- Paperback: 188 pages
- Publisher: Capstone; 3rd Edition edition (2 Mar 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841127647
- ISBN-13: 978-1841127644
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 358,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Des Dearlove is no stranger to singing the praises of the corporate great and good. As an author and journalist, Mr Dearlove has also undertaken a study of the mighty Bill Gates in the same BigShots series. Here, as with Gates, a top businessman is anatomised through the medium of a business guide. We are promised "10 secrets of the world's greatest brand-builder" but what we get is more hagiography than inside track. This is somewhat surprising given the book's opening challenge, viz. do we "see him (Branson) as the bearded crusader or simply capitalism with a hairy face?" After 160 pages of almost unadulterated praise, agreeing with the second statement might well be prosecutable under crimes against the state. Mr Dearlove, you are well named indeed.
On the other hand, Business the Branson Way positively brims with the snappy titles that make the author such a sharp practitioner of this genre. "Beard faced cheek"; "All teeth and no trousers"; "Have brand will travel" give the book a pacey feel. As Dearlove herds his text forward with admirable alacrity so he is careful to match speed with prudence in a series of bulleted reminders at the end of chapters.
Not the most objective study but lively enough for your next three-hour flight. --Jasper Reid --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
In many ways, Richard Branson and his company the Virgin Group are unique. In an era dominated by strategists, Branson is an opportunist with an uncanny knack of sniffing out great deals where others hesitate or fear to tread. Never before has a single brand been so successfully deployed across such a diverse range of goods and services. Branson is the ultimate brand builder.
So how does he do it? Now bought completely up to date for this new edition, Business the Richard Branson Way, not only reveals the secrets of Branson′s remarkable success but also draws out the universal lessons and identifies strategies that can be applied to any business or career. From picking on someone bigger than you to moving faster than a speeding bullet, and from making work fun to keeping the common touch, you have in your hands the secrets of phenomenal success.
Contents
- Richard Branson Revisited
- The Life and Times of Richard Branson
- One Pick on Someone Bigger Than You
- Two Do the Hippy, Hippy Shake
- Three Haggle – Everything′s Negotiable
- Four Make Work Fun
- Five Do Right By Your Brand
- Six Smile for the Cameras
- Seven Don′t Lead Sheep, Herd Cats
- Eight Faster than a Speeding Bullet
- Nine Size Does Matter
- Ten Never Lose the Common Touch
- How to Build a Brand the Branson Way
- Last Word
Inside This Book
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a very well written book and for less than a tenner is worth getting. It manages to give some insight into the workings of Richard Bransons Virgin empire, but certainly isn't going to turn the budding entrepreneur into a multi-millionaire business tycoon. My only complaint is that large sections of the material in this publication have been 'lifted' directly from other books written about the toothy tycoon. If you're a fan of Mr. Branson (as I am)then I would recommend you order his autobiography 'Losing my Virginity' before buying this book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an easy read, taking little more than a couple of hours. It carries the subtitle '10 Secrets of the World's Greatest Brand-Builder'.which offers the promise of answers to those who seek them, and might be why it's taken me so long to get around to reading it.
The book begins with a potted history of Richard's life, from schoolboy entrepreneur to rich CEO. The `secrets' of this journey are outlined in ten chapters which each refer back to examples from Branson's career.
They each make interesting reading and offer insights and ideas to explore. In a nutshell the secrets are
- Pick on someone bigger than you
- Avoid sticking with convention
- Negotiate everything
- Make work fun
- Protect your brand
- Exploit publicity
- Don't lead sheep, herd cats
- Move quickly
- Think big, but keep it simple
- Keep the common touch
Though promising secrets no doubt helps sell the book, perhaps the real secret is left to the `Last Words' where it is stated that Richard Branson's motto should be ars est celare artem - `The art lies in concealing the art'.
Here the book succinctly highlights the problem of almost all best practice adoption. You can copy what he does, but that's not where the real secret is. The real secret is to understand who he is being.
Rudyard Kipling nicely captured this,
"They copied all they could follow but they couldn't copy my mind
so I left them sweating and stealing a year and a half behind."
An interesting outline of Branson's journey, and if you're not looking for answers, the potential source of some interesting lines of thought.
The book begins with a potted history of Richard's life, from schoolboy entrepreneur to rich CEO. The `secrets' of this journey are outlined in ten chapters which each refer back to examples from Branson's career.
They each make interesting reading and offer insights and ideas to explore. In a nutshell the secrets are
- Pick on someone bigger than you
- Avoid sticking with convention
- Negotiate everything
- Make work fun
- Protect your brand
- Exploit publicity
- Don't lead sheep, herd cats
- Move quickly
- Think big, but keep it simple
- Keep the common touch
Though promising secrets no doubt helps sell the book, perhaps the real secret is left to the `Last Words' where it is stated that Richard Branson's motto should be ars est celare artem - `The art lies in concealing the art'.
Here the book succinctly highlights the problem of almost all best practice adoption. You can copy what he does, but that's not where the real secret is. The real secret is to understand who he is being.
Rudyard Kipling nicely captured this,
"They copied all they could follow but they couldn't copy my mind
so I left them sweating and stealing a year and a half behind."
An interesting outline of Branson's journey, and if you're not looking for answers, the potential source of some interesting lines of thought.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a handy compilation of observations, hypotheses and speculations on the subject of Richard Branson. Author Des Dearlove freely and frankly admits his debt to several other writers who have probed the Branson story in depth and breadth. There is little if anything original to be found, aside perhaps from the author's style of presentation, which tries hard to be light and deft. Although the book carries you along, its biggest punch resides in the author's list of "10 secrets" of Branson's success. Readers who would like to know in the most general terms what Branson has done and how he has done it, and who are willing to swallow a few clichés in lieu of explanations, will seize upon this book.we think you will enjoy it and, after all, enjoying your work is one of Branson's great secrets.
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