Companies need to have a lot more flexibility with their people... . If somebody wants to golf around the world for two months, okay, well, maybe on an unpaid basis, let them do it. That sort of flexibility I think is incredibly important because most of our time, we spend at work.

Develop the business around the people; build it, don't buy it; and, then, be the best.

When you're first thinking through an idea, it's important not to get bogged down in complexity. Thinking simply and clearly is hard to do.

Respect is how to treat everyone, not just those you want to impress.

I've been taught not to have any regrets. If we were to add up all of the hours spent regretting mistakes and use that time to develop new ideas, who knows how many brilliant new businesses would be created.

Talent comes from experience and failure

I never learned the rules in the first place. To change the game is at the heart of what Virgin stands for, so the company culture has always been: "Don't sweat it: rules were meant to be broken."