Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won't Teach You at Business School

Leadership lessons as well as business i love the book

Great book

This is the fourth book by Richard Branson that I have read. It is a worthy read and is filled with tips on how to run a better business.Tips in this book include: Be innovative to differentiate yourself in the market; Offer superior customer service to stand out; Do not openly criticize others; Large corporations move slowly -- be nimble!; Perform stunts to gain free publicity instead of paying for ads; When placing ads, play off current events; By "shaking up" an industry your business can be successful; Look for gaps in the market; Watch for poorly-run businesses -- they are primed for replacement -- with your business!; Branson's driving force: Helping people have a good time; Second impressions are important; Numerous tips for managing, motivating and empowering employees; Be the disruptor, not the disrupted.Some tips such as "be innovative" may seem obvious. But when I read Branson's stories and thought about what he wrote I gained insight on how the advice could be applied to my own business plans.The writing style is informal, breezy and fairly easy to digest."Like A Virgin" has larger type and greater spacing between lines than my printed copies of "Screw It, Let's Do It" and "Losing My Virginity." Thus, the book can be read in less time than you would typically expect of a book as thick as "Like A Virgin" is.There seems to be some British slang or phraseology in the book that struck this Yank as slightly confusing. I wonder if the U.S. version would be more Americanized? This is only a minor quibble.Kerning on the chapter headings is uneven and appears to have been merely applied automatically. Manually kerning would look better here.The quality of the paper is excellent. The binding is solid.I recommend "Like a Virgin."Here's how I would summarize the Branson books I've read:* Losing My Virginity: This is the first book I read. It's business-focused and heavily autobiographical.* Screw It, Let's Do It: This book is similar to "Losing My Virginity" and covers much of the same ground. The difference is that "Screw It" contains the business stories and tips found in "Losing My Virginity" but less autobiographical material. This book is my favorite. If you are reading Branson's books because you're looking for business advice, and you only want to read one of his books, "Screw It" is the book to read.* Screw Business As Usual: This is Branson's "green" book. He focuses on making the world a better place, reducing carbon in the atmosphere and other worthy, important endeavors. There's also a strong business theme. Branson believes there is money to be made in green technology and I agree.* Like a Virgin: Sort of a "Screw It, Let's Do It Part Two."I'd rank his books from most useful to least useful (from a purely business perspective) as: 1) Screw It, Let's Do It. 2) Like a Virgin 3) Screw Business as Usual 4) Losing My Virginity.(I rank "Screw Business as Usual" higher than "Losing My Virginity" because "Screw Business as Usual" is more unique -- that is, "Losing My Virginity" is too similar to "Screw It, Let's Do It" and "Screw It" is more concise than "Losing My Virginity.")

Who says a business book can't be entertaining? Whether you are an entrepreneur trying to get your business off the ground, an executive in a business that needs a boost or a worker bee looking to make work more fun, this book is for you.Richard Branson is the Leonardo da Vinci of business. His unquenchable curiosity combined with contagious extroversion is the alchemy behind the 400+ successful businesses he has created. This book, consisting of 76 short essays and articles, documents the lessons he has learned. Numerous examples, most drawn from real-life experiences with people at his Virgin Group companies, are a roadmap for others in business to turbocharge their own success.Branson's "Like a Virgin" reveals just what a huge gap exists in modern business school curriculum. Do they teach these things like this? - A CEO needs "a certain generosity of spirit." - "You have to protect your people." - "You must be fearless." - "Business favors people who, when they see a problem or injustice, try to do something about it." - "Leaders have empathy ... for people who are affected by the business's operations." - Show generous praise for employees caught doing something right: amp it up! - Think big. Build small. - "The sky is no longer the limit." - Be very tolerant of mistakes. Move on. Give employees second chances (he did so even with a thief!)Business should be fun. Employees are co-entrepreneurs and enthusiastic brand ambassadors. Challenge. Celebrate. Keep splitting the company into smaller businesses as it grows to avoid bureaucracy and empower employees.There is no identifiable progression of thought to the sequence of these articles. Although each is excellent in its own right, it is difficult to identify the article's subject from the table of contents. The articles are not numbered making it a bit troublesome to reference any particlar one or to build a concordance (cross-reference) to include in, say, an Amazon review. If it were possible to deduct a half-star from the rating, this would be the reason to do so.Some articles are thoughtful essays and others are extended responses to questions he has received from people via email and social media. Topics include how to plan a startup to maximize chances for success; how to write a compelling business plan; perfecting your pitch; raising money; dealing with customer complaints; motivating employees; dealing with partners; failure; the art of delegation; when to step aside; environmental stewardship; the war on drugs; earning customer trust; and marketing, sales and advertising.Branson's writing style is conversational, succinct, personal and tempered by real world situations involving employees, partners, vendors and customers. His charisma seeps out of the page. His advice is very practical and for the most part consists of ideas that anyone can immediately put into practice with some modification for circumstances.Imagine, a business book that is a "page turner." Enjoy! Five stars!PS. Read the Foreword to the book to better understand the title of this review :)

You will able to get tons of valuable lesson from this book. No big college will teach you this experience.

“ we were looking for the name of the book.. we were sitting with a bunch of 16 year olds around the table and everyone threw out names and I was just having so much fun.. that I named my book “like a virgin” and that was it”He’s funny! Great book! Shows off his personality!Oh Richard!Loveee xoxo - nat

Catchy title. Nothing profound, yet I enjoyed it, simply because I agreed with most of his concepts. Like a Virgin targets entrepreneurs wanting to start their own business. Although concepts 'could' equally apply to the corporate world, I have seen no recognition or reward for proficient soft skills in leadership! Richard Branson regularly brought his focus back to "people". I wish more senior leaders could stop giving this lip-service and truly embrace the importance of respecting people as a worthy asset and investment!