Critical Evaluation of a Business Entrepreneur - Assignment Example

? Critical evaluation of a business entrepreneur Contents Contents 2 Introduction and Selection 3 ification as an Entrepreneur 4 Reflective discussion 9 Reference List 11 Introduction and Selection The entrepreneur chosen for the critical evaluation is Richard Branson. He is an investor and business magnate from England and is known best as the founder of Virgin Group. Richard was born in the year 1950 in London. Currently, he is the fourth richest citizen of England according to Forbes 2012 billionaires list. During his schooldays, he was dyslexic and had faced difficulty in focusing on studies. He had very low grades, especially in IQ tests and math. However, he grew up overcoming his difficulties and managed to enhance his positive traits. He was very good with people and had an extraordinary ability to connect with them. He is also a great motivator with whom people can relate as well as get inspired. His talents were first noticed during the 1960s when he had started his newspaper business (Virgin, 2013c). During the 1970s, there was an opportunity for Branson to sell records at a cheap price to students through advertisements in his magazine. He got hold of a huge volume of orders for both subscriptions and records for his magazine. He leased an old shop, hired a few students and established his first shop, which he had named, ‘Virgin’. By learning through these small experiences, Richard Branson was able to build his future. At present, he is the owner of around 400 independent organizations bearing the name of Virgin. Branson does not believe in big offices or heavily flooded board meetings. Rather, he always keeps his enterprises small and works on empowering individual’s ideas for motivating them towards success. Virgin has more than 50000 employees across the globe (Virgin, 2013a). It is also one of the most respected as well as lively brands in the world. The image of this brand is certainly a reflection of its owner and founder who is known for his chirpy, vibrant and larger than life style of living. I have selected Richard Branson as an ideal entrepreneur because of various reasons. Firstly, he did not belong to an affluent or rich family. His father was a lawyer and he grew up in a modest family environment. Also, his dyslexic problems had created many problems during his early life because of which he had to drop out of school and start his own business. It is also known that he had started his magazine business from the money donated by his mother, which was only 100 dollars. Each of these situations has enhanced his understanding and knowledge about entrepreneurship as well as establishing a successful life. Classification as an Entrepreneur Richard Branson reflects various qualities which make him a remarkable entrepreneur as well as leader. His endurance for hardship and failures is tremendous which immensely contributes to his persistence. He is a risk taker and possesses strong emotional intelligence as well as a drive for achievement and success. Richard is knowledgeable and understanding. This can be evaluated from his cross-cultural ties in the form of various companies that he owns all over the globe. Richard is an extensive traveler and he makes sure that every company under his watch is growing (Moran, Harris and Moran, 2007). Branson had written that ‘having a personality of caring about people is generally important. You cannot be a good leader unless you generally like people, which are how you bring out the best in them” (Virgin, 2013b). Branson poses critical leadership quality like, social skills, which is not very common among leaders. In general, it has been seen that leaders keep a distance from their followers as well as general public as their personality does not allow them to be at par with their subordinates and followers. However, Branson is seen as a charismatic and people’s leader. He is frequently seen sitting with passengers in general and economic class of his airlines, talking with them and collecting feedbacks. Most of the new age entrepreneurs, in today’s economy, struggle not because of the volatile environment and tough industry demands, but they find it extremely difficult to throw the negativity off and renew the bold spirit in order to build their empire with confidence and passion. Branson always perceived challenges and obstacles as healthy and a source for thinking out of the box, thereby enhancing creativity. Another quality which makes him suitable as an entrepreneur is his gut feeling and ability to connect with people. In spite of the reluctance from his accountants and financial advisors, Richard had taken a huge decision of stepping into the airline business, largely because of his gut feeling. Also, his personal experiences have enabled him a futuristic insight, knowledge and understanding of what the future consumers are likely to prefer (Gosling and Mintzberg, 2003). The above qualities are extremely important for a successful entrepreneur. Self-motivation is another feature which most of the entrepreneurs need. Most of the entrepreneurs who venture into a new business are unsure of their future. In case the line of business is new, the chances of survival is still lower. In such cases, self-motivation becomes a crucial decisive factor. Branson believes that it is important for the entrepreneurs to maintain self motivation in order to focus their efforts on reaching certain goals. He also suggests that money should never be a primary motive for starting a business. Aspirations and long term goals should always be the top priority for any entrepreneur. Richard’s great entrepreneurial qualities can be reflected from his approaches and methods to build Virgin brands. The Virgin owner has tactically branded himself as a flamboyant, charismatic, yet professional, social and caring as well an approachable leader. He is an avid traveler and has a glitzy lifestyle. Thus, he is always in limelight for good reasons. An important aspect of Branson which makes him an ideal entrepreneur is his resolute nature. Entrepreneurs often experience setbacks and minor failures. Even though these setbacks seem difficult, they are just another step towards growth and success. However, majority of them fail to see this. The philosophy of Branson is that setbacks are only learning curves. He emphasizes that once an entrepreneur is ready to take risks and develops an opportunistic mentality, he or she gains a strategic orientation and becomes proactive in every decision making process. Critical evaluation of entrepreneurial strategy Richard Branson is the owner of more than 200 Virgin companies spread across the globe. For this reason, he travels a lot and meets people with different cultures and different opinions. Thus, I feel that this opportunity had given Richard a unique experience of connecting with people from different cultural backgrounds. Various strategies and critical factors were deployed by Richard Branson during his expansion and establishment phase, which according to me makes him an ideal entrepreneur to follow. Some of these qualities are described below: Understanding and knowledgeable As an entrepreneur and a leader, I feel it is important to be able to create and enhance teamwork, employee motivation and commitment. In order to develop these qualities, an entrepreneur needs to be understanding as well as knowledgeable. A team can be build only when the work place environment is positive and empowering. With the help of his past knowledge as well as experience, Branson was able to create a workplace atmosphere which can be described as fun, stress-free, informal and creative (Entrepreneur, 2013). He developed a work environment where employees not only enjoy their daily work life, but are also encouraged to put their ideas and feedback, so that the brand and its resources as well as capabilities are in a constant state of evolution. Unlike other entrepreneurs, Branson feels that if a worker or employee is not able to perform excellent in one particular department, then he or she should definitely be given another opportunity to venture into a different department or different Virgin group. As a team leader, he is able to create an organizational culture, suiting all employees and delivering little issues or conflicts. I strongly feel that in order to develop a sagacity of loyalty among employees, it is critical that the entrepreneur and leader understands their needs such as, career and growth developments along with a willingness to share. This is very evident in Branson’s organizational management skills where he writes informal letters to his employees and staffs, giving details about the current progress of the organization and in turn, asks them to provide their suggestions, ideas and feedbacks. Self-awareness and self-knowledge Human beings are diverse and complex. Their needs, emotions and personality usually change with the changing situations. Self-awareness can help an entrepreneur in gauging the present as well as future. It helps in the development of skills, measurement of weaknesses and strengths, development of intuitive and creative decision makings qualities, motivation as well as stress management. An entrepreneur with adequate self-knowledge knows as well as understands oneself. Self knowledgeable people are mature, have high self-esteem, are self-reliant, have enormous capacity for relationship building and decision making and are confident. Richard Branson has all the above qualities. It can be easily said that apart from understanding his companies and its employees, Richard also has great self-awareness as well as self-understanding. This can be concluded from his flamboyant and flashy lifestyle. Richard has many records under him, mainly in adventure sports. He is also a bestseller writer and is involved in film industry. All these features make him popular. However, Richard has been able to successfully capitalize these opportunities in advertising and promoting his companies and creating awareness about his brand. This shows his creative management skills. Management and delegation skills He also believes that in order to maintain normal workflow, it is important to delegate job responsibilities. His entrepreneurial skills can also be established from the fact that he is always looking for people with innovative and creative ideas and willing to make a mark in their field. As a result of this attitude, Richard has diversified his brand in various fields such as, airlines, communications, hotels, entertainment, financial services, store management and beverages. According to me, Richard has got a flair for those entrepreneurs who are ready to settle their own rewards and standards and are eager to learn as well as adapt (Lagner, 2006). Creativity and persistence Innovative ideas and creative solutions are other factors which make him an ideal entrepreneur for me. The biggest example is the way Richard Branson handles Virgin Atlantic. The employees make every effort to surprise the customer in a positive manner. The upper class or first class passengers on the Virgin Atlantic airplane get free access to a Golf Clubhouse and also, receive aromatic and professional relaxation during the flight. End car service is provided for trips which is included in the ticket price. Richard Branson is known to meet flights even by himself, in case they arrive late or face other difficulties (Greve and Salaff, 2003). In this era of intense competition and shrinking life cycle of products, it is critical for an organization to innovate and constantly evolve. Many organizations are inventing great products but they are ultimately losing out in the market. One of the prominent factors responsible for the success of Richard’s organization is his efficiency to move fast and move quickly. He is very quick in generating ideas as well as implementing them, which is evident from his negotiations and business deals. His philosophy is that making mistakes is permissible. However, reluctance to make critical decisions cannot be accepted (Elfring and Hulsink, 2007). Control and change management skills Richard Branson has realized very early in his life that change in never easy. In order to manage change, structures need to be free from hierarchical authority and bureaucratic controls. Regulations and rules should be minimized and it should be easier to bend them. Virgin resembles a company structure comprising of loosely linked organizations which are in a state of continuous division and reproduction. This type of structure is quite mystical for outsiders, while internal employees have the opportunity of rewriting their job descriptions based on the new challenges that they are ready to undertake. Even though the structure of Virgin is subtle, each employee is expected to understand their organization’s corporate culture. Richard has a unique method of training and providing orientation for the new recruits. Understanding corporate culture and value is most important and sometimes, the owner himself takes part in this process. These values are again reaffirmed in seminars, workshops and meetings. According to Branson, internalization of the organizational value is crucial as it helps in reducing the requirement for external controls. Thus, Branson emphasizes on recruiting candidates with good behavior and respect for values. Trust and appreciation For Richard Branson, trust and faith in employees and managers is an important factor. Unlike other leaders, Richard’s way of delegating tasks is different. He has believed that if an entrepreneur has some idea, then the idea should be delegated to the employees and subordinates (Wharton, 2005). Then it becomes much easier to keep these managers and employees in the same loop. Virgin works in an unusual manner. Unlike brands such as, Nike or Coca-Cola, which focus only on one product type, Virgin is continuously adding companies and diversifying into unrelated sectors. Thus, it becomes difficult for Richard to be present everywhere at the same time. Richard Branson is always trying to make positive changes across the world. It may be devising a mobile phone in India, setting up a national airline in Nigeria, shaking up the financial service industry in South Africa or space travel in America. The basic objective of these expansions is to establish presence within every reachable industry (Martin, 2007). Enthusiasm is another essential manner which contributes to a manager’s drive for achievement and success. This manner in turn, motivates and influences the followers to excel in any chosen field. These entrepreneurs focus on the bigger picture and are very ambitious. They set essential goals and objectives for themselves and remain dedicated towards success, irrespective of the obstacles in their way. Richard Branson is oriented towards free and open communication and according to him, the key to a bigger and stronger infrastructure is everyone devoting to the performance and overall development of the organization (De Vries, 1998). This can be confirmed from the fact that every month, Virgin’s employees receive a letter from the owner himself stating the future plans and latest developments of Virgin. In addition, the home address and telephone number of Richard Branson is also given to them, in case any ideas, suggestion or problems that might arise. Another creative method by which Branson awards his managers is by allowing them to become stockholders in new ventures of Virgin. By trusting them and giving them full authority, Richard is able to gain loyalty and full confidence of his employees and has successfully created new millionaires within his own organization. Reflective discussion I have always admired Richard Branson for his motivating qualities and his ability to generate best performance from his managers and employees. From the above discussion, it is clear that Richard Branson possesses almost all qualities which I expect to see in my ideal entrepreneur. Although I realize that emulating all qualities of Branson will not be viable, yet it is still possible to understand and enact on the principles and values that Richard had followed. I found out that Richard is someone with a good heart and exceptional qualities to connect with people, a quality which I aim to possess. I have been working in a firm and the leadership as well as entrepreneurial qualities of Richard has helped me to better understand my work as well as the surrounding people. Richard is very polite and jovial among his employees which I also emulate from time to time. As my future plans include opening up my own business, I see Richard as a perfect ideal entrepreneur with great insights about present as well as future. Another entrepreneurship principle which was very insightful was his process of diversification. Richard has more than 200 individual businesses and most of them can be regarded as stand-alone business, which are diversified into various sectors. Thus, a diversified organization can withstand any crisis. For example, even if one business fails, it would not affect the entire organization to a large extent. In the business realm, Branson has witnessed success only after passing though his share of shortfalls and failures. Despite many setbacks, Richard was always ready to evolve and learn from his mistakes. This quality will definitely help me in various situations and I truly admire his persistence quality. Another quality of Branson which I found to be truly inspiring is his risk taking ability. According to Branson, if he can run a record organization, then he can also run a soft drink organization and if he can run airlines, he is also capable of running banks. Therefore, he is always looking for opportunities. This quality will help me in understanding various realms of business, their strengths and threats as well as how to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way. Another character of Branson which I admire is his self-regulation. According to him, anger is counter-productive and he tends to calm even in tricky situations. For him, employees are the first priority and he is always motivating them. This helpful nature has inspired me to follow the same strategy, while delegating tasks to peers and subordinates as well as helping other employees in completing their tasks. Branson is always willing to set specific goals and take risks for their achievements, as the joy of completion and success will be worth it. I have been greatly influenced by this nature of Richard and have been applying this attitude in every aspect of my life. For example, I am now willing to take risks in terms of new projects and assignments. I have also started making short term specific goals in order to experience the above mentioned qualities within a minimum time span and start applying those experiences in my next business ventures. For long term goals, I will apply qualities such as, always looking for better opportunities, building a strategic orientation and creating a strong self-desire to achieve. Branson is also a professional motivator and has been involved in various motivation and business leadership classes. In future, I also expect to attend his seminars which will be of immense help in igniting my entrepreneurial qualities. Reference List De Vries, M.F.F.R., 1998. Charisma in Action: The transformational abilities of Virgin’s Richard Branson and ABB’s Percy Barnevik. Organizational Dynamics, 10, pp. 8-21. Elfring, T. and Hulsink, W., 2007. Networking by entrepreneurs: Patterns of tie-formation in emerging organizations. Organization Studies, 28, pp. 1849 – 1872. Entrepreneur, 2013. Virgin Group: Richard Branson. [online] Available at< http://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/success-stories/entrepreneur-profiles/virgin-group-richard-branson/> [Accessed 28 November 2013]. Gosling, J. and Mintzberg, H., 2003. The five minds of a manager. Harvard Business Review, November, pp. 54-63. Greve, A. and Salaff, J.W., 2003. Social networks and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 28(1), pp. 1 – 22. Lagner, T., 2006. Negotiation, decision-making and leadership to corporate success - Based on the example of Richard Branson and the Virgin Company. Munich: GRIN Verlag. Martin, R., 2007. The opposable mind. Harvard: Harvard Business School Press. Moran, R.T., Harris, P.R. and Moran, S.V., 2007. Managing cultural differences: Global leadership strategies for the 21st Century. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Virgin. 2013a. About us. [online] Available at [Accessed 28 November 2013]. Virgin. 2013b. Richard Branson. [online] Available at< http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson> [Accessed 28 November 2013]. Virgin. 2013c. The history of Virgin. [online] Available at < http://www.virgin.com/time-machine> [Accessed 28 November 2013]. Wharton. 2005. The importance of being Richard Branson. [Online] Available at [Accessed 28 November 2013]. Read More