Richard Branson Quotes & Sayings

Conflicts often stem from a couple of leaders on both sides that are badly brought up. They'd rather go to war than compromise. And in business, you're competing with other companies all the time, but you don't end up going to war with each other. — Richard Branson

The idea that business is strictly a numbers affair has always struck me as preposterous. For one thing, I've never been particularly good at numbers, but I think I've done a reasonable job with feelings. And I'm convinced that it is feelings - and feelings alone - that account for the success of the Virgin brand in all of its myriad forms. — Richard Branson

In times of recession there are massive opportunities and fortunes to be made, so for new up and coming entrepreneurs, this is the time to go and start a business. — Richard Branson

Learn to use your brain power. Critical thinking is the key to creative problem solving in business. — Richard Branson

Setting customer expectations at a level that is aligned with consistently deliverable levels of customer service requires that your whole staff, from product development to marketing, works in harmony with your brand image. — Richard Branson

Please don't get hung up on this question of whether you need to have experience in an industry before you launch your startup. — Richard Branson

We don't actually plan to launch new businesses over the next few years, but we are planning to take the ones we have into new territories. — Richard Branson

Good customer service begins at the top. If your senior people don't get it, even the strongest links further down the line can become compromised. — Richard Branson

Meet regularly with your business team and brainstorm. Intricate business problems are mostly resolved at brainstorming sessions. — Richard Branson

Values cannot be speedily forgotten if it is inconvenient or commercially expedient. Values have to have meaning and longevity; otherwise they are valueless. You cannot embrace innovation up to a point or only sometimes. Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking cords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful. — Richard Branson

I think because I have great difficulty saying the word, 'no,' almost every day's a different adventure. — Richard Branson

Screwing business as usual fundamentally recognises that doing good is good for business. — Richard Branson

Be authentic and organic. It can't be forced or it won't work. And most importantly, have fun. — Richard Branson

Bakers bake bread, accountants manage accounts and entrepreneurs turn ideas into reality. — Richard Branson

Taking bold climate action now has the potential to unleash the full power of business and at the same time lift millions of people out of poverty. We're the first generation to recognize this and the last generation that will have this opportunity. — Richard Branson

It's clear that it is in the best interest of business to be part of the conservation, along with governments and civil society. — Richard Branson

Exploration is a wonderful way to open our eyes to the world, & to truly see that impossible is just a word. — Richard Branson

Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to keep things simple. — Richard Branson

I have always believed that the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers, and that people flourish when they are praised. Sir — Richard Branson

Success for me is whether you have created something that you can be really proud of. — Richard Branson

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. — Richard Branson

About 40 percent of my time is spent on social issues and building new organizations, more for the benefit of the climate or health issues. — Richard Branson

My definition of success? The more you are actively and practically engaged, the more successful you will feel. — Richard Branson

I love stirring the pot. I love giving big companies a run for their money - especially if they're offering expensive, poor-quality products. — Richard Branson

Space is hard - but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together. — Richard Branson

We Experiment Endlessly, With New Products, New Methods, New Companies And New Marketing. A Successful Business The Emphasis Is On Experiment And Development, Ideas Are The Lifeblood Of Business. — Richard Branson

My parents brought me up with this philosophy. You must do things. You mustn't watch what other people are doing. You must not listen to what other people are doing. — Richard Branson

Well, I'm somebody who is just living ... living life, and if I get frustrated by something, then I like to try to put it right. — Richard Branson

We believe that within five years, 96 percent of British consumers will have access to the Internet, whether it be through a personal computer, a set-top box or a mobile phone. — Richard Branson

I believe in goals. It's never a bad thing to have a dream. If something is really what you want to do, just do it. Whatever your goal. — Richard Branson

We always enter markets where the leaders are not doing a great job, so we can go in and disrupt them by offering better quality services. — Richard Branson

We need government and business to work together for the benefit of everyone. It should no longer be just about typical "corporate social responsibility" where the "responsibility" bit is usually the realm of a small team buried in a basement office - now it should be about every single person in a business taking responsibility to make a difference in everything they do, at work and in their personal lives. — Richard Branson

In business, as in life, all that matters is that you do something positive. — Richard Branson

Never go into business purely to make money. If that's the motive you're better off doing nothing. — Richard Branson

I felt uneasy about making the rapid decisions I have always made, and wondered whether every decision should be formally ratified and minuted at a board meeting. — Richard Branson

Fun is at the core of the way I like to do business and it has been key to everything I've done from the outset. More than any other element, fun is the secret of Virgin's success. I am aware that the ideas of business as being fun and creative goes right against the grain of convention, and it's certainly not how the they teach it at some of those business schools, where business means hard grind and lots of 'discounted cash flows' and net' present values'. — Richard Branson

If people aren't calling you crazy, you aren't thinking big enough. — Richard Branson

We hope to create thousands of astronauts over the next few years and bring alive their dream of seeing the majestic beauty of our planet from above, the stars in all their glory and the amazing sensations of weightlessness and space flight. — Richard Branson

I personally don't believe anything is impossible. With enough determination and effort, almost everything is possible. — Richard Branson

To stand still today is to go backwards ... and quickly ... ! — Richard Branson

The risk is worth it. Mike would have been the first to say that. — Richard Branson

What matters is working with a few close friends, people you respect, knowing that if times did turn bad these people would hold together. — Richard Branson

Success cannot be measured in wealth, fame or power, but by whether you have made a positive difference for others. — Richard Branson

Success comes from delegating, risk-taking and having a good TEAM! — Richard Branson

And [we hope to sell] the clean fuels to other airlines. I mean, the exciting thing about the breakthrough with clean fuels for the airline industry is there's only 1,700 pumps in the world that fill up the airlines. — Richard Branson

Put your passions to work to make this world a better place. — Richard Branson

Screw it. Let's do it. — Richard Branson

I am passionate about many things but conserving our planet and its species is a high priority of mine. — Richard Branson

To launch a business means successfully solving problems. Solving problems means listening. — Richard Branson

Life can seem rather unreal at times. Alive and well and loving one day. No longer there the next. — Richard Branson

If you don't succeed at first, there's no need for the F word (Failure). Pick yourself up and try, try again. — Richard Branson

I think great businessmen are more likely made than born. I don't know if it's from your upbringing, your parental background, the struggles you go through. In my own particular situation, I left school at 15 and I was struggling to survive in the jungle and that was a great education. So I think just getting out there, hands on, learning to survive teaches you a lot. — Richard Branson

Lavish praise on people and people will flourish; criticize people and they'll shrivel up. — Richard Branson

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. — Richard Branson

Well, the odds must be against anybody being able to fly around the world in a balloon on the first attempt. All of us who are attempting to go around the world in balloons are effectively flying in experimental craft because these craft cannot be tested. — Richard Branson

Every risk is worth taking as long as it's for a good cause, and contributes to a good life. — Richard Branson

If you have conflicts, everything breaks down in society. Kids can't go to school. Basic health can't be looked after. Every aspect of society falls apart. — Richard Branson

Age isn't as important so long as you are surrounded by people you love, doing things you passionately believe in. — Richard Branson

It's obviously incredibly important to keep the body fit in order to keep the mind fit, and be able to find time for friends. — Richard Branson

Everything in your business can be outsourced ... if you're not emotionally attached to doing it all. — Richard Branson

And once we decide to do something, we should never look back, never regret it. — Richard Branson

Try everything once. Except incest and folk dancing.' Sir Thomas Beecham — Richard Branson

Unless you dream, you're not going to achieve anything. — Richard Branson

A company is people ... employees want to know ... am I being listened to or am I a cog in the wheel? People really need to feel wanted. — Richard Branson

Successful entrepreneurs don't wait for the perfect moment - they create it — Richard Branson

I think that you're going to get so much more out of life if you just say yes at every opportunity. — Richard Branson

If you go back into military history, the person who's leading the troops ought to be in with the troops and not just standing on the backline sending them into battle. — Richard Branson

In a sense, when we started Virgin Atlantic, I was trying to create an airline for myself. If you try to build the perfect airline for yourself, it will be appreciated by others. — Richard Branson

Those who achieve great things are the ones willing to be scared but not scared off. If you dream big and take risks, impossible becomes just a word. — Richard Branson

If you are seizing on a new business opportunity, deliberately move your customers' expectations up a few notches and consistently over-deliver on your promises - you will leave your competitors struggling to catch up. — Richard Branson

I never learned the rules in the first place. To change the game is at the heart of what Virgin stands for, so the company culture has always been: "Don't sweat it: rules were meant to be broken." — Richard Branson

It's never easy to set up any business, but it comes back to determination and drive and the love of what you do! — Richard Branson

Success is more than luck. You have to believe in yourself and make it happen. — Richard Branson

Every business, like a painting, operates according to its own rules. There are many ways to run a successful company. What works once may never work again. What everyone tells you never to do may just work, once. — Richard Branson

We should focus on what people get done, not on how many hours or days worked. Just as we don't have a nine-to-five policy, we don't need a vacation policy. — Richard Branson

Realize that the people who are working with you, this is their life. You know, 80% of their time is spent at work. Make sure that they're proud of what they're doing, that they're enjoying what they're doing. — Richard Branson

Every single astronaut who has come back from space comes back determined to do more to protect it. — Richard Branson

If you're lucky enough to have a few hundred thousand dollars in the bank account, that should be sufficient for your own personal needs, and anything more than that you've got to put to good use. — Richard Branson

The Earth cannot wait 60 years. I want a future for my children and my children's children. The clock is ticking. — Richard Branson

I may be a businessman in that I set up and run companies for profit, but when I try to plan ahead and dream up new products and new companies, I'm an idealist. — Richard Branson

It took me years to work out the difference between net and gross. In meetings I just used to say, 'Tell me if it's good or bad news. — Richard Branson

I just kind of dive in if I think I can create something that will make a difference and then try to get the numbers to stack up after the event. So most of the things I've done I would not have done if I'd have asked the accountants to look at them before. — Richard Branson

Happiness doesn't come from making a fortune and owning lots of possessions. 'Stuff' doesn't bring happiness. Family, friends, good health and the satisfaction that comes from making a positive difference are what really matter. — Richard Branson

The music industry is a strange combination of having real and intangible assets: pop bands are brand names in themselves, and at a given stage in their careers their name alone can practically gaurantee hit records. — Richard Branson

Red tape will often get in your way. It's one of the reasons I often carry scissors! — Richard Branson

Your brand or your name is simply your reputation, you have to fight in life to protect that as it means everything. Nothing is more important. — Richard Branson

If people are crazy enough to dare, impossible things happen. — Richard Branson

Making the extra effort to say thanks in a genuine, personal manner goes a long way. It is pleasurable to do, and it encourages more of the same good behavior. — Richard Branson

If you can run one company, you can run another. Running companies are about inspiring and driving the best out of people. — Richard Branson

Customers shouldn't just think of your business as a place to buy a product or use a service - it should be a fun place to be. — Richard Branson

Consider getting smaller in order to get bigger. — Richard Branson

When I was young, every time I criticized someone, my mother would stand me in front of the mirror and say: 'The flaws you see in others are actually a reflection of yourself.' That taught me to pay close attention when I looked at others. — Richard Branson

So I've seen life as one long learning process. And if I see - you know, if I fly on somebody else's airline and find the experience is not a pleasant one, which it wasn't in - 21 years ago, then I'd think, well, you know, maybe I can create the kind of airline that I'd like to fly on. — Richard Branson

I've obviously been born fortunate. I love people. I enjoy every single minute of my life. — Richard Branson

We're introducing separate rooms with double beds in all of our planes so people can actually go with their partner and have a proper night's sleep. — Richard Branson

When people are placed in positions slightly above what they expect, they are apt to excel. — Richard Branson

I was in a round the world hot-air balloon race. Before I left, I wrote a long letter to my children, in case I didn't return. I started the letter by saying, 'Dear Holly and — Richard Branson

Just watching Israel bombarding Palestine and Palestine sending one or two little rockets over to Israel - it's just too sad for words. — Richard Branson

When something doesn't go exactly to plan, money is tight or a business is struggling - see it as a challenge rather than a failure. Look outside the box and try and find a solution - you'll be surprised how many great opportunities and possibilities arise when things look bad. You've just got to open your mind and not be afraid of sticking your neck out! — Richard Branson

Lightning is something which, again, we would rather avoid. — Richard Branson