Richard Branson

Jetset Magazine publishes an interview with Branson. He discusses treating drugs as a health problem rather than a criminal problem:

I’m part of a global commission on drugs, which is basically 15 ex-presidents and myself who have looked at the war on drugs and seen that it’s been a failure. What we want to see happen is for governments to experiment with different approaches. The current approach has definitely not worked. We don’t want people harmed, we want people helped. We want laws changed.

Branson is interviewed for the London School of Business and Finance by David Blunkett. On the role of universities:

Universities should be encouraging people to run their businesses within the university, where entrepreneurs, teachers and students can share ideas and help each other. We need to encourage entrepreneurs to stay within the confines of universities and get the support they need.

Interaction with education providers:

Through technology, businesses could be tapping into a lot of students in universities worldwide, making the time we spend exchanging values and ideas far more useful. Entrepreneurs have a different way of doing things and they can look into situations, with the benefit of experience, and help governments and social sectors to tackle things in a better way.

His plans to study as a mature student:

When I was 40 I said to my wife ‘I’m taking two years off to go to university’, and she said ‘It’s a midlife crisis – you’re just after those young ladies at the university.

Branson tells The European Magazine that entrepreneurship is a crisis fix:

With staggering youth unemployment figures today I believe we need to encourage the use of terms like innovation and innovative as entrepreneurship offers some hope and an alternative to the traditional career path.

Fear of disruption holds ideas back:

Most people are too anxious to destroy. The iPod effectively destroyed the selling of records. To the detriment of the music industry but for the benefit of the public.

The new innovation with the best potential:

There’s a wonderful new company in New Zealand called Lanzatech that has invented a way of turning the waste products that go up the chimneys of steel and aluminium plants into aviation fuel. Recycling at its best. Once day all planes could operate on this fuel.

Branson tells Origin magazine that the same advices applies for men and women in business:

By just getting out there and doing it, you’re going to learn all the pitfalls. It may succeed, it may not succeed, but unless you actually try it, it’s definitely not going to succeed. I think the slogan “Screw it, just do it”–I think the same applies to women and men. Get on and give it a go. Learn from it if it doesn’t work out. Pick yourself up and try again.

Entrepreneurs should lead from the front:

Leading by fear is a lot of companies’ approach, and a horrible way for people to exist in their lives, when most of your life is spent at work. I’m sure you get the best out of people if you look for the best in them.

Branson is interviewed for LinkedIn. On women in leadership:

In the end, it’s down to individuals. I would encourage companies to work really hard towards getting a 50/50 split of women on their board — even to the extent of encouraging politicians to actually change laws to force a situation to where there’s 50% women on boards. Because in countries where they’ve done it — like Norway and Sweden — the companies seem to have benefited from it. But in the meantime, all of us who own companies must try to increase the size of our boards to make sure we get more women on the boards.

Branson tells Forbes that many presentations are ineffective:

Too many people are hiding in dark rooms flipping through too many words on big screens. There’s a reason why I avoid boardrooms. I’d rather spend time with people ‘in the field,’ where eye contact, genuine conviction and trustworthiness are in full evidence.

Ideas should be concise:

From the beginning, Virgin used clear, ordinary language.  If I could quickly understand a campaign concept, it was good to go. If something can’t be explained off the back of an envelope, it’s rubbish.