Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur
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A guide to success in business and in life. From its creation as a mail-order record company to the literal launch of Virgin Galactic, Virgin is one of the premier ‘way-of-life’ brands in the world, trusted and enjoyed by many millions of people.
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Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography
Love him or loathe him, you’ve got to admit that Richard Branson has drive. And guts. And enough ambition to sink a battleship–or perhaps that should be a jumbo jet–or even a whole company of jumbos if the Virgin Atlantic/British Airways debacle (which takes up a huge chunk of this already sizable tome) is anything to go by. Branson’s autobiography makes immensely fascinating reading. Whatever you think of Britain’s most famous entrepreneur the odds are that you will enjoy reading his a
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Virgin Optimism,
Regardless of who you are – one thing you have to admit is that Richard Branson oozes charisma, energy and vitality. Even looking at the front cover of the book he is given an exotic yet accessible quality. But enough of this hero worship on my part – what are my thoughts on the contents of the book?
Branson does not claim to be an academic businessman. What comes across in this book is his ethos and belief in the power of entrepreneurship. He covers such themes as Leadership, Brand and Social Responsiblity.
The book has of number of strengths. Throughout he uses stories to illustrate his points. My particular favourites were his tales regarding BA, Coco Cola and his initial set up of Virgin Money. So Branson avoids the situation that other business books fall into – using big words and leaving the reader none the wiser to what they are actually talking about.
A second strength of this book is that Branson portrays business not as an entity detached from his or our everyday lives. If used properly and ethically – it can be a source of great change. I reckon Branson and Adam Smith would have gotten on like a house on fire.
A third strength is Branson’s ideas about self empowerment. We may think of Virgin as a monster sized company – whereas in fact it is made up of lots of smaller companies (aside from Virgin Atlantic which Branson readily admits is big). Branson states that the smaller companies avoid the problem of stagnation and each employee can stay energised and involved. Staying with this small scale approach – Branson illustrates how it can be used to tackle such problems as climate change. Correctly he states that large scale solutions often become bogged down.
However the book does have one issue. Branson is much more engaging when talking about the individuals that makes up his company and his relationship with them. The sections where he talks about the high profile individuals such as Al Gore, Clinton and Mandela – tend to get bogged down and I found my attention drifting. I got it that he thinks these guys are great – I just didnt need to read about it for the next 10 pages. Bit rich coming from me since I have just read 328 pages about my hero Branson!
Overall – a great book and with great messages.
The best message being “the brave may not live forever – but the cautious do not live at all”.
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|Not his best,
Having read other books both by Richard Branson and other major business owners, I had high hopes for this book, unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed in this book.
A lot of it was focused on passing the buck and I got the feeling that he was trying to clear his name for various Virgin things that had gone wrong, especially with Virgin trains. There was also a lot of descriptions of various publicity stunts that Mr Branson has done, prior to reading this I had always thought of Richard Branson as very down to Earth with a good sense of humour. I think the way this has been written misrepresents him and I now sort of think of him as a bit seedy which is causing a conflict in my head as it’s so different to previous experiences of Richard Branson.
Other reviewers have stated that there is quite a bit of “look at me, haven’t I done well” and yes, there is a lot of that but if they were to be honest, that’s the whole reason why anyone is reading this book – because he’s done so well in business and everyone wants to know how.
It’s a good book, which is worth reading but don’t put it to the top of your reading list, maybe look at his other books first.
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|A very entertaining listen,
Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global EntrepreneurI bought this audio book to pass a few hours of my daily commute and what a thoroughly good choice as i enjoyed it a great deal. I would say that it is far more autobiographical than practical lessons but either way i found it very interesting. I am the director of my own company and i found his drive, views and outlooks on business very refreshing. Before i forget i must mention that it is actually Richard reading which really puts it a step above a lot of other business audio books (Duncan Bannatyne are you listening)?
Richard comes across very well and the way the audio is recorded doesn’t feel too clinical and is far more relaxed and laid back. This audio collection has left me with a great deal of respect and interest in Richard and the Virgin group which i will follow up on especially when it comes to his new ventures. He recounts both the ups and the downs of his personal ventures (or adventures) and doesn’t shy away from saying it as it is. There is an element of self promotion of some areas of his business but that is fine with me when many of them are concerned with major world-wide affairs. An interesting and highly entertaining listen.
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|An exceptional read,
I’m not a lover of books that are 500+ pages long so when I first received this book I was a little put off. After reading the first few pages though I was gripped and couldn’t put it down. At a very early age, Branson seemed to have that drive that has stayed with him and has made him what he is. His lifestyle in the early days is not what you imagine and he has had his fair share of bad luck. The book takes you step by step through his life up until he is 40. He is a very likeable, genuine and considerate man and he seems to be into everything, literally!. If you think being dislexic might set you back, think again. I admired Branson’s drive and enthusiasm before I read this book, now it’s got me hooked and I want to find out more about him. A totally gripping book start to finish and this is the first book that I can honestly say that I couldn’t put down. It has my recommendation and if I had the chance of working with him I’d jump at it ! Brilliant – well worth a buy.
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|Riveting, the 500 pages whistle by, it’s an inspiration,
The way Branson invented Virgin and then re-invented the products and the image is an inspiration to us all, entrepreneurs or not. If you’re not in business, you’ll want to be after reading these 500 pages which whistle by as fast as a Virgin Atlantic jumbo. He’s honest to a fault and that makes the book all the more readable – I never want to fly BA again! The tales of adventure on sea and by balloon are fascinating insights into how close Branson came to death – in fact you could say he’s had a charmed life which inspired me to make my next 40 years as worthwhile and fulfilling as his first 40. Sorry to gush, but it’s a top read whatever age.
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|“Screw it. Let’s do it”,
Who hasn’t at sometime thought about going into business for oneself, being a great success and having the satisfaction of manning the helm of your own future? Who hasn’t then come back to ‘reality’ and continued to get on with it? Read “Loosing my Virginity” by Richard Branson, and you will find yourself burning with enthusiasm once again and racking your brain to think of some venture into which you can fling your energy. That is the great attraction of this book, it is about business from the point of view that you spend most of your life working, so why not make it enjoyable. Richard Branson points out that he has “never gone into any business purely to make money” and although most people would probably cringe at such a comment out of context, read the book and you will surely believe him! Mr Branson explains how he hopped from editing a student magazine to each of his subsequent ventures because it appeared the most interesting thing to do at the time. Fortunately, he knew the right people at the right time and had quite a bit of luck along the way, but the underlying theme is that if you have the urge to go your own way, then do it (and you may even make a fortune!).
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