Thinking Differently

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

For Sir Richard Branson, thinking differently comes with the territory. He has dyslexia, which was considered a handicap for years but is now considered a benefit for entrepreneurs.

I listened to a podcast interview with him that Reid Hoffman did where he espoused a simple philosophy:

What if . . .

Why not?

Screw it. Let’s do it.

Not everything that Branson has done has worked.

Not everything that’s been done with alleged safety or created by a committee has either.

His wins have been enormous.

Just think of starting a record store chain (when that was the only distribution vehicle for music) with no capital, no records, and no store. That’s what Branson did.

Imagine starting an airline because you are bumped from the flight and pulled resources with all the others who are bumped to charter a plane to take everyone back to England. That’s what Branson did.

Then, he negotiated a deal with Boeing to sell him used clients with no money down. That’s what Branson did.

He used himself for publicity stunts.