Screw It, Let’s Do It (Expanded) by Richard Branson

I’m not going to conclude whether this book is good or bad; rather, I’m going to try to tell you what’s it about. It’ll be more of a summary than a review.

Richard Branson was born to a middle-class family somewhere in England (he didn’t specify). At school he didn’t do too well academically due his dyslexia which made reading and writing hard for him. People didn’t know what dyslexia was at the time so his teachers thought he was lazy and/or stupid. Fortunately he had outstanding athletic ability and the trophies he won compensated for his less than stellar exam results.

After finishing school he decided not to go to university. The Vietnam War was escalating and passions were riding high. Branson wanted to provide a platform for students to express their views. Plus, he had ambitions to become a journalist - he liked the sound of “foreign correspondent” - but couldn’t write well enough to become one. So he did the next best thing and published a nationwide student magazine.

The magazine took off but financially he and his business partners were not quite in the black. Being immersed as they were in the world of young people, and being young themselves, they saw how students spent a lot of their money on music. Branson and co. also noticed that record companies were enjoying very high margins. Seeing a gap, they decided to sell cut-price mail-order records and the money poured in. In 1971, however, business was virtually halted by a national postal strike; so it was by chance that they opened their first record shop. They made it a place that was fun for students to hang out and again, sold records at cut prices.

After that they opened a recording studio. Recording studios at the time were nine-to-five affairs, like offices, and of course that’s not how musicians work. Branson managed to buy an old castle in the middle of nowhere for £30,000 and turned it into an all-night recording studio. He didn’t actually have the money but borrowed £20,000 from the bank and the rest from family.

In 1984 Virgin Atlantic was launched. They started off with one plane, leased from Boeing and funded by Virgin Records. Two years later Virgin went public in order to improve liquidity. Branson was to regret this decision as he hated dealing with stuffy people in suits; his way was to make things happen fast and to rely on gut feeling instead of going to meeting after boardroom meeting. After the 1987 stock market crash Branson felt bad for people who had bought Virgin shares and bought them back at their original selling price, making Virgin private once again.

Branson devotes quite a bit of the book to his record-breaking adventures: crossing the Atlantic by boat in record time in 1986, and being the first to do so in a hot-air balloon a year later. In 1990 he attempted to cross the Pacific in a balloon from Japan to the USA, landing in the far north of Canada instead, but still being the first.

Richard Branson uses the phrase “Gaia capitalism” in honour of James Lovelock’s Gaia Theory. After a discussion with Al Gore, Branson has become convinced that if we don’t reduce CO2 emissions, the earth’s climate will be thrown irreversibly off balance in the near future. Branson further believes that businesses should lead in reducing CO2 emissions and still make money.

Quotes from the book:

“Whatever you sell, first identify your market” (p. 9)

“Advertising, publicity, promotion - call it what you will - works. Even nature puts on a show - flowers, birds, even beetles, display themselves. There is so much competition in the world, that if you have something to sell, no matter what, you have to get it noticed.” (p. 17)

“I always tell [people who ask me how to make money] the same thing. I have no secret. There are no rules to follow in business. I just work hard and, as I always have done, believe I can do it. Most of all, though, I try to have fun. I sincerely believe that work should be tempered by fun, and by that, I mean enjoying myself, not working and worrying and getting stressed out.” (p. 31)

“I never went into business just to make money - but I have found that if I have fun, the money will come. I often ask myself, is my work fun and does it make me happy? I believe that the answer to that is more important than fame or fortune. If something stops being fun, I ask why? If I can’t fix it, I stop doing it.” (p. 33)

“As soon as something stops being fun, I think it’s time to move on. Life is too short to be unhappy. Waking up stressed and miserable is not a good way to live.” (p. 41)

“Not all of us have the money to set up a business, or the luck, or the chances aren’t there. Sometimes, you are glad to have a job - any job. So you grab the job in the factory or the store or the call centre. You might hate it, but you try to make the best of things. But is that fun? I would say, do you really have to stay stuck in a rut? Is the job you hate really your only option? Whoever you are, you have other choices. Look around to see what else you can do.” (p. 43)

“If you still have to work for a boss at a job you don’t like, as almost everyone does at some point, don’t moan about it. Have a positive outlook on life and just get on with it. Work hard, earn your pay and make friends. Enjoy the people you come into contact with through your job - and if you are still unhappy, make it instead your goal to divide your private life from your work life. Have fun in your own time, consider that your boss or your company is paying for your fun, and you will feel happier, and enjoy your life and your job more.” (p. 45)

“When people ask me what business they can get into, I always tell them the same thing: whatever business you choose to get into, have a passion for what you do, for the moment it becomes all about the money is the moment you will cease to go forward.” (p. 205)

“A good lesson to take onboard for anyone in business is to employ thinkers, not yes men. There’s a danger that people become concerned and fearful of taking risks. Perhaps they have a partner or a mortgage that prevents them. They must not let this constrict them in being bold and being brave … those with something to lose might consider that by aiming high, they might achieve a lot more.” (p. 206)

14 December 2007 | Book review | Comments