I was dyslexic, I had no understanding of schoolwork whatsoever. I certainly would have failed IQ tests. And it was one of the reasons I left school when I was 15 years old. And if I – if I’m not interested in something, I don’t grasp it.
Business is the force of change. Business is essential to solving the climate crisis, because this is what business is best at: innovating, changing, addressing risks, searching for opportunities. There is no more vital task.
In the same way that I tend to make up my mind about people within thirty seconds of meeting them, I also make up my mind about whether a business proposal excites me within about thirty seconds of looking at it. I rely far more on gut instinct than researching huge amounts of statistics.
Nobody’s ever called me Sir Richard. Occasionally in America, I hear people saying Sir Richard and think there’s some Shakespearean play taking place. But nowhere else anyway.
People flourish if they’re praised.
I cannot remember a moment in my life when I have not felt the love of my family. We were a family that would have killed for each other – and we still are.
We’ll go into orbit. We’ll go to the Moon. This business has no limits.
The risk is worth it. Mike would have been the first to say that.
I am no stranger to healthy competition-wor king hard and playing hard.
You need lucky breaks to be successful.
In the ’80’s my gut feeling was that airlines were crap. I hated spending time on planes. I thought we could create the kind of airline I’d like. So we got a secondhand 747 and gave it a go.
I decided there must be room for another airline when I spent two days trying to get through to People Express.
Loyal employees in any company create loyal customers, who in turn create happy shareholders.
Whether you are launching a start-up or leading an established company, you should start establishing your social media presence if you haven’t already.
However small a company, its founders should try to expand people’s opportunities and choices.
Bakers bake bread, accountants manage accounts and entrepreneurs turn ideas into reality.
Money gives you the freedom to do with your time what you want to do with it.
You shouldn’t be looking for people slipping up, you should be looking for all the good things people do and praising those.
A good idea for a new business tends not to occur in isolation, and often the window of opportunity is very small. So speed is of the essence.
Screwing business as usual fundamentally recognises that doing good is good for business.