Diggnation to announce Ebook winners
Watch episode 176 of Diggnation this Friday now to find out the lucky winners of our prize draw to win either a Sony Ebook Reader or a signed copy of Richard Branson’s new book Business Stripped Bare.
Watch the episode on Revision3.com
Thanks for everyone who entered and if you didn’t win a free signed copy then you can still grab yourself a copy from one of these online retailers in your part of the world: buy Business Stripped Bare.
To our lucky winners, we’ll be in touch soon!
Don’t forget to follow virgin.com on Twitter for more contests and giveaways http://www.twitter.com/virgindotcom
innocent’s plan B
Following on from Richard’s post on learning from mistakes I thought I’d share a lesson learned here at innocent. Since we founded innocent in ‘99 we’ve made a few mistakes like every one else but there’s one mistake that was really hard to deal with and was very early on in the business. We were the first people to put juices into little clear bottles, before that people had always used those milky plastic bottles. It might not seem like a big difference but frankly innocent drinks look a lot nicer in these lovely clear bottles - you see the nice colours and the fruit.
Business was going really well, innocent had been going about a year and a half, but then our bottle supplier called us up and said ‘You know you ordered a 100,000 bottles a week? We can only give you 20,000 for the next few weeks.’ We don’t stockpile because everything is produced fresh. We asked what they meant and they said ‘We’ve got a big customer who wants clear bottles now.’ We protested by reminding them that we’d been working with them for ages and we’d given them our forecasts but their reply was: ‘Sorry, the machine’s full you can’t have it.’
It was a big mess. We basically had no bottles. It was the summer, business was booming and we had nothing to put our drinks in! Customers were going nuts. It was a total nightmare - a horrible situation. Every phone call was someone having a go at us and we really couldn’t do anything.
Finally we managed to find another sort of bottle - it wasn’t the right one but we managed to get the drinks out there. As a result we found a new bottle supplier and learnt that you’ve always got to have a plan B - you’ve got to have a back-up.
http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk
Nearly naked business people take over London!
Watch what happened when Virgin Books sent a team of nearly naked business people out on to the streets of London during rush hour to inspire commuters on their way to work with a free chapter of Richard Branson’s new book Business Stripped Bare…
Learning more from failure than success
Firstly let me begin by saying, Richard Branson played a huge role in getting me to where I am today. I was blessed to work for Virgin Money Australia for a few years, during which I got to meet Richard a couple of times. Every morning as I walked into the office I would see inspirational quotes (by Richard) on the wall.
Every day I was surrounded by motivated, intelligent people who all shared a vision. Together we all made Richard’s vision come to life, and it was amazing to be part of that and it ignited by entrepreneurial spirit.
I launched my fashion related business and applied many of the Virgin principles to what I was doing. My business grew quickly, so I left Virgin and before I knew it was stocked at a leading department store, which eventually led me to doing work on TV.
Virgin is all about being passionate, challenging and innovative. Whenever I make decisions about my business I consider these 3 principles. When I last saw Richard, he was pleased that my business was taking off and I gave him a shirt to wear. He did warn me that I will make mistakes, but to embrace them and learn. I certainly have made some mistakes along the way. At first I looked at them as failure and a weakness or I’d try to blame someone else, but eventually learned to accept the ‘mistake’, understand why it happened and take the learning from it, so it would not happen again.
I believe we learn more from failure than we do from our success.
http://www.galella.com/
Learning from mistakes
In 1971 I made the biggest mistake of my life. It was an event referred to as recently as late 2007 by the Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable in the House of Commons during Virgin Money’s bid for the Northern Rock bank. He said, when speaking under UK parliamentary privilege, that I was not a fit person to run a bank. In the UK, thirty-eight and a half years after a lapse in judgement, I was still being pilloried.
When I was 19 and running our record mail order service I stumbled on the fact that records bought in Great Britain intended for export were not subject to purchase tax. I bought the records I needed, pretended they were for export, and then sold them to British customers. I was caught red-handed by HM Customs & Excise and put in a cell overnight. Naturally I agreed to pay back everything and the fines imposed and avoided a criminal record. It nearly killed off my entrepreneurial dreams; thankfully it didn’t. But it did teach me a hard lesson about never doing anything illegal or unethical again.
One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes. When you are pushing the boundaries, this is inevitable – and it’s important to realise this. Even when things are running well, there is always the prospect of a new reality round the corner. Suddenly, all the good decisions you made last week are doing you untold damage. What on earth did you do wrong? At Virgin, we have always been prepared to face the facts – however unpalatable they might be. Failure usually occurs when leaders avoid the reality of business. You have to trust the people around you to learn from their mistakes. Blame and recriminations are pointless.
Special delivery
Good delivery depends upon many things. Two of the most important elements are attention to detail, and good communication. Neither of these essentials is difficult to understand or implement, so, naturally, they’re the first things we forget.
Don’t waste your precious time. Phone calls and emails can eat your day. Don’t let them. No one will think less of you for getting to the point. Because there are so many calls to make every day, I generally keep them very brief. And a short note to somebody is often quicker than a phone call. As the business has got bigger and spread across the globe, a lot is dealt with by short notes. However, I’m always willing to pick up the phone and talk directly to people if an issue needs resolving that way. There’s no question that if you are trying to persuade someone to join you, invest with you, or make some changes, then it’s important to speak to them directly and take the time so that they know what they need to do. Face-to-face conversations are more efficient, and videoconferencing will always come a poor second to a shared pot of tea.
Richard answers more of your questions
Richard Branson answers more of your questions as posted by you on this site. Watch the video now to see if he answered your question… but don’t worry if he hasn’t yet, there’s more video to come so check back soon.
Richard answers your questions
Thank you to everyone who posted questions to Richard about last week’s translatlantic sailing record challenge.
Richard, Sam, Holly and the crew of Virgin Money are now safely on dry land again so we phoned Richard to put your questions directly to him.
Listen to his answers here:
Yasmin’s question:
Sorry about this latest setback. Are you still smiling?!?!
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Jamesie’s question:
How do you feel about not getting the record?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Peter Mello’s question:
How do you and the crew feel being outward bound ahead of a storm that causes most other mariners to look for safe refuge?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Andy’s question:
If Sam and Holly weren’t aboard, would you have carried on with the challenge?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Jamesie’s question:
Did you bond as a family as a result of this experience?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Mike Hackman’s question:
Where do you get your strength and serenity from during the worst part of the trip?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Paris Traveller’s question:
What’s the immediate plan for the Virgin Money yacht ? Are you planning to effect repairs in Bermuda or are you sailing it to the UK now?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Brendon’s question:
Are there any plans for a second attempt at crossing the Atlantic, and if so when?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Donna Manzi’s question:
Will your family be joining you on a second attempt?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Moira’s question:
I’m sure many people question your sanity and like to warn you of all the possible things that could go wrong on any given adventure. How do you reconcile to the naysayers your love of adventure with your love of life?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Peter Mello’s question:
How does Virgin get away with you undertaking these high risk adventures when Apple stock goes in the tank when Steve Jobs sneezes?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Dennis Holmes’ question:
Did you wonder if the stormy voyage was a metaphor for the turbulent times humanity is now facing with the economy, the energy crisis and global warming?
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
Richard says goodbye!
(or click here to download MP3 - right click and save as)
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Ask Richard about the Atlantic crossing
Have you got a question for Richard about his latest world record challenge? The Virgin Money yacht is now safely on it’s way to Bermuda and Richard will be checking in to his blog early next week. So now’s your chance to ask him anything you want about his transatlantic adventure. Richard will only be able to answer a few of your questions and only the very best will be put forward so make it a cracker.
Submit your question by adding a comment to this post below or ask your question via the virgin.com Twitter
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Virgin Money’s dreams dashed by monster wave
After approximately 2 days and 4 hours at sea in the face of impossible odds the crew of Virgin Money had to admit defeat on their first attempt to set a new world record for the fastest mono-hull crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. After 2 days that saw the crew and Virgin Money overcome seas of 40ft and gale force winds of between 7 and 9 their dreams were finally dashed when a ‘monster wave’ took out the spinnaker, washed a ten man life boat overboard and ripped a huge gash in the mainsail.
Speaking to Mission Control after the decision to abandon the record attempt this time round, the crew were frustrated but upbeat about the boat’s performance and chances of success in the future. Co-skipper Richard said: ‘I am surrounded by the most amazing group of world class sailors - all of whom are still committed to getting this record – it’s just a shame it wasn’t to be on this attempt. Virgin Money will soon be fighting fit and ready to take on the Atlantic again in the very near future. Taking on an ocean like the Atlantic was never going to be easy – I know that only too well having been defeated by her once before on Virgin Challenger 1 - you learn to respect the awesome power of this ocean and to admit when she has you beat. But I truly believe that next time, as with Virgin Challenger 11, Virgin Money will set a new world record that will secure its place in the record books for many years to come.’
From onboard Virgin Money fellow co-skipper Mike Sanderson was characteristically laid back: ‘Well that was a fairly exciting trip… We all knew, as a result of leaving so late in the season, we were in for a bumpy ride – we just didn’t suspect it to be this bumpy. We had a good go at repairing the mainsail at sea but it wasn’t possible in the conditions we were experiencing. Lady Luck was not smiling down on us this time round. Virgin Money performed well and she’ll be good to go again just as soon as we get the mainsail repaired.’
Triple Gold Olympic medal winner Ben Ainslie had just spent his first 2 days ocean racing on Virgin Money: ‘I’m just as disappointed as Richard and Mike that we didn’t achieve our goal this time out of the dock but I’m looking forward to breaking the record next time out. Virgin Money is an awesome piece of kit – a real beast.’
Holly and Sam Branson were equally up for the next challenge, Holly said: ‘It’s been an amazing trip to be part of. I didn’t have to use my medical skills too much, despite the crew taking a real battering during the 2 days on board. I’m not too upset though as I’m looking to stepping onto dry land and taking in some Bermudan sun!’
Sam added: ‘It’s a bit of a shame to be heading back. As beginners it took Holly and I a full day to find our sea legs but the last day has been amazing. It’s been all hands on deck and incredible to share the experience with all of the guys involved. With a bit more luck and the right weather conditions the next attempt will be great to be part of.’
The crew and Virgin Money are expected in St George’s Customs Dock, Bermuda at 5pm local (9pm BST).
