SALT 2015: What Does Richard Branson Attribute His Success To? Dyslexia.

Richard Branson, founder and proprietor of many iconic, global brands, started Virgin Airlines 31 years ago of our frustration with trying to get to the British Virgin Islands. "I had a very cute girl waiting for me," he said. He was scheduled to fly on a flight that was deemed to be undersold by the airline, and so they cancelled that day's trip. As a frustrated and tired traveler, he found a plane he could charter, wrote out a hand-made sign offering passage to the BVI, and sold the flight out that moment with passengers from his cancelled flight. Virgin Atlantic was born, and it's very first flight ever was sold out. He attributes his success largely to childhood learning disabilities. He's dyslexic and early on realized that he could delegate to people who were stronger in certain capacities. "My dyslexia made me approach things more simply," he said. "I learned early on that I could delegate to people smarter and better than I was." "No one wants to hear bid-ask spread. That's why our advertising is clear, simple, and has no jargon. The joke is, if Richard can understand it, anyone can." In meetings, people would throw up figures at him and he's known to ask, "Is that a good figure?" At one point, when Richard was 50 years old, a board member took him outside and said, "You don't know the difference between gross and net [revenue], do you?" Richard said, "No." The board member drew a picture to explain it. This isn't to say Richard is a dunce – by no means is he incapable. He's a genius marketer and a visionary of business. He does things years before anyone else, like having TV's in the back of seats on airplanes. He did it before it was cool. What he does, is build brands to be the best. "Very few of the best hotels, airlines, or clubs ever go bust. If you're going to do something, be the absolute best." How do you be the best? "Enjoy and be proud of any business you have. Make sure your staff is proud of it and will work enormously hard to make it a success." Virgin recently adopted a policy that allows employees to work at home if they want when they want, or they can take as long of a vacation as they want. "Do we tell our people to not answer their emails? No, answer your emails, get the work done, but just take a longer holiday if you want." "If you work a job around what people want, you'll get their very best." For Branson to speak at SALT, he was paid. Unlike other high-profile speakers, 100 percent of proceeds go directly to his charitable foundation.