Mandela: "I'm a Dreamer."

He was a teenager who had dyslexia and later was named "The Smartest Man in Britain"; he dropped out of high school, but himself founded an influential magazine, he was considered the most arrogant nouveau riche in the United Kingdom, but he could drive a fighter to Baghdad for the ideals of world peace. He loved adventure and beauty, But also has a happy family, he is considered to be unruly, but has the Queen to seal the title, many people worship him, to seal him as an idol, but he worships Mandela, "only this is willing to the human cause selfless dedication, can be regarded as an idol." "" Mr. Branson, everyone knows you have a lot of fans, you know how old your fans are?　　The host 袁鸣 asked. "I don't have so many fans," Branson's face reddened, and he muttered, "Well, really, the oldest fan should be my mother." "This is the night of June 4 on the first financial channel," Boston, "the scene of the recording. "He's shy.　　"The program producer Shing later recalls. A day earlier, the company's founder Branson in Shanghai to celebrate the 10 anniversary of Virgin Airlines ' London-Shanghai route.　　Since the age of 15, the student magazine was opened to 4 pounds, and in 40 years it became the owner of the Virgin Group, with more than 200 subsidiaries and a net worth of $ billions of, Branson the most legendary and charismatic billionaire in the world today. This is the fourth time he has visited Shanghai. Within a short period of less than 48 hours, his itinerary was full. On the afternoon of June 3, puts, he rushed to the global financial center to attend the company's celebrations. All the way to the wee hours of 4th, 7:30 A.M., he appeared at the JC Mandarin Hotel, which was invited to give a speech at the 2009 Sino-British International Education Festival "wisdom Class" organised by the British consulate. In the afternoon, he met with the leaders of the Shanghai municipal government.　　In the evening, he rushed to "Boston" to record the show. From the British consulate to "Boston", "Waitan pictorial" reporters followed.　　is still a light-colored lion hair, the iconic image of the beard, every time, he still in the iconic aircraft gliding posture "fly" to the public, to greet him is still prolonged applause. "Life needs passion, it needs fun, and my job is to make everyone feel happy." "The gap," he said in an interview with "Waitan pictorial".　　[Page] Dr. Yes "I've never seen a man with such a great energy. "Shing's job is to deal with business legends from all walks of life."　　Due to the needs of the job, she has seen a variety of entrepreneurs, company executives, some of them heroic and uninhibited, some graceful, some people rigorous, Branson is still one of the most special one. Dr. Yes is a new nickname for Branson from Shing and his colleagues. Shing told reporters that it was very difficult to make an appointment for Branson, and that the production team spent a whole year convincing Branson's PR。　　Surprisingly, he agreed to be very cooperative after the interview and offered a lot of valuable information. "Because of the needs of the programme, we have a number of requests from our guests, hoping that they will provide us with information or arrange for them to perform some talent on the show." Often, different bosses make different demands, and many people will ask for more publicity about their company. But Branson was very much in line with our demands, and he trusted us with no limits at all. "Before attending the Boston," he asked, with concern, "is your information enough?" I have a lot of good information that I can get back to you when I return home. "The staff at the British Consulate felt the same way," We knew he was coming to Shanghai very late and knew his trip was very busy. At that time we hesitated to ask him to come, but he promised a mouthful, very readily. "According to the original plan, the consulate's speech was held at eight to 10 in the morning, but then there was a change in Branson's itinerary." "We were afraid that he couldn't come in the day before, but luckily, they offered to start one o'clock as early as the speech and he was the kind of person who promised that he would." The consular staff said, "and there is no shelf." "He is such a man: he knows how to take care of everyone around him." Even a small assistant, he would greet himself. "After a two-day trip to Branson, Shing had this idea. As in the recording of the whole show, he asked the audience, "Are you happy, do you want to have a rest?" Do you want to go to the bathroom? "In order to mobilize the atmosphere, he even opened his arms again at halftime and ran to the audience and" flew "once," thank you very much! One of Branson's employees also told a story ten years ago. The girl was the executive manager of the Shangri-La Hotel in Pudong. One day, she was suddenly informed that a VVIP guest in the hotel would be staying at Shangri-La the same night, and her mission was to receive the VVIP. "I waited and waited until 11 o'clock in the evening, and I thought VVIP would not come, and at this time a white shirt, broken jeans and sloppy people came in. She smiled and recalled that she had never seen a vvip like Branson. Branson gave her 50 pounds as a tip, "I've never received such a huge tip, I'm trying to refuse, and Branson is insisting on telling me, ' You take it, you should, you wait so late, so sorry." "Oh, what did you say?" Sorry, I was distracted, it is the girl behind you is too beautiful. "Perhaps it was because of the tight schedule and some tiredness, the 4-hour program was recorded, and Branson was so distracted several times."　　He always in such self-deprecating way to dissolve, each time finish, the whole audience laughter, the atmosphere is also spirits. The party's boss arrived in Shanghai on the afternoon of June 3, and Branson immediately rushed to the global financial center to attend the company's entire staff.Party。 At seven o'clock in the evening, the party begins. Branson appeared in a red suit.　　See the boss figure, excited employees are more and more excited, we are scrambling to squeeze to his side to ask for a photo, "good, good", he took all the invitation to take photos, but also lovingly put their hands on the staff's shoulders. An employee also deliberately brought his little daughter to the party scene, "I want her to experience the Virgin culture from a young age."　　"This is a great pleasure," said Branson, who took the little girl in his arms. Branson is famous for having a party, and he often communicates with his staff around the world in this way. A SARS outbreak broke out in Hong Kong in May 2003. During that time, many foreigners were unwilling to visit Hong Kong. Branson is an exception, he held a party in Hong Kong during the outbreak, inviting employees and clients to attend. At the party, he shook hands with everyone, hugged each other, and shouted "I love Hong Kong".　　The following year, to celebrate Virgin flight from London, Hong Kong, Sydney, Branson with his mother in Hong Kong and Sydney for a series of grand party, he threw a Virgin flight attendant in the swimming pool, and personally jumped the pool to play the hero save the United States. "How do you manage your staff, it's important that you make him feel that you care about him and care about him."　　Branson believes that management is the way to get along with people. In an interview with Branson, the party was a way for him to communicate with his staff. In order to get as much contact with the staff as possible, he was always the first one to come to the party and the last one to leave. At parties, he is often the first to jump on the dance floor to wiggle his butt in order to keep his staff open and free. [Page] English gentleman and hippie some commented that Branson didn't mind using his high profile and exposure to advertise for his company.　　He used to wear triangular shorts and the American soap opera "Beach Escort" heroine Pamera Anderson in the Virgin Health drink ads; He also tried and 20 almost naked models with "WYSIWYG" slogan, for Virgin Mobile sales promotion, in order to help Virgin aviation publicity, he can incarnate Bird, in the sky flying 11 meters. At the scene of the Boston, Gold Rock, chief economist at National Gold Securities, threw the problem at Branson. "Everyone says you are not serious, I think you are a sham." You have the Queen's personal title and an English gentleman, but you often do things like running barefoot. Are you a standard English gentleman or a hippie who likes to be naked?　　It was a shame to make Branson. This is not the first time Branson has been shy in the media. In 2008, Yang Lan interviewed Branson at a party. "There are a lot of beautiful girls looking for a photo of you, please explain to the men at the scene, why do you have so much attraction to girls?" "What's unexpected is that the adventurous, high-profile and flamboyant Branson unexpectedly faltered, and then suddenly held up the cup to the crowd," Yang Lan seven years ago when interviewing me, isAs a journalist, now that she has her own media company, please cheer for her. "It really shifts the subject.　　Yang Lan then commented. In the face of the gold rock question, he still shifted the conversation as before, refusing to answer, and he spoke a lot about the history of British gentlemen and hippies.　　But it was clear that Branson was very fond of the gold rock, and the program was finished, and he ran to the Golden Rock, poured a bottle of mineral water into the old gold, and then hugged him fiercely.　　"Looks like the hippies, actually is full of national righteousness" is Shangchangjian to Branson's appraisal. Branson was the first business celebrity to look to philanthropy.　　In October 2007, former South African President Nelson Mandela announced at his birthday party a group called Elders, including Nelson Mandela himself, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Yunus, former US President Jimmy Carter, and former Chinese foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. It is worth mentioning that the establishment of this organization stems from Branson and his singer friend Peter Cambrill (Peter Gabriel) in the 1990 's a common ideal, when they want to establish an organization, the main task is to resolve regional disputes. "The size of the organization is not very large, but members must be very influential, and we work without any personal bias," he said.　　"At the time, he talked to Nelson Mandela about his ideas, and after that, Mr Mandela led, and Branson became one of the sponsors of the group." When everyone talked about climate change in 2007, Branson announced the creation of a "Virgin Earth Challenge", which seeks to reward scientists who can eliminate large amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.　　This is the highest prize in history. A tender adventurer. Even so, the most talked about is the astonishing pioneering adventures of Branson.　　Some media have speculated that Branson's adventure dates back to the age of four or five, and Branson nearly drowned himself in the swimming pool in order to win the 10-shilling bet he learned to swim in two weeks. 1986, he piloted a "Virgin Challenger second" across the Atlantic; In 1990, he led Virgin Airlines staff, driving a Boeing 747 aircraft to Baghdad in the war, to rescue the British people trapped there; in 1998, he first rode the Earth in a hot-air balloon, Escape, 2004,　　He drives an amphibious vehicle across the channel. He is a good friend of the American billionaire Fossett, who is known as a legendary adventurer. In the 1990 's, they were once rivals, and the two have refreshed many of the world's most risky activities. Since then, the two have had a feeling of empathy in the competition, and Branson has become the patron, supporter and follower of many of Fawcett's adventures. Fawcett, 63, was missing in a flight in 2007, and Branson said, "I hope he's alive, somewhere he doesn't know.Drink with the ladies. "October 2008, in honor of Friends Fawcett, Branson rate Group driving a 30-metre-long" virgin fortune "sailing from New York, a single sailing across the Atlantic Ocean activities. The ship's members include not only professionals like the Beijing Olympic sailing champion Ainslie, but also a pair of his sons and daughters, "the journey is of great significance and Fawcett will be thrilled that we can continue his career."　　Branson said so. He is the kind of person who is very full of traditional warmth, he has a lot of contradictions. On the one hand he is a big scene of the people, very high-profile, never stage fright, on the other hand is very low-key, in essence, a very traditional British. Shing said it was Branson's deepest impression that he had a strong love for friends, employees and family, and he always wanted to protect them as much as possible. "In Shanghai, Branson has openly confessed his dependence on his family," without them, without me today. "But Branson's family is very low-key. People seldom see pictures of his wife or children. Jon Timberin (Joan Templeman) is Branson's second wife, 8 years older than him, they lived together for nearly 30 years, "I was like the beginning with her." "Face the camera," he said lovingly. There are rumors that Branson will write to his family before every adventure, and he will write down what he wants to say to his children. In his autobiography, Virgin Business empire, he described himself as writing to his 15-year-old daughter, Holly, and his 12-year-old son, Sam, in a hot-air balloon trip, "Dear Holly and Sam: Life is impermanent, like a dream, enjoy every day."　　The day before, we were alive and kicking, and all this might have vanished the next. You all know I want to live to the fullest. For the past 46 years, I have had the privilege of living with many people, and I love every minute of my life, especially with you and your mother every second. Many people think that our adventure is stupid, but I am confident that with all the lessons we have learned in our previous adventures, I can overcome all the dangers. But if it turns out I was wrong, I have no regrets about life except that I will not be able to take care of you and grow up with Joan. "[Page] Branson's new Idea," Branson, what advice would you give young people like us to start their own business?　　"In the" wisdom class "of the British and consular consulates, there are questions.　　It's hard to tell what kind of enlightenment the entrepreneurial path like Branson can give to others. July 18, 1950, Branson was born in a family of lawyers in south London. He had had dyslexia in his boyhood, but that did not prevent him from playing his business talent. At the age of 6, the family gave him a toy train; he himself raised the speed of the train, made it run like mad, and offered a fee for other children to visit, at the cost of two cookies a time.。 The story of the hereafter is known to the world. But he did not dress like any other businessman in a suit, and sit in his office. He likes to command the whole world on his island, he is not good at using computers, so he is accustomed to using a small black book to record inspiration, and he prefers to invest with his hobby and impulse rather than business analysis. "I think most of the time is a temporary rise, of course, the inspiration sometimes will be very right, and sometimes wrong." But when you accumulate enough experience, your sixth sense becomes accurate, and most of the judgments you make will be correct.　　He told the reporter so. In the December 2005, Branson had another idea, "Let's go into space!" "In accordance with Virgin Galactic's original plan, the company will open space travel at the end of this year for 200,000 dollars." From flying to space to returning to Earth, the entire trip will take about 3 hours, which can "enjoy" the 5-minute weightlessness experience.　　There have been reports of more than 250 space travel enthusiasts who have paid a deposit on space travel. "What an exciting plan it is!" We love space, I always like to look to the future. "In Shanghai, Branson told reporters," The spacecraft has been built almost, the rockets are ready, the spacecraft is expected to be completed in September this year. So our private space company will start running next year.　　"As Virgin's boss, Branson announced that once Virgin space travel molding, he will take the lead borns to space chic." b= "Waitan Pictorial" rb= Branson (Richard Branson) "I belong to the kind of person who has a dream" B: Since the founding of "Students" magazine 39 ago, you have built a very large virgin empire, what do you think is the secret of your success?　　Do you believe in fate? RB: No, I don't believe in fate that much. Or so, I believe in the power of man more than the power of fate. I have always believed that when you find that you are surrounded by many people, and these people are genuinely like you, willing to stay with you, share your life in the intravenous drip, then you must not far from success.　　For me, my family, friends, and Virgin's employees are the secrets of my success.　　B: The Chinese have a view that success depends on the weather, geography, people and, do not know what you think of this? RB: I think it's better to take it easy.　　Sometimes, when you are not deliberately to do something, success is close to you. B: In other words, when you first started a business, you didn't have a very clear and ambitious goal?　　You never imagined what you would achieve in the future? RB: When I was 20 or 30 years old, I probably didn't really think clearly what line I might be doing well in the future. But I belong to the kind of person who has a dream. I like to set goals for myself and then do it step-by-step. Of course, there will be many difficulties and challenges in the process, but I am always happy to overcome these difficulties,I like to see people around me proud of what I've achieved. [Page] I left school to run a magazine B: It's strange that you weren't a good student at school, but you started out with a magazine.　　How did you think of a magazine? RB: I was 15 years old at that time, not a good student at school, but I've been looking forward to doing something. In those days, all the young people were very opposed to the Vietnam War, we hope that through a channel to convey our anti-war voice, and then I consulted with my friends, decided to start a magazine, so I asked my mother for 4 pounds to start a magazine. The process was very difficult, the school principal told me at the time, "Branson, if you insist on a publication, roll out of school."　　I thought about it and thought there was nothing to be missed in school, so I left. In the years that followed, I spent almost all my energy in running magazines. I went to many places, interviewed a lot of people, opened up their own horizons and thinking. The magazine turned out to be a nationally issued magazine and was loved by many young people.　　Until now, I thought it was a very valuable experience.　　B: As you can see from your experience, your mother's support for you was very large, how do you think of the impact of the growth environment on your future? RB: My success depends on family support.　　I think the best thing that parents can offer their children is to give them a lot of love and support, to spend a lot of time and energy with their children, to give them support when necessary, to make them feel safe and confident to face the challenges of life. B: In the minds of many people, you are not only a successful businessman, but also a legendary character.　　Your life seems to be full of stories, these stories inspire many people, can you tell us who your own idol is? RB: I'm usually influenced by people I know, some of whom are nameless and some are world-famous.　　The three people I admire most are Mandela, Desmond (note: Former Archbishop of South Africa, 1983 Nobel Peace Prize winner) and Kofi Annan, I think all three of them have extraordinary personality charm.　　Among them, I refer specifically to the Mandela, Archbishop Desmond, who have spent their lives fighting apartheid in South Africa, putting personal safety behind them, and I believe that without their long-term efforts and sacrifices, it is impossible to have a better South Africa now. "I'm not going to take the risk of some business stunt." B: You like adventure, there are many surprises.　　In all your adventures, which adventure impresses you most? RB: The adventures of a speedboat sailing across the Atlantic Ocean and breaking the world record are now an emotional thing to think about.　　The record was kept for about 34 years, so when we first learned that we had broken that record, everyone was ecstatic. B: Which one is the most stupid, the most lostDefeat？ RB: One time we planned to jump from the 40 floor of a high-rise in Las Vegas, USA, to perform the "flying Trapeze". That position was more than 100 meters above the ground, and I thought it was nothing, everyone was full of confidence, but there was an accident in the air. Do not know why, I hit the building of the outside wall, the results of the trousers were scratched, I have half my butt out of the outside, my waist was also hurt, in a mood.　　After landing, I can only wear torn trousers, with the help of other people limping quickly away, that time is really silly.　　B: Someone once commented that you are taking risks in order to promote the company's business, do you agree? RB: I think that's a silly idea.　　I mean, who wants to risk their lives just to get some commercial gimmicks?　　B: In addition to adventure, your face is often in some ads and TV dramas, for example, you have a cameo in the American series "Friends", how do you evaluate your performance talent? RB: I think I'm really brave. Before that, I had some so-called performance experience, in order to promote our own brand, I have many times in various advertising and sports show, but the influence of "friends" is significantly greater.　　Once, I was walking alone on the streets of New York, when a man stared at me excitedly and shouted, "Look, look, that man is an actor in friends." B: One of the more interesting things you've done recently is to invest in a F1 Brawn GP team, and this team is invincible in this year's game.　　Can you tell me how you decided to invest in a team that was going bankrupt? RB: We're lucky. Toyota said they would no longer support the team for financial reasons, and I knew the team manager brawn. I learned about the situation, that if the Toyota's support team will not be able to maintain, the entire team had to dissolve, not only Brown himself, many people are unemployed, so we decided to invest a little money to help them tide over the difficulties.　　The cooperation agreement was signed in Thursday, 2009 years F1 the first stop in Australia to start the race, so I signed the contract and hurried to Melbourne to see them play, I did not think much, and they took the first and second place, it is too wonderful. "Management is the way to get along with people" B: You mentioned earlier that you think people are the most important factor in your success.　　We would like to know, in the selection of management talent for Virgin, you are most concerned about the candidates have what quality? RB: I still think that management is the way to get along with people. Good managers should know how to get along with others, think more of others, see other people's strengths and inspire others ' potential.　　I don't like people who are so angry that they just scold their employees, and I don't think that's the manager we need. B: If one of your employees tells you that you don't want to be your employee, he wants to be like you.What would you think, karma? RB: I think a good company has to be big and inclusive. This inclusiveness is not only embodied in the inclusion of people from different cultural backgrounds, with different personality characteristics of employees, more importantly, enterprises must maximize the encouragement of employees to achieve their dreams. For example, some people may just want to be a manager in the company, but some people are more entrepreneurial, hoping to create a career, for such people I have always advocated to give them greater opportunities.　　We used to have such employees on Virgin Records, and then he opened the Paris market for us, and we had a German employee who wanted to start his own business, we gave him room to grow, and he created several companies for us.　　B: Although Virgin has a lot of industries, but you really seem to enter China is Virgin Airlines, for the future of the Chinese market, you have any plans?　　RB: We now have some investment in China, I believe that will be more and more, so we are actively engaged with people from all walks of life in China, I am also more and more frequently in London, Shanghai, Beijing, run three, I hope that soon more good news to bring to you.　　B: You have been involved in many industries, what are your basic criteria for doing business? RB: Of course, there's one standard I'd like to mention specifically, I'm a very intolerant person. When I find that the level of a certain industry is very backward, I feel that people should not accept such a poor service, and I think that we should be in this business to improve the overall level of the industry.　　Sometimes our decisions are ridiculed by others and we feel too arrogant, but they will soon find that when we get into this business, we will soon be able to overtake the veteran industry companies.　　B: What kind of business are you interested in next? RB: I know that the Internet is still a tempting industry for young people today. In the last more than 10 years, the industry has seen a lot of idols that young people adore, such as Google's founder Larry Page, Apple's founder, Steve Jobs.　　Undeniably, I also think that this industry is full of many opportunities. But personally, I think the clean energy industry is the most promising industry in the future. Now, almost everyone is talking about warming, cutting emissions, and finding alternative clean energy. For our Virgin Airlines, we spend a lot of money every year supporting the development of clean energy technologies. Some of our airliners have started using biofuels made from cocoa and coconut oil, which is only a preliminary attempt to develop in the future, and I believe there are unlimited business opportunities and great wealth in this field.