotiable
Have fun working
Do the right things for the brand
Smile for the cameras!
Don’t lead ’sheep’, herd ‘cats’
Move like a bullet
Small is beautiful
Be a common, regular person
Richard explains how his best business ideas always come through having lots and lots of conversations with people – even when he is working through his long to-do lists. He has his entrepreneurial antennae always switched on and ideas are picked up and then developed. I look forward to reading the other two books on this Richard Branson palooza that I’ve embarked upon. Stay tuned for more…..
An interesting post over at the Economics Help Blog sheds some light on some of the economic imbalances that occur in the world today, such as a tendancy towards having high savings in the East, with high consumption in the West; and having a current account surplus in the East, but current account decificts in the West.
Tejvan Richard Pettinger argues that the current recession is, to an extent, addresing some of these imbalances through sheer market forces. He writes the following:-
The Recession is Having the following effect.
Lower spending in US and UK. Both UK and US had very low saving rates at the end of the boom. Recessions tend to encourage people to save. On the other hand, China may be forced to encourage domestic consumption. They can no longer just rely on exports to maintain high growth rates. With external demand falling, there is greater pressure on them to boost domestic spending to take the slack.
Lower Current account deficit. The US current account deficit has fallen from a peak of about 6.5% of GDP to about 3.3% of GDP This reflects the decline in US imports.
Change in Attitudes. After the boom years, people in US are more suspicious of spending on credit. In the medium term or long term, we may see US consumers becoming more frugal and more willing to save. This will help to reduce the global saving imbalances between East and West.
This is an interesting thought, and maybe one that is not very popular at the moment with a global reaction against capitalism, and more specifically, market forces. All in all, capitalism has its weaknesses – I think that we are learning that at the moment, and its a lessons that we are learning at great cost given the excesses that have caused this crisis, and the massive deleaveraging that is happening in the global economy at the moment. At the end of it all, however, capitalism is the only system that works, because it is the only economic system that creates wealth. The alternatives have already been tried and have been found wanting.
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. – Winston Churchill
I have just finished reading this page-turner! It was a really enjoyable and inspiring read, especially as Sir Richard Branson seems to speak my heart when he writes about social entrepreneurship and of using influence, position, and wealth as a force for good and for change in the world.
Sir Richard seems to be a very remarkable man. He has the unique gift of being able to impart Virgin’s DNA, its core values, to whatever endeavour he embarks on. In all of his projects, he seems to have the knack of changing cultures and raising the high water levels. Just reading his journey from a student activist-entrepreneur to the chief visionary behind the worldwide phenomenon that is Virgin is truly exhilarating.
Like him, I strongly believe that social entrepreneurship provides a way forward for many of the third world’s poverty-related problems. If you have a heart for the marketplace and for business, I seriously recommend that you read this book – there are tonnes of business lessons in there for you. If you happen to get fired up with his message of changing the world, then join the movement.
The above video (link) must be one of the best pieces of sound engineering work ever. It is a composite audio/video of song whereby additional tracks were laid in by different singers and musicians from different places around the world. The finished product is tremendous! The song itself is that classic standard “Stand By Me” originally released in 1955 by The Staple Singers and released again in 1961 by the Drifters. This composite version is a real toe tapper.
What fascinates me in this case is that the Internet brought together people from all over the world in a collaboration for the purpose of bringing change through music. Imagine the possibilities if this approach was used for the furtherance of other causes.
In your opinion, what other causes could benefit from a participative collaboration along the lines shown above?
Yesterday I had my first experience in a recording studio woot woot! Radio Gibraltar features a short 2-minute “Pause for Reflection” every weekday at 7:55AM. A local “clergyman” is usually asked to provide some food for thought about some topic based on morality. Now for the life of me, I have no idea why on earth anybody would want to have me doing the segment but for what it’s worth I was asked to provide my two-pence worth for next week’s segments.
I found the recording experience a delight. It was really fun stuff!!! Jonathan Scott is such a great guy! He was really understanding, patient, and complimenting during my ordeal On the serious side now, I really hope that these short messages will help touch people who may be going through some painful circumstances. I shared on the Easter story and how that informs us today. The Easter story is the story of NEW LIFE in the midst of tragedy and adversity. It inspires me SO MUCH!!!! There are many lessons to draw from that powerful story. So anyway these are the “thoughts” as they will appear next week:
Monday – The Easter Story: New beginnings
Tuesday – The Easter Story: Challenges
Wednesday – The Easter Story: Living without baggage
Thursday – The Easter Story: Living free of regrets
Friday – The Easter Story: Hope
For those of you who may be too sleepy at 7:55AM to catch the show (You know who you are), or for those of you outside Gibraltar, I have been promised the MP3 files and so I hope to have those on this blog as soon as I get them. Stay tuned!
Hi friends, just received this prayer request for Bill Johnson. Please pray – thanks!
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Friends and family,
This week we had a surprising health situation come up with my Dad, Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding. So I am writing to give you an update and a target for prayer.
Last week, Bob Jones called and was concerned about my dad’s health. As a result of Bob’s call, my dad went to the doctor to have some things checked on. He has had a hernia in the area of the abdomen that has caused some issues and discomfort. In checking out the hernia, the doctors felt a surgery was needed the next day to fix it and felt good about the recovery. In preparing for the surgery, they ran a routine blood test and had to cancel the surgery due to his being anemic. This set off another series of tests to determine what was going on. One of the tests involved checks for colon cancer, and it happened this morning. The results from this test show that his colon is in excellent health and he has no cancer. So, Yea GOD!! They are going to run some more tests to see why he is anemic.
I had a dream last night and in the dream, my neighbor was standing by his barbeque and there were some pretty big flames coming out of it. I was concerned that the flames would start a fire on my property. So I went and talked to my neighbor, and he insisted that everything was fine. So I went back to my property, and the flames got bigger, and the wind started to blow the flames onto my property. Now I was really concerned, and I told him that he needed to do something about his barbeque, but he insisted that everything was OK. Then, out of nowhere, all these catholic nuns showed up on my property with rakes and shovels and they were making a fire line of protection around my property.
Part of Bob Jones’ warning was that the prayers of the church would be crucial to victory. So we are asking that you continue to pray for perfect health and life in my dad’s body-that the hernia and anemia situations would quickly be healed and resolved. We are also asking that you pray from a position of strength and faith in the goodness of God for our family as a whole. Thank you.
We will keep you updated as we know that so many of you are partnered with us in the goodness of the Kingdom.
For those of you who have had their interest piqued by my previous post on Warren Buffett, check out this video where he is being intereviewed by Charlie Rose. This guy fascinates me – I am learning a lot from his attitude and reasoning.
Just finished reading The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life, the mammoth tome on Warren Buffett. The author strips away all the mystery surrounding this intriguing persona to reveal the pure genius of the man. She gives a thorough history of both his personal as well as business life and also goes into the heavy toll that his family have borne for his dedication to business and investing.
To any student of business or investing the lessons to take away from this book are incredible. The prudent value system that guides his every decision, as well as his propensity to consider honesty and openness whilst at the same time pushing for a hard deal will benefit any serious student of business.
Some of the insights and dealongs with previous busts and bailouts hark prophetic to our time and current crisis.
On the serious side now, I really hope that these short messages will help touch people who may be going through some painful circumstances. I shared on the Easter story and how that informs us today. The Easter story is the story of NEW LIFE in the midst of tragedy and adversity. It inspires me SO MUCH!!!! There are many lessons to draw from that powerful story. So anyway these are the “thoughts” as they will appear next week:
