Business Stripped Bare

Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur

By: Richard Branson

Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

From its creation as a mail-order record company to the literal launch of Virgin Galactic, today Virgin is one of the premier ‘way-of-life’ brands in the world, trusted and enjoyed by many millions of people.

In Business Stripped Bare, Sir Richard Branson shares the inside track on his life in business and reveals the incredible truth about his most risky, brilliant, and audacious deals. What qualities does Richard look for in the people he hires? How does he manage a crisis? Who are the entrepreneurs he most admires? Find out what really happened when Virgin bid for Northern Rock and why Richard believes all businesses must work with governments to tackle climate change and invest in the future of our planet.

Combining invaluable advice with the remarkable and candid inside stories of Virgin’s greatest achievements, as well as some of its setbacks, 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 are just starting out, Richard strips business down to show how you can succeed and make a difference.

©2008 Richard Branson (P)2010 Random House Audiobooks

Eccentric read by an eccentric man.

I've made a habit of reading/listening to many popular business books in the last couple of years. Branson undoubtedly has made a great success of himself and he's done it in interesting ways. But this book was less successful compared to others I've read as far as offering instruction or relatable ways of conducting your own business. The stories told were interesting and it was fascinating to hear about the genesis of the Virgin brand, but at some point, the reader needs more than what amounts to "think outside the box" and "take risks". Lastly, this is defintely geared towards the "start up" -- creating a brand and going big. From the stand point on working within an existing company, perhaps one with a more conservative outlook, it was difficult to relate.

Somewhat disappointed

The beginning of this book is great. He goes into detail about how he handled himself and parts of his companies. However, Later on the book becomes a commercial. He goes into explaining why his Product/Service X is better than the rest. He explains more why his company is better and not how he made it better.

Awful

This book is boring and a Virgin advertising at best. It is so bland and lacks any information, it seems it is not his "voice" nor he edited or even read it. Awful, one star is way too generous.

the voice comes through

excellent reader, excellent authentic writing by branson
concrete examples, lack of bluster, honest description written as if he was talking
clues and rules on how to create a supportive culture and a happy workplace
an expert soaked in his subject

cut off before the last two chapters he knows nothing about global warming and it would take shakespeare to make that hackneyed subject ear worthy i'll decide whether to do anything without his help and what he had to say could have been conveyed in 2 sentences

neither did i need to be told to spend my career...from day 1...with efforts...no matter how small...to do good (ughhhhh)

this reduced it to 4 stars but if i could have made it 4 1/2, i would.

stick to business

stick to business the global things and climate stuff are snoozers. plus you turn off people with different views. there was a statement in there imlying that Jimmy Carter knew a lot about business or entrepreneaurial endeavours. say what?!

The audio editing took some patience

Where does Business Stripped Bare rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

in the business books I've read, the content was in the top third of the best ones I've read to date

What did you like best about this story?

His real life examples were nice to read about

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was fine, but the audio editing was horrendous. The editor would go and put in dramatic pauses without any room tone so I continuously thought my audible app had crashed. It's just so jarring to not use room tone during the dramatic pauses, it made for a really discontinuous experience

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was quite enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

Please, fix the audio - and I would totally listen to this again.

Boring.

What did you like best about Business Stripped Bare? What did you like least?

I can't tell much about it, quit half way.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something about business but not from this author.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Boring.

Do you think Business Stripped Bare needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not at all.

Any additional comments?

Skip this one, go for the next.

WOW!

Great book, inspiring author with an inspiring message! A must read for every entrepreneur!

Very Enlightening

Richard was able to give a new insight of becoming an entrepreneur. I highly recommend getting his book. At the very least inspired me to give it my all.

This guy is fake, watch "Planet of the humans"

I just watched "Planet of the humans" documentary, this guy is a hypocrite, he destroyed the planet with bio fuels, avoid taxes and profit from the misery of poor people and nature. I'm really disappointed.

Not great. "Screw it, lets do it" is my preference

A bit disappointing in comparison to "Screw it, lets do it" which was fantastic. Has put me off the Branson books, which is a shame. It may have been the dry delivery of the Narrator, but the overall style of the book seemed to have moved away from previous Branson books.

I just expected much more

It's great story for beginners, but without details, routines, etc. It's interesting book, but after Steve Jobs book - this book is very soft.

Crash course on Entrepreneuship from the master

This book is 10 times better than any course or anything you would or could learn in a university. Richard Branson's sense of humor is an added plus.

ok, but nothing great

An interesting listen, but I was expecting better advice and lessons in a similar vein as How to Get Rich and Think Big and Kick Ass.

This book is also a bit heavy on the brand promotion and banging on about climate change and the environment.

Simply brilliant

Firstly you have to accept that RB has an ego and that it is so embedded in his writing that some of the statements may make you cough a little. Once you accept this you are listening to a riveting yarn.

I read this on the beach last year and the the book is full of my 'red written notes'. I felt that the audio book would be a good tool to supplement and enhance the lessons I already took.

It is a must for those like me who are both entrepreneurial and contrarian in business.

Enjoy his work and learn from him. He is very good.

Heartening advice

- I recommend you to this book. Lot of self - advertising but beyond are some strong lessons from an old dog.

Business Stripped Bare

Some great advise and real insight into the thinking of an inspiring man loved hearing this audible book will listen again it’s one you want to listen to again again!

Self promoting

I have read a couple of versions of Branson's biography and got this book to get a better understanding of his decision making process. It gave me that and contained some previously unknown (to me) facts about his businesses, how they got started, etc. what is encouraging is the fact that some of the more successful companies/ideas had been rejected by the Virgin 'dragons den' selection team. Which just goes to prove that luck is often the deciding factor - the difference between making it or not.

great book awful narration

great book but this guys voice is hard to sick. I honestly thought that it was a robot at stages.

A great story well told

Very well put by a man who grasped the nettle on more than one occasion and with points you can take for life and business.