I'm not good at theory. Almost everything I've learned, I've learned by doing. However, Muhammad's opinions excite me. They confirm a lot of the gut feelings I've developed about business over the years. And topping my list of gut feelings is this: business has to give people enriching, rewarding lives, or it's simply not worth doing.
I think of our Virgin brand as one of the premier 'way of life' brands in the world. Whether you're in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, India, Europe, Russia, South America or China, the Virgin brand means something. The Virgin brand is about enjoying life to the full. By offering customers excellent value for money in so many areas of their lives, we aim to make them happier.
Most businesses concentrate on one thing, and for the best of reasons: because their founders and leaders care about one thing, above all others, and they want to devote their lives to that thing. They're not limited in their thinking. They're focused. The conventional wisdom at business school is that you stick with what you know. Of the top twenty brands in the world, nineteen ply a well-defined trade. Coca-Cola specialises in soft drinks, Microsoft's into computers, Nike makes sports shoes and gear. The exception in this list is Virgin - and the fact that we're worth $5 billion and counting really gets up the noses of people who think they know 'the rules of business' (whatever they are). We're the only one of the top twenty that has diversified into a range of business activities, including airlines, trains, holidays, mobile phones, media - including television, radio and cable - the Internet, financial services and healthcare.
Hopefully what I've written here is relevant to your business no matter what sector you are in.
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