Pioneer. Maverick. Innovator. These are words you could throw at Richard Branson and they would stick. He’s our intrepid rebel billionaire. When you think ‘Richard Branson’, you think hot air ballooning in Africa; you think company launches replete with bikini-clad models; you think management by phone from Necker Island. You don’t think ‘communication’, and you certainly don’t think ‘details’. But, as he explains in his latest book Business Stripped Bare, when you’re talking about delivery – executing in your business – it all comes down to details and communication.

All About the Details

According to Branson, “it’s the attention to detail that really defines great business delivery.” It’s that simple. He advises every company owner or manager to travel with a notebook to jot down things that need doing. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing – whether you’re listening to staff or customers, inspecting your product, or even just wandering through your office – it all needs to be captured in the notebook. Or else you’ll forget it.

For example, when Branson was on Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight to Japan he made a point of paying particular attention to cultural differences and the Japanese sense of respect and formality, as his notebook entry demonstrates:

“Need slippers in Upper Class, not socks. Need Japanese beers. Only one kind of newspaper from London: English. Need Japanese too. Japanese tea from London, not good. Japanese food from London. Tastes good but must be better presented. Looks like fish and chips. Saucers for Japanese teacups.”

Now, many leaders would balk at this micro-level focus, but Branson believes it’s imperative if you want to deliver the best to your customers (again and again). And the Virgin brand continues to do this better than almost every company in the world. It’s Branson’s near constant practice of putting himself in the shoes of his customer that gives Virgin the edge.

With so many competitors and options today, if you can nail customer delight and keep them coming back, you’ll blaze past your rivals.

Talk to Me

In Virgin’s early days, Branson would pen candid letters to his employees, telling them about everything that was going on with the company.

For Branson, this was a vital form of communication, in that the letters ensured a sense of intimacy in a rapidly growing company. Today, he admits that he finds it difficult to write the frank letters of the past, because they inevitably hit the press, but he still advocates that companies somehow communicate the overall picture of what’s going on to their employees.

Branson also has a message for all the business owners and managers out there: be brave. Hand out your e-mail address and phone number. It’s a psychological boost for those who work with you. It shows you trust them and that you’re there for them. If it’s urgent, you’re only a phone call away. “People aren’t stupid,” urges Branson, “they know not to misuse it or badger you.”

Staff also need to be heard, says Branson. There is nothing more frustrating for employees than to explain the same problems again and again and to have nothing done about them.

Branson recounts how he was on a Virgin flight and a member of the cabin crew told him that the sugar had run out. This person also explained that this wasn’t the first time, the sugar had run out on other flights too. Branson immediately put into effect the policy that flight staff reports are actioned IMMEDIATELY.

Because the Virgin brand hinges on customer delight, Branson knows that flight staff reports are gold and should be dealt with right away. Consequently, the staff are happy and so are the customers.

For Branson, boiling a business down to its essentials is an important exercise and business strategy. On the point of delivery, it’s all about details and communication. That’s it.

What do you think about Branson’s ‘stripped bare’ approach to delivery?

Dr. Helen Fisher is a scientist and a romantic. In the 15 minute video below Dr. Fisher explores why we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it.

To learn more about the human need for romantic love, she and her research team took brain scans of people in love (and of people who had just been dumped).

Her investigations have illuminated why we choose one partner over another and explore the differences in how men and women express intimacy.  

What are your thoughts on Dr. Fisher’s love studies? Have you felt different depending on whether or not you’ve been in love?

Welcome back! Here’s Part 4 in our FinerMinds 19-part series on Becoming Just Awesome. Today, we’re going back to basics. How many of you are familiar with the phrase, “you only get out what you put in”? Everyone, I imagine. We hear it so often we barely raise an eyebrow when someone rolls it out.

Let’s dust off this concept, and I’ll see if I can breathe some life into it for you. The other half of today’s post is about not being afraid to put in some elbow grease. To grow, we must be willing to do what’s hard, a downright novel idea in our current ‘ease and convenience’ world.

GIVE 100%

Here’s a question for those of you who own a business with a partner: How would you feel if your business partner was NOT giving 100% to the business? Annoyed? Let down? Angry? These would be pretty standard reactions, especially if there was no apparent reason for the downturn in your partner’s commitment.  The next question: Would YOU then feel like giving 100%? Probably not, especially in the long run.

This may seem strange, but the ‘universe’ works in much the same way. You need to think about the universe as your partner. If the idea of the ‘universe’ doesn’t work for you, substitute something else: life force, God, spiritual energy. Whatever makes sense for you. It’s the partner concept that’s important.

Imagine you’re only investing 50-60% of your energy into your life – your relationships, your work, your activities. As you putter along at half-potential, I’d hazard you wouldn’t be experiencing the sensation of the universe unfolding all around you – increased energy, mind-blowing experiences, extraordinary success.

It’s when you decide to truly go for it, give 100%, that incredible things start to happen. It’s as though the universe has ‘got your back’. You give 100%; the universe gives 100%. Even if you can isolate each positive incident and say, “well, this great thing happened because I did this and that,” it can still feel as though the universe is responding to your energy in kind, and this is an incredibly powerful sensation.

Giving 100% is massively rewarding, but so few people really go for it.

I’ll share an example with you, and I’d like your feedback on this case.

My husband and I were recently involved in a group exercise. In this exercise, about 50 of us were tasked with getting a number of heavy items to a certain point and then back to the start. We had to make it to the middle point in a certain amount of time, and we would each get points for doing this. Then you had to make it back to the starting area within the allotted time (with the heavy items). If anyone in the group did not make it back to the starting area in the amount of time allotted, then the whole group would lose.

We observed an interesting phenomenon. Less than half the team made it to the mid-point in time to get the points. Many on our team were less than 400 feet from the mid-point, but still did not make it (and we had all been walking/jogging for approximately two hours to get there). But then, on the way back, our whole team made it back to the start with 30 minutes to spare.

What happened?

We hypothesized that people are more motivated by not wanting to be labeled a ‘loser’ (by virtue of causing the team to lose) than by really going for it and trying to get the points.

Perhaps this example can be applied to life. So many people live their lives trying to make sure they’re not in the bottom half, rather than aiming for the top and their goals (as defined by them). Constantly keeping watch to make sure you’re not in the bottom half just sucks your energy away. It’s actually a fear-based existence. It’s far more positive and a better investment of your time and energy to keep focused on your goals and where you want to go.

After the exercise, one woman went up to the front to share her experiences about it. She was an elderly woman, on the heavier side, with multiple health issues. Not an athletic type at all. Her husband even told her not to do the exercise. He thought she wouldn’t make it, given her age and health status.

He could not have been more wrong. She made it to the mid-way point in time, leaving people half her age in her wake.

It was all in her mind, she said. At the beginning of the exercise, she simply declared to herself that she was going to make it and that nothing was going to stop her. And it didn’t. The experience was incredibly emotional for her. She shared that she now felt powerful and that the universe had opened up for her that day. I was sitting next to her later on, and she showed me her toenail, which was about to fall off because of all the trekking. I’ve never seen someone so proud of a toe injury.

HARD WORK

A few final words on the topic of hard work. Giving 100% and Being Willing To Do What’s Hard go hand-in-hand. Most people cruise along at 60% of their capacity and give up or change course when the going gets tough. Just look around you. There are examples of this everywhere. They’re busy strategizing on how they can get away with less.

Reaching your goals will not always be easy. Yes, sometimes you’ll go through periods where it seems effortless, but there will be difficult times too. Times when you want to give up. Times when you won’t feel like working hard. But if you persevere, you will be rewarded.

Looking back, most successful people report they learned more and became better individuals BECAUSE of the difficult periods and the hard work they put in. Successful people relish challenges and savor the triumph of coming through them. For them, a challenge is a problem to be solved.

EXERCISE

This week’s exercise is straightforward, but not the easiest of tasks. I want you to give 100% for 3 days. I could say go and give 100% every day for the rest of your lives, but this isn’t necessarily going to work. You first have to set a realistic goal. You need to try it out and reflect on the experience. Perhaps it’s not for you and that’s OK. But take small steps. Also remember that 100% will be different for each person. It’s very personal. You will know when you’re giving 100% of yourself.

During the 3 days, I want you to:

Be aware of what is hard for you. This probably sounds a bit ridiculous. You might be thinking, “of course I know what’s hard for me.” In reality, though, you’ve probably been avoiding many of the things you find difficult, and you don’t even know it. Or you’ve been telling yourself it’s no big deal that you don’t embrace these challenges. Again, what is hard is different for everyone. Maybe public speaking is difficult for you. Perhaps having a heart-to-heart conversation with your partner makes your palms sweat. Are you afraid of the gym? Maybe getting out of bed in the morning is the most arduous part of your day. The point is to be aware of what you find to be particularly hard.

Celebrate, Practice, Support. Over the 3 days, because you’ll be giving 100%, you’ll be tackling some of these hard items. First, pat yourself on the back for doing this. It’s not easy. You need to celebrate this ‘passive to active’ shift. The next point is zeroing in on what you find hard. This allows you to strategize on how to overcome these issues. You need a plan, and chances are this plan will include learning, practice and support. Seek out more knowledge and find opportunities to practice what is hard for you, and make sure to surround yourself with a network of individuals to support you.

I’d like to hear from all of you out there who have made the transition from mediocre output to consistently giving 100%. What does it feel like and how do you sustain this practice?