Having a personality of caring about people is important. You can’t be a good leader unless you generally like people. That is how you bring out the best in them.

I was trouble - and always in trouble. Aged eight I still couldn't read. In fact, I was dyslexic and short-sighted. Despite sitting at the front of the class, I couldn't read the blackboard. Only after a couple of terms did anyone think to have my eyes tested. Even when I could see, the letters and numbers made no sense at all.

Good people have always been at the heart of the Virgin business, and that's largely because we have tried to keep our business small, and our management teams tight-knit. I feel that small, compact companies, are better run. That is partly because people feel more connected in small companies.

Your brand or your name is simply your reputation, you have to fight in life to protect that as it means everything. Nothing is more important.

A generation ago, the image was that you had to trample everyone else down to succeed; but I don't believe that makes good business sense.

I am always working on the go.

I moved into a nice houseboat in Little Venice when I was 15 years old. I found a girlfriend called Monday and a houseboat called Friday, so I had the week sewn up.