The companies that look after their people are the companies that do really well. I'm sure we'd like a few other attributes, but that would be the most important one.

Spend more time smiling than frowning and more time praising than criticizing.

I just think you need to spice up life every now and then with a bit of adventure and excitement.

When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn't set out to build a business empire ... For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that's going to make a real difference to other people's lives.

My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had - everyday I'm learning something new.

I'm a lad of the '60s. I started a magazine to try and end the Vietnam war, but it was a number of years before I had the profile, the financial resources and the time to do more.

The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them - preferably in unexpected and helpful ways.