Richard Branson was born in England in 1950. Since a little kid, he was encouraged to be independent accomplishing challenges set by his mother at short age. Branson “saw this as opportunities to overcome weaknesses and conquer a small part of the world”. He was not a good student, for he was struggling at school due to dyslexia, and ended up dropping from school at age of 16. It was the beginning of an entrepreneurial career. At that time he founded a Magazine called “Student” with great success. Then he diversified to mail order record business. He founded Virgin Records in London, England, and started, entrepreneurial projects, expanding his business into other sectors. “Virgin Group holds more than 200 companies, including Virgin Galactic”. The companies run independently with independent shareholders sharing the name, resources and experience from the Virgin Group.
Branson Leadership
Leadership implies to influence other people to achieve goals, and this is something that Branson knows how to do very well. His leadership style is transformational which “is not a style that appeal to conservative” leaders.
Branson’s key elements in his leadership style are:
Charismatic: Branson’s charismatic personality makes people follow his entrepreneurial ideas and goals.
Risk taker: Branson does not have fear to take risks. He can take decisions without worrying about uncertainty conditions.
Branson is flexible and can adapt to the conditions. It is easy for him to move into the business world in a wide range of different companies. He doesn't limits himself according with his knowledge or not about a new type of business.
Innovative mentality: He has a great ability to see what others do not see. Constantly he is generating new ideas or getting new ideas from others. This feature not limited by the uncertain market conditions. This is trait is consistent with his personality to be adventurous.
Virgin Group as a Fast growing