Richard Branson’s Books

Screw Business As Usual: Turning Capitalism into a Force for Good; 2017

From the trailblazing founder and CEO of the Virgin Group, a powerful argument for using business to make a positive impact in the world. Richard Branson, one of the world’s most famous and admired business leaders, argues that it’s time to turn capitalism upside down—to shift our values from an exclusive focus on profit to also caring for people, communities and the planet.

As he writes, “My message is a simple one: business as usual isn’t working. In fact, it’s ‘business as usual’ that’s wrecking our planet. Resources are being used up; the air, the sea, the land—are all heavily polluted. The poor are getting poorer. Many are dying of starvation or because they can’t afford a dollar a day for life-saving medicine. . . . Prophesying doom and gloom is simply not my style. . . . I think business can help fix things and create a more prosperous world for everyone. I happen to believe in business because I believe that business can be a force for good. By that I mean doing good is good for business.”

Screw Business as Usual shows how easy it is for both businesses and individuals to embark on a whole new way of doing things, solving major problems and turning our work into something we both love and are proud of.

Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way by Richard Branson

The unusual, frequently outrageous autobiography of one of the great business geniuses of our time, Richard Branson. In little more than twenty-five years, Richard Branson spawned nearly a hundred successful ventures. From the airline business (Virgin Atlantic Airways), to music (Virgin Records and V2), to cola (Virgin Cola), and others ranging from financial services to bridal wear, Branson has a track record second to none. Many of his companies were started in the face of entrenched competition. The experts said, “Don’t do it.” But Branson found golden opportunities in markets in which customers have been ripped off or underserved, where confusion reigns, and the competition is complacent.

In this stressed-out, overworked age, Richard Branson gives us a new model: a dynamic, hardworking, successful entrepreneur who lives life to the fullest. Branson has written his own “rules” for success, creating a group of companies with a global presence, but no central headquarters, no management hierarchy, and minimal bureaucracy. Family, friends, fun, and adventure are equally important as business in his life. Losing My Virginity is a portrait of a productive, sane, balanced life, filled with rich and colorful stories, including: Crash-landing his hot-air balloon in the Algerian desert, yet remaining determined to have another go at being the first to circle the globe. Signing the Sex Pistols, Janet Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Boy George, and Phil Collins. Fighting back when British Airways took on Virgin Atlantic and successfully suing this pillar of the British business establishment. Swimming two miles to safety during a violent storm off the coast of Mexico. Staging a rescue flight into Baghdad before the start of the Gulf War. And much more. Losing My Virginity is the ultimate tale of personal and business survival from a man who combines the business prowess of Bill Gates and the promotional instincts of P. T. Barnum.

Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography by Richard Branson

Twenty years after his iconic memoir Losing My Virginity, the world’s ultimate entrepreneur is back with the rest of the story. Richard Branson’s Losing My Virginity shared the outrageous tale of how he built Virgin from a student magazine into one of the greatest brands in history. No challenge was too daunting, no opportunity too outlandish to pursue. And each new adventure started with five simple words: “Screw it, let’s do it.”

Now, fifty years after starting his first business, Branson shares the candid details of a lifetime of triumphs and failures and what he really thinks about his unique life and career. Finding My Virginity is an intimate look at his never-ending quest to push boundaries, break rules, and seek new frontiers—even after launching a dozen billion-dollar businesses and hundreds of other companies.

As he led Virgin into the new millennium, Branson fearlessly expanded the brand into new categories such as mobile, media, fitness, and banking and into every corner of the globe—all while preserving its iconoclastic, scrappy spirit. He even brought Virgin into space with Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline. Finding My Virginity takes us behind the scenes of the incredible brains, heart, and sacrifices that have gone into making private spaceflight an imminent reality—even after the biggest crisis Branson has ever faced.

But this book is much more than a series of business adventures. It’s also the story of Branson’s evolution from hotshot entrepreneur to passionate philanthropist and public servant, via Virgin Unite’s environmental and health initiatives and through the Elders, a council of influential global leaders. And it’s the story of his personal quest to become a better son, husband, father, and “grand-dude” to his four grandchildren.

Featuring a supporting cast that includes everyone from Bill Gates to Kate Moss, Nelson Mandela to Barack Obama, this is the gripping account of a man who will never stop reaching for the stars, in more ways than one. Find out how Branson did it for the first time—all over again.

Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons In Life by Richard Branson

Global entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has built a business empire and made billions, yet is renowned for his approachability, ability to challenge and succeed against the odds. Screw It, Let€™s Do It reveals the lessons from life that have helped him through his business and personal life €“ such as, believe it can be done and that, if others disagree with you, try and try again until you achieve your goal; or that you must love what you do. These and other lessons, with examples of how he learned them and how he€™s used them, are included in this stirring and candid look at his lessons from an exceptional life, which will inspire you to make a difference in your own life.

Losing My Virginity: the Autobiography by Richard Branson

The autobiography of the Virgin tycoon. “Having come close to dying over the Atlas Mountains, I thought that I should write this book now, in case my guardian angel ever deserts me. I also realised that my children, Holly and Sam, who are still young, would not really know what I had done and why I had done it. So this autobiography is for Holly and Sam, the best thing I’ve created in the last eighteen years (though I can’t take all the credit). But most especially for their mother, my wife Joan, who’s seen me through most of the highs and lows. I have also written this book to show how we made Virgin what it is today. Rather like our balloon flights, these years have been all about survival. If you read carefully between the lines you will, I hope, understand our vision and where we are going. Some people say that this vision breaks all the rules and is wildly kaleidoscopic; others say that Virgin is set to become one of the leading brand names of the next century; others analyse it down to the last degree and write academic papers on it. As for me and the wonderful team around me, we just pick up the phone and get on with it — and have one hell of an adventure in the process.”

Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School by Richard Branson

The Virgin Way: If It’s Not Fun, It’s Not Worth Doing by Richard Branson

This is a book on leadership from someone who has never read a book on leadership in his life. While building the Virgin Group over the course of forty years, Richard Branson has never shied away from tackling seemingly outlandish challenges that others (including his own colleagues on many occasions) considered sheer lunacy. He has taken on giants like British Airways and won, and monsters like Coca-Cola and lost.

Now Branson gives an inside look at his strikingly different, swashbuckling style of leadership. Learn how fun, family, passion, and the dying art of listening are key components to what his extended family of employees around the world has always dubbed (with a wink) “the Virgin Way.”

This unique perspective comes from a man who dropped out of school at sixteen, suffers from dyslexia, and has never worked for anyone but himself. He may be famous for thinking outside the box—an expression he despises—but Branson asserts that “you’ll never have to think outside the box if you refuse to let anyone build one around you.”

Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur by Richard Branson

“The brave may not live forever-but the cautious do not live at all!” -Sir Richard Branson . Richard Branson is an iconic entrepreneur and the founder of Virgin Airways, Virgin Records, and many other Virgin businesses around the world. Now he shares the inside track on his life in business and reveals the incredible truth about his most risky, brilliant, and audacious deals. Combining invaluable advice with remarkable, and candid stories of Virgin’s greatest achievements, as well as some of its setbacks, this is a dynamic, inspirational, and truly original guide.  Whether you are an executive, an entrepreneur, or are just starting out, Branson strips business down to show how you can succeed and make a difference.

Reach for the Skies: Ballooning, Birdmen, and Blasting into Space by Richard Branson

One of the world’s most famous business leaders (and a well-known avian fanatic) explores the pioneers of flight. Bestselling author and billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson has always been obsessed with the skies. To promote a new Virgin Airlines route, he became the first man to water ski behind a blimp. His Virgin Galactic venture will soon offer ordinary people the opportunity to experience spaceflight aboard the first commercial spaceliner, SpaceShipTwo. In Reach for the Skies, Branson examines the history of aviation over the last two hundred years, putting the spotlight on trailblazers such as:

*Tony Jannus, who made the first ever commercial flight over Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1914.
*Leo Valentin, the “bird man” who jumped from 9,000 feet wearing a pair of wooden wings in the 1950s.
*Steve Fossett, who broke 130 world records in planes, balloons, and airships.

The pioneers of flight-not just the world-famous Wright Brothers, but also lesser known visionaries and dreamers-made it possible for any of us with the desire and the commitment to reach for the skies ourselves.