I suspect in most companies, the public relations person is down at No. 20 in the pecking order. But here, he is fighting incredibly important battles. If a negative story starts running away with itself in the press and is not dealt with fast, it can badly damage the brand, and so we put enormous weight on our PR people.

Successful entrepreneurs don't wait for the perfect moment - they create it

I have always believed that there is no point in having regrets as you learn far more from mistakes than successes. Embrace a mistake and learn from it; don't regret them.

Purpose is not an add-on, it’s not an initiative. It is a culture change and it never finishes

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."

I know enough to know that no man is an island.

If you can run one business well, you can run any business well.