Richard Branson

When you're first thinking through an idea, it's important not to get bogged down in complexity. Thinking simply and clearly is hard to do.

Your brand name is only as good as your reputation

Making the extra effort to say thanks in a genuine, personal manner goes a long way. It is pleasurable to do, and it encourages more of the same good behavior.

So I've seen life as one long learning process. And if I see - you know, if I fly on somebody else's airline and find the experience is not a pleasant one, which it wasn't in - 21 years ago, then I'd think, well, you know, maybe I can create the kind of airline that I'd like to fly on.

Having a personality of caring about people is important. You can’t be a good leader unless you generally like people. That is how you bring out the best in them.

My definition of success? The more you are actively and practically engaged, the more successful you will feel.

However tight things are, you still need to have the big picture at the forefront of your mind.

Protect your reputation. Don't be afraid of making mistakes.

As much as you need a strong personality to build a business from scratch, you also must understand the art of delegation.

What we are trying to do at Virgin is not to have one enormous company in one sector under one banner, but to have two hundred or even three hundred separate companies. Each company can stand on its own feet and, in that way, although we've got a brand that links them, if we were to have another tragedy such as that of 11 September - which hurt the airline industry - it would not bring the whole group crashing down.

There have been times when I could have succumbed to some form of bribe, or could have had my way by offering one. But ever since that night in Dover prison I have never been tempted to break my vow.. My Parents always drummed into me that all you have life is your reputation: you may be very rich, but if you lose your good name you'll never be happy.

As much as you need a strong personality to build a business from scratch, you also must understand the art of delegation. I have to be good at helping people run the individual businesses, and I have to be willing to step back. The company must be set up so it can continue without me.

I don’t think of work as work and play as play. It’s all living.

You can never go too far wrong by thinking like a customer who’s new to the business.

Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to keep things simple.

I have always looked on my businesses not just as money-making machines, but as adventures that can, I hope, make people better off.

Engage your emotions at work. Your instincts and emotions are there to help you.

I believe that drudgery and clock-watching are a terrible betrayal of that universal, inborn entrepreneurial spirit.

The quality of business communications has become poorer in recent years as people avoid phone calls and face-to-face meetings, I can only assume, in some misguided quest for efficiency.

What matters is working with a few close friends, people you respect, knowing that if times did turn bad these people would hold together.

I never went into business just to make money - but I 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 it stops being fun, I ask why? If I can't fix it, I stop doing it.