Pickled Branson - Rated 
Not much is divulged by this eager half-goat-half-man man that can't be gleaned otherwise, though we do sadly learn of a prematurely terminated love affair with his late friend Steve scraped-myself-out-the-plane-only-to-be-quartered-by-wild-dogs Fossett. Rather than feeling surprised by this I found my self feeling quite unnerved, but I suppose that is mainly due to the fact that I can't for the life of me shake the urge to hear the writer as an even camper Tony Blair.
I was hoping to hear more about Richard's life-long obsession with Pagan ritual and his rise to 'high priest' status in the Candomble circles of Brazil, but there is nothing of this. And that's why I fear this book is going to be one of a very long and shoddy series. Shame on you!
Interesting insight, with broad appeal... - Rated 
Although this book is marketed as a Business book, it has a much wider appeal. It offers some very interesting glimpses into how Richard Branson runs his companies, as well as some of the global issues that he believes in.
During the course of the book, he outlines how he first started in business, and how he grew Virgin Records from very little. He also gives insights into the mobile phone business, his airlines, and even space travel.
It's interesting to discover that Richard does not view `Virgin' as one large company, but rather as a brand.. each section runs as a separate business, with it's own team. Richard also believes strongly in a happy workforce, and those he employs often move amongst the various businesses, especially when they have specific skills to share.
As well as business, Richard is highly involved in health issues in Africa, and he's passionate about global warming. He believes that businesses have social responsibilities too, and the book outlines some of the ways he is trying to tackle these issues.
Even as someone not involved in business, I found the book easy to read, and interesting. Dotted throughout are points that Richard feels are important when running a business, be it large or small.. but many of these are also relevant for our day to day lives.
This is an interesting read, giving an insight into the business world, as well as Richard himself.
Good Business Training - Rated 
Although I have not finished reading the book, i have thoroughly enjoyed the bit I have read. There is a lot to learn about business from this book and you should read it with a pencil or highlighter. No matter what size your business is you will learn something from it. Sorry for my short comments but I've got to get back to reading it.
Smoke and Mirrors - Rated
They say self praise is no recommendation but that lesson has been lost on Richard Branson. Buoyed by an overdeveloped sense of his own importance Branson emerged from the British establishment (public school, money, privilege and a host of top level contacts) using his undoubted talents for propaganda to raise questions about the efficacy of existing business models.
He did so in an irreverent manner but not without a strategy which he paints as being employee and customer orientated. However, Branson has often showed scant regard for separating myth from fact, hiding behind more spin than Alistair Campbell.
This was set out in Tom Bower's "Branson", much to the millionaire's chagrin. He sued Bower and lost !!! Bower versus Branson has become a landmark case in the right to prick the pomposity of the rich and famous with needles of truth.
When Virgin ventured into financial services Branson was featured prominently as being the person the public could trust. Yet Virgin's life assurance policies were specifically written for those age groups least likely to need them (over 55's need not apply), with less consumer choice and were more expensive than many of their competitors. Tracker funds haven't done that well either.
Similarly when the Sunday Times compared the true cost of flights between Atlantic carriers Virgin came out as the one which, in monetary terms, was the least favourable to customers. Airline Virgin Blue was found guilty of age discrimination against staff and disability discrimination against customers in cases in the Australian courts, neither of which appear in the book. Bower doesn't get a mention either.
It's a point Branson, pontificating that entrepreneurs have literally destroyed poverty in the western world, simply doesn't understand. The British Rail monopoly was bad enough but free market entrepreneurs priced working people off the trains and made it cheaper to travel from the provinces to London by air. Capitalism works - so why is the taxpayer bailing out the banking industry? Branson's response is to whinge about failing to buy Northern Rock, despite having the assistance of some top flight contacts.
Branson's picture of himself fighting the establishment is a myth. He simply represents one section of the establishment against another. The game is given away by the response to the One Account which was lapped up by the professional classes (the minimum mortgage of £50,000 was outside the range of ordinary mortals in those days) but excluded the bulk of the population. Branson is the boss of the bourgeoisie not the mentor of the masses.
Branson has always taken risks - his earliest one of avoiding tax by using illegal means still haunts him. In most cases the risk has been shared with willing partners shouldering the bulk of the financial burden. Branson sees himself as developing good business ideas under the Virgin brand. He's been aided by confronting inept business competitors; British Airways and BT spring to mind. Many Virgin businesses are quite small but, taken together, generate a lot of business. How many of them are profitable remains hidden in a maze of companies.
For Branson the name Virgin is synonymous with success, for many it means getting short changed by publicity. I read this book the week after Virgin Media announced the loss of 2000 jobs. Branson takes the view that Virgin gets up people's noses. This isn't true. What people dislike is not Virgin but Branson himself. Having put himself in the vanguard of spin he doesn't understand why people people react negatively when the spin is stripped away and the bare facts are known.
They don't like what they see, preferring a genuine smile to a silly grin. Branson is successful at much of what he does but he only tells that sanitised part of the story he wants readers to know about, never the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Read it but don't be fooled into believing it's true. It's smoke and mirrors at its best.
Kallokain reviews: Business Stripped Bare - Rated
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R34XCEWXTBLEZO Business Stripped Bare was refreshing, to say the least. A most enjoyable book. I hope the review shows why. I have included very brief chapter-by-chapter descriptions.
Nice to see someone actually doing what management experts have preached for decades. Also nice to see it work so well.
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