September 16, 2014
When Sir Richard Branson gives out insights on how to run a business, it’s wise to listen – and, indeed, that’s exactly what the Virgin founder cites is key to a successful company, to ‘Listen. Take the best. Leave the rest.’
Photo by David Shankbone
Speaking on The One Show last night, Sir Richard revealed how the quote, ‘You’re short on ears and long on mouth’, spoken by John Wayne in the film ‘Big Jake’, has had a strong influence on him and his approach to business. Branson believes that to be a good leader you must be good at listening to people. He goes on to suggest that you should always have a notebook with you when you talk to people, especially customers, and note down what they say.
Branson believes that when you listen intently you ‘can create the absolute best company in the world’ and that you only have an average company if you don’t listen to what others have to say. Promoting his book The Virgin Way on The One Show, he explained that the ‘virgin way’ means running a company that makes a real difference to peoples lives; getting wonderful people to run and work in the company; giving people a lot of leeway to make mistakes; looking for people who know how to praise and look for the best in people and not criticise; to have fun doing it.
Jotting down notes in a notebook doesn’t just help you to remember what people have said, but also helps make the ideas within the notebook become a reality. So if, like us, you are motivated by Sir Richard Branson’s words, why not keep a notebook handy at all times.
