...Rupesh Doshi on Richard Branson Sir Richard Branson is the Founder and Chairman of Virgin Group – a multi-billion dollar, branded venture capital organization headquartered in London, United Kingdom. I first came to know of Sir Richard when I studied abroad at the London School of Economics during the summer of 2001. One of my classmates suggested a great summer read - the book was titled Losing My Virginity. The title definitely put a smirk on my face but soon after he mentioned the name, my friend said the book was an autobiography of the person who founded Virgin Records, Virgin Megastore, and Virgin Atlantic Airways – Sir Richard Branson. Having heard of those companies, I took my friend’s suggestion and picked up a copy of the book to read on my trip to Asia. I rarely read a book to completion – but Losing My Virginity was an exception and probably the quickest book I have ever read. Engaged and enthralled by the book I came to admire Richard’s leadership and his way of living life. Professor Friedman’s Total Leadership course and the principles he has taught confirmed that Sir Richard Branson is the perfect case study of a leader who has achieved “total leadership” across the four domains of life – work, family, community and self. Richard was born in 1950 in London, the eldest of four siblings (He is 60 years old today). As a youth, he suffered from dyslexia – a learning disorder that impairs the ability to speak and read – which resulted in not only frustration but also...
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...and Management Sir Richard Brason, Virgin Group, Case Study, Assignment 4 In: Business and Management Sir Richard Brason, Virgin Group, Case Study, Assignment 4 Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Assignment 4 Professor Leadership and Organizational Behavior February 26, 2012 Since the beginning of history humans have lived in groups guided by the group leader; in which leader is either chosen for his characteristics or born into through cast. No matter the culture this is similar through the human race. Humans need someone to guide them, teach them, someone to look up to. Without followers there is no leader. “That is, leader is a term applied by observers to someone whose behaviors and characteristics match the observers’ implicit leadership preferences” (Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. W., Jr. (2011). They are different type of leaders and leadership style depending on the situation and solution needed at that moment by the followers. In my opinion good leaders have shown to be flexible enough to switch between leadership styles depending on the demands of the situation. One of the worlds most intriguing, succesful and enduring entrepreneurial business leaders today is Richard Branson, someone who takes control of the situation by conveying a clear vision and goals for the team, a marked passion for the work and an ability to make the group feel recharged and energized. I consider Richard Branson to be a transformational...
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...HSC Advanced English, Module A: Richard III and Looking For Richard, Essay Connections of commonality and dissimilarity may be drawn between a multiplicity of texts through an appreciation of the values and attitudes with which they were composed. Accordingly, the values and attitudes of the individual being may be defined as an acute blend of externally induced, or contextual and internally triggered, or inherent factors. Cultural, historical, political, religious and social influences, dictated by the nature of one’s surroundings, imprint a variable pattern of values and attitudes upon the individual. Thus any deviation in any such factor may instigate an alteration of the contextual component of one’s perspective. By contrast, the psychological fundamentals of humanity are sturdy and whilst they partake in the definition of the values and attitudes of the individual, they are unwavering. Shakespeare’s historical play ‘Richard III’ and Pacino’s docudrama ‘Looking for Richard’ confirm such theory through an exploration of the contextual and inherent. A scrutiny of the contradictory forces of humanism and determinism and the function of women as demonstrated by both texts imparts an incongruity of context. Difference is thus conveyed. Conversely, an acknowledgement of the strength of conscience common to both texts suggests an inherent influence. Thus it is through inspection of the prescribed texts that one may distinguish the degree to which the texts converge on inherent...
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...Part 1 Richard Slotkin The notion of Regeneration through Violence is not new to the American cultural concept, nor is the intensive use of myth. Richard Slotkin’s book meticulously accounts how the use of violence has been integral to the construction of a distinctly American mythology. Slotkin argues, “In American mythology the founding fathers were not those 18TH-century gentlemen who composed a nation at Philadelphia. Rather, they were those who tore violently a nation from implacable and opulent wilderness”. As a result regeneration ultimately became the means of violence, and the myth of regeneration through violence became the structuring metaphor of the American experience. In describing the evolution of the myth of regeneration through violence, Slotkin describes North America as an empty, unoccupied wilderness where resources are rich and land is free for the taking, or if not exactly free, the land becomes the rightful spoil of war for those representing the interests of civilization and progress. The symbolic landscape of the frontier narrative is marked by boundaries and by the encounter of opposites; civilization and savagery, man and nature, whites and Indians, good and evil. These encounters are characterized in terms of conflictand violence as the protagonist struggles against the harsh environment, the unknown and potentially hostile Indians, and the savagery of the empty land. As Slotkin argues, European American encounters with the wilderness produced...
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...In the poem “Richard Cory” written by Edwin Arlington Robinson, Richard Cory is portrayed as a great man, and everyone thinks he is such a well put together person who has his life together. When he walks the streets down town, we get to hear the poorer peoples’ perspective on their idea of him. They elaborate about how everything from his actions to his looks are appealing. Throughout the poem it seems like he has the perfect life because of how the lower class of people talk about him, but in the end we discover that he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head. After reading this poem, you realize that there are many themes portrayed and each consisting of significant value. For example, one of the main themes that we see is that you cannot assume certain aspects of a person just off of their looks. The less fortunate people, or as said in the poem, “people on the pavement” (Robinson, 851), only went...
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...Born in El Paso, Texas on February 28, 1960, Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer. The youngest of seven children born to Mercedes and Julian Ramirez. Richard was known for the “Night Stalker.” Ramirez would break into Californian homes, raping and tortured more than twenty five victims, and killing at least thirteen, over a two year rampage. Richard had a troubled childhood by spending all his time with his cousin Michael. Michael was a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed killing and raping the Vietnamese women for his entertainment. Michael showed him photographs of himself raping a Vietnamese woman. The last picture was the same rape victims severed head, held by Michael in his hand. Later Michael taught him how to hold and shoot a gun. One day, Michael got in a fight with his girlfriend and he ended up killing her. Richard saw the whole thing and Michael was sent to jail for seven years. Ramirez's criminal record began in 1977, when he was placed in juvenile detention for a string of petty crimes. He also received a probationary sentence in 1982 for marijuana possession. He soon moved to San Francisco, California, and then to Los Angeles, progressing to cocaine addiction and burglary, and cultivating an interest in weapons and Satanism. While in California his criminal record became increasing by time, from being a rapist person to killing people he sometimes didn’t even know. Theft turned to violence in 1984. Ramirez's first known murder took place on June 28, 1984;...
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...Richard Dadd Richard Dadd was a famous English painter who lived through the Victorian era, when industrialism and poverty blossomed in England. Dadd was born in 1817 and was a very talented painter already in his early years. He was young and very promising and already at the age of 20, he got into the Royal Academy of Arts. He was especially known for his very detailed paintings of elves, fairies and other supernatural creatures. In connection with the academy, Dadd went on a tour with a former mayor, Sir Thomas Phillips, to the Middle East. As they were cruising on the Nile, something strange happened with Dadd, his personality began to change, he started to hallucinate and he became violent. He wanted to kill the pope, but failed as he was too well protected by guards. When Dadd returned to England in 1843 his father tried to explain the strange happenings by claiming that his son had got a sunstroke, which had coursed his weird behavior. It turned out that that was not the case. One sunny day in august the father and son went out for a walk, when suddenly Dadd did something horrible which would induce great consequences to himself. As the two were walking, Dadd became very aggressive and cut his father’s throat. The father died immediately. Dadd’s explanation of the killing would be that the devil appeared to him and told him that he had to kill his father. After the tragic event, Dadd tried to escape to France, but after trying to kill a fellow tourist on his way to Paris...
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...October 19, 2012 Richard Cromwell Have you ever wished that you came from a royal family? Well lucky for Richard Cromwell, his father was a very wealthy man. He was Lord Protector from 25 December 1653 to 3 September 1658 (“Collins, Jacquelin” Dictionary 380). After his father passed away, Richard took his role of Protector. He took office in 1658 immediately after the death of his father, and lasted in office all the way to 25 May 1659 (“Cromwell Richard”Encyclopaedia Britannica). This shows what type of leader he was. Richard had mostly ineffective qualities such as being unable to protect the parliament, lack of experience, and inability to use money wisely. Oliver Cromwell for the most part, was a good leader. He did not like having the Parliament in charge of England. He knew the Parliament was treating the Army poorly, so when he took office, the first thing he did was take the Army’s side. He really pushed the execution of Charles I (“Collins, Jacquelin” Dictionary 380). For a while everyone loved Oliver but by the end of his term, he became a much hated man. The citizens became tired of having such strict rules. Why did he feel he needed to be so strict on the citizens? After his death, his body was exhumed and his head was placed on a pole above the West Minister Hall (“Collins, Jacquelin” Dictionary 381). Richard Cromwell took his father’s place as Lord Protector of the Common Wealth. Richard was born on 4 October, 1626. His parents were Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth...
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...Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem, Richard Cory, was a window into the life of a lonely man, who had everything ones heart could desire. He was good looking, wealth and well known there out the town. Even though he had all of these things he still “put a bullet through his head”. Sixty nine years later Paul Simon wrote a response to Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem, also entitle Richard Cory. Paul Simon response came in the form of a song. The speaker in Simon’s poem is a low class working citizen, who wishes he was Richard Cory. Even though both poems are about Richard Cory and have the same title, the two are very different in many ways. They also share some similarities, which is not that many. The first contrast, I see between the poems is that Richard Cory had everything a man could want. “He had everything a man could want: power, grace, and style”. To the readers and the narrators Richard Cory appears to have everything plus more. They only see his exterior appearance, not the interior. If Richard Cory had everything, why did he take his life? The first similarity I see in the two poems is that everybody wants to be Richard Cory. Even after he committed suicide, the townspeople still wish they could be Richard Cory. Once again the townspeople and the narrator are only looking at the exterior and not the interior of Richard Cory. In Simon’s poem, the narrator repeats it over and over again in through out the poem. The second contrast that I noticed was...
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...Richard Ramirez was born in Texas in 1960 and was the youngest child of seven. Richard was your average child but also a loner. He liked to play outside and he loved to play football. For some time in his childhood he was normal until he was introduced to many different disturbing things. There were some things that happened in Richard childhood that I believe contributed to his criminal beginning and the ending. Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer called “The Night Stalker” who raped and killed women, men and children. Richard’s parents were Mercedes and Julian Ramirez. His father worked a lot on the railroads while his mother stayed home to raise the seven children. Richard’s father was known to be very strict and sometimes abusive to the children. Being the youngest child of seven the abuse pushed Richard away, he did not want to be around his family. Some nights Richard would go to the cemetery and stay the night to prevent having to be around his father. Richard was known to be a loner at times but there were some traumatic accidents that could have caused it. Richard was diagnosed with epilepsy and made Richard slip into a depression because he could no longer play football. This was so upsetting to him because football became to be an outlet for him. He could let out all of his anger at practice and not get into trouble because he was playing well. Richard made most of the friends that he had through football and once he stopped playing it was like his...
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...Richard Branson Strayer University Bus 520 Professor Frankenhauser Leadership is defined as the process of influencing an organized group towards accomplishing its goals. We have learned that the leader is not exclusive in the leadership process. Researchers Fred Fiedler and Hollander recognized this and introduced the importance of the follower and the situation in the leadership process. Richard Branson is considered one of the most unorthodox business men of the 21st century. At the helm at the mega firm Virgin Group LTD, Branson has defied conventional management and leadership wisdom. Through all his accomplishments, Branson’s amazing leadership skills cannot be mentioned in a vacuum. There is an interactional relationship between a leader, his or her followers and the situations in which they interact. This paper will analyze Branson as a leader. However, because his leadership success is not mutually exclusive, his followers and the important situations that define his career will be addressed. Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is the son of a lawyer named Edward Branson and an airline flight attendant named Eve Huntley-Flindt; born on July 18, 1950, in Surrey, England. At an early age he strived for more and this was due to “his parent’s upbringing, which taught him to stand on his own two feet.” His parents took extreme measures to encourage their children’s independence. At four years old Richard’s mother pushed him out of the car and told Richard to find his...
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...Richard Rodriguez Richard Rodriguez is an essayist, writer and journalist. He was born on July 31, 1944 in Sacramento, California, United States. He went to a Catholic school named Christian Brothers High School at age six, where he graduated from. He studied in a lot of universities. Rodriguez got a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. from Columbia University. A noted prose stylist, Rodriguez has worked as a teacher, international journalist, and educational consultant and has appeared regularly on the PBS show, NewsHour. He is known for opposition to bilingual education and affirmative action. He wrote a lot of books like: Days of Obligation: An Argument With My Mexican Father, Brown: The Last Discovery of America and Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez which made him popular. Harper's Magazine, Mother Jones, and Time published his works. Rodriguez is a Roman Catholic and homosexual. He came out in his book of essays Days of Obligation. This caused some readers and critics, especially Latinos, to be less critical of his ideas. He is married and his wife’s name is Jim. He has received several awards like Fulbright Fellowship, 1972-73, National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, 1976-77, and Frankel Medal, Commonwealth Club gold medal, 1982 and etc. At present, Rodriguez is writing a book on Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and the desert. Rodriguez reports that he is "interested in the fact that three great monotheistic religions were experienced...
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...Summary Richard Branson Sir Richard Branson is an English business magnate, best known as the founder of Virgin Group of more than 400 companies. Branson formed Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984, launched Virgin Mobile in 1999, followed by Virgin Australia in 2000. Virgin builds each of its business, and delivers its services based on 5 core values: fun, value for money, quality, innovation, competitive challenge and brilliant customer service. He was 9th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, worth just over £3 billion and the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom, according to the Forbes 2011 list of billionaires. In his multiple ventures, both successful and not, he has identified what he believes to be the five key “secrets” to business success. First and most importantly you have to enjoy what you are doing. Secondly create something that stands out. In order to be successful you also must be a good leader. A good leader does not get stuck behind a desk so the last one of his secrets is to be visible. Meanwhile the 50,000 Virgin employees love their leader, and indeed many get the chance to join him for a weekend on Necker, which is a 74 acre island in the British Virgin Islands, owned by Richard Branson himself. British Virgin Islands are group of islands located approximately 1,100 miles southeast of Miami, Florida. He purchased the island at the age of 28, just six years after starting Virgin Group. It took 3 years and $10 million US dollars to turn it into...
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...which, in 1972, became a chain of record stores called Virgin Records, later known as virgin Megastores. 1984/ Virgin Atlantic takes off , boat and Ballon tour 1988 : Virgin Megastores opens new stores in Galasgow and Paris, followed by numerous other British, European, American and Pacific Basin cities. 1996 : Virgin Express airline takes off Virgin Net launches as an internet service provider Virgin Brides opens its doors 2000 : Virginmoney.com (supermarket financial services) virgin travelstore virgin energy (gas and electricity) Virgin.Shop (a new retail concept replacing the price brand) Mobil, cars, wines Today, the group has 300 companies in 30 countries, with over 50,000 employees Slide 5 Lessons from Richard Branson 1 Listen more than you talk : To be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd advice. Get out there, listen to people, draw people out and learn from them. 2. Keep it simple : Maintain a focus upon innovation, but don’t try to reinvent the wheel. A simple change for the better is far more effective than five complicated changes for the worse. 3. Take pride in your work : With so many different companies, nationalities and personalities represented under one roof, it was interesting to see what qualities they all have in common. Remember your staff are your biggest...
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...Stallman has devoted the bulk of his life to political and software activism.[73] Professing to care little for material wealth, he explains that "I've always lived cheaply ... like a student, basically. And I like that, because it means that money is not telling me what to do."[74] Until around 1998, his office at MIT's AI Lab was also his residence.[75] He was registered to vote from there. Currently he has a separate residence in Cambridge not far from MIT.[76] His position as a research affiliate at MIT is unpaid.[77] In a footnote to an article he wrote in 1999, he says "As an atheist, I don't follow any religious leaders, but I sometimes find I admire something one of them has said."[21] Stallman often wears a button that reads "Impeach God".[11][78] When asked if he was Jewish, Stallman said he was "an atheist but of Jewish ancestry".[79] Stallman chooses not to celebrate Christmas, instead celebrating "Grav-mass" on December 25. The name and date are references to Isaac Newton, whose birthday falls on that day on the old style calendar.[80] When asked about his influences, he replied that he admires Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ralph Nader, and Dennis Kucinich, and commented as well: "I admire Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, even though I criticize some of the things that they did."[81] Stallman is a Green Party supporter,[1] and a supporter of the National Initiative proposal.[12] Stallman recommends not...
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