Business Stripped Bare

Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur

By: Richard Branson

Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

In his trademark charismatic and honest style, Richard Branson shares the inside track on some of his greatest achievements over 40 years in business, as well as the lessons he has learned from his setbacks. In Business Stripped Bare he discusses why he took on one of the world's biggest superbrands, how he built Virgin Mobile USA into the fastest growing company in history to reach a billion dollars in revenue - faster than Microsoft, Google or Amazon.com - and how he is the only person in the world to have built seven billion-dollar companies from scratch in seven completely different sectors.

Richard tells the story behind the launch of Virgin America, his new airline in the USA, how Virgin Galactic is set to initiate a new era of space tourism from a spaceport deep in the Mojave desert, and what he has learned about business from a diverse group of leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Jack Welch, Herb Kelleher, Steve Jobs, and the founders of Google. He also shares his thoughts on the changing face of the global economy and how businesses worldwide need to work together to tackle environmental challenges and invest in the future of our world.

Combining invaluable advice with remarkable and candid inside stories, Business Stripped Bare is a dynamic, inspirational, and truly original guide to success in business and in life. Whether you are an executive, an entrepreneur or just starting out in the business world, Richard strips down business to show how you can succeed and make a difference.

©2008 Sir Richard Branson. First published in Great Britain by Virgin Books Ltd (P)2009 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Not much value as a business book

What would have made Business Stripped Bare better?

I've read several of Richard's books and enjoyed them very much. This one covers much of the same content, but it's more of a chronology of Richard's life and entrepreneurial projects, than a book containing much helpful wisdom, inspiration, or ideas that you can use in your own life. But what I found most disappointing, was that the final third of the book is focused primarily on his political and moral views regarding global warming and imposing vaccine reform in Africa. I found this to deviate substantially from the remainder of the book and to not offer anything of value to the reader.

Would you ever listen to anything by Richard Branson again?

Depends on the content

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I really didn't feel that this book contributed any more to my life than the others that I've read from Richard, and in some ways, it took away from them and diminished my opinion of him.

Any additional comments?

If you've read other books by Richard, you probably wont find this one worthwhile. And even if you haven't I'd recommend reading the others rather than this one.