维珍创始人的10大成功秘诀

 本文与《创业者》杂志（Entrepreneur）合作。下文最初发表于Entrepreneur.com。

经常有人问我，我是如何取得成功的，维珍（Virgin）品牌如何创下今天的成就。成功没有捷径，但某些态度和行为却可以帮助你成功。以下是我总结的10大成功诀窍：

1. 追随自己的梦想。

只要追随自己的激情，你便能生活得更好。做自己喜欢的事，往往比其他人更能享受生活，原因很简单，你在追逐自己的梦想。

2. 多做好事。

如果你不能给其他人的生活带来不同，那你就不应该进入商界——就是这么简单。公司负有改变世界的责任：它们对社区、员工、客户和所有人都负有责任。令人惊叹的一点是，多做好事也会给公司业务带来意想不到的好处——你还在等什么？

 3. 坚信自己的想法：把你拥有的一切都交给公司

能否全力以赴投身自己的事业和个人目标，是成败的关键。如果你自己对正在做的事情都不感到自豪，又如何强求他人？不要被误导，掉入盲目追求利润与增长的陷阱。如果你致力于将自己的工作做到最好，成功将是水到渠成的事情。

4. 让自己和团队成员找到工作的乐趣。

乐趣是对任何成功公司最重要，但也最容易被低估的元素之一。当你工作不开心的时候，你应该停下来，进行其他尝试。如果你的员工爱岗敬业，并且乐在其中，他们就会发自内心地关怀你的客户，更热爱自己的工作，也会将工作完成得更加出色。你要招聘的对象，应该是那些能看到他人优点的人，能不吝惜对别人的赞扬且谨慎发表批评意见的人，是真正热爱工作的人。

 5. 绝不轻言放弃。

我进行的每一次冒险——不论是创建一家公司，乘热气球环游世界还是驾驶汽艇穿越大洋——都面临过一些艰难时刻，那时候最容易的事情就是放弃，然后溜之大吉。但如果你坚守自己的目标，最终将会得到意想不到的收获。失败之后，重新振作起来，再来一次。

 6. 善于倾听，记录自己的想法，接受新的挑战。

如果你不将自己（和其他人）的即兴想法记录下来，它们就会在眨眼间消失。要明确自己的目标：制定目标清单。一定要记住：少说多听。你会发现，建立一种注重倾听的企业文化将帮你克服许多障碍。

This post is in partnership with Entrepreneur. The article below was originally published at Entrepreneur.com.

I’m often asked how I got to where I am, and how the Virgin brand achieved all that it has. While there are no shortcuts to success, certain attitudes and actions can help. Here are my top 10 tips for doing business the Virgin way:

1. Follow your dreams.

You will live a much better life if you pursue your passions. People who work on the things that they love usually enjoy life more than everyone else does simply because they are chasing their dreams.

 2. Do some good.

If you aren’t making a difference in other people’s lives, you shouldn’t be in business — it’s that simple. Companies have a responsibility to make a difference in the world: They owe this to their community, their staff, their customers, everyone. The amazing part is that doing good is also good for business — what are you waiting for?

 3. Believe in your ideas: Give your venture everything you’ve got.

A passionate commitment to your business and personal objectives can make all the difference between success and failure. If you aren’t proud of what you’re doing, why should anybody else be? And don’t get suckered into blindly pursuing profits and growth. If you stay focused on being the best at what you do, it’s more likely that the rest will follow.

4. Have fun, and make sure that your team members are enjoying themselves too.

Fun is one of the most important — and underrated — components of any successful venture. If you’re not enjoying yourself, it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else. If your employees are engaged and having fun, and they genuinely care about your customers, they will enjoy their work more and do a better job. Hire people who look for the best in others, who lavish more praise than they dole out criticism, and who genuinely love what they do.

 5. Don’t give up.

On every adventure that I have undertaken — whether it was setting up a business, flying around the world in a balloon or racing across an ocean in a powerboat — I have faced difficult moments when the easiest thing to do would have been to throw in the towel and walk away. But you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve by tenaciously sticking to your goals. When you fail, get back up, brush yourself off and try again.

 6. Listen, take lots of notes and keep setting yourself new challenges.

If you don’t write down your own (and others’) spontaneous ideas, they can vanish in the blink of an eye. So be sure to keep track of your goals: make lists. And remember to listen more and talk less. You’ll be amazed at the obstacles a listening culture can overcome.

7. 放权，拿出更多时间陪伴家人。

创业者必须掌握的关键技能之一便是放权。一定要“针对自己的弱点进行招聘”。你引进的人才应该能完成你不太擅长的任务，进而使你从中解放出来，把更多精力用于规划公司的未来。此外，这一策略也可以帮你腾出更多时间陪伴家人，而这才是最重要的。

当然，如果你最近有什么好主意，别忘了征求家人的意见。比如，在推出Mates避孕套之前，我其实应该先征求家人的意见。

  8. 沟通协作

保持简单直接，最重要的是，与其他人一起工作和娱乐。将蘑菇放在黑暗中，撒一些肥料，它可能会自己生长，但这种策略不适合人。苹果公司（Apple）联合创始人史蒂夫•乔布斯和皮克斯（Pixar）等公司，开创了开放的工作环境，鼓励人们交流和分享自己的创意——你也需要这样的氛围。

  9. 关上笔记本和iPhone，到户外去。

不要整天坐在屏幕前面。关上那些电子设备，去探索外面的世界。如果你一直忽略了这方面，可以先从自己家的后院开始，然后逐渐扩大活动范围。外面有那么多有意思的人等着你去结交，有那么多精彩的冒险等你尝试，有那么多有意义的事情等着你去挑战，所以，我们没有时间可以浪费。正如一句谚语所说：生活不是带妆彩排。

10. 做自己喜欢的事情，在厨房放一张沙发。

只要自己爱的人就在身边，能做自己喜欢的事情，住在哪里和挣多少钱将不再重要。我们住在内克尔岛的时候，家人大多数时间会在厨房里度过。只要有一个安身之所，能与自己最爱的人在一起，便已足够，何须太多？

现在，我得回到吊床上处理工作去了——这便是维京群岛人的生活方式！（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

  7. Delegate, and spend more time with your family.

The art of delegation is one of the key skills that entrepreneurs must master. Be sure to “hire to your weaknesses.” Bringing on people who can do the tasks you aren’t particularly good at can free you up to plan for your company’s future. This strategy also allows you to spend more time with your family, which is really the most important thing of all.

Oh yes, and don’t forget to as your family for input on your latest big idea — like I should have done before we launched Mates condoms, for instance!

 8. Communicate, collaborate and communicate some more.

Keep it simple, stupid . and above all else, work and play with others. Mushrooms might grow when they are kept in the dark and fed a diet of dung, but that strategy doesn’t work with people. The Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and companies like Pixar built open work environments that invited intermingling and the sharing of visions — you need that atmosphere too.

9. Turn off your laptop and iPhone, and get out there.

Don’t sit in front of a screen all day. Switch everything off and venture out into the world regularly. If you’ve been neglecting this part of life, start with your own backyard, then expand your field of vision. With so many fascinating people to meet, exciting adventures to embark upon and rewarding challenges to undertake, there’s no time to lose. As the saying goes: Life isn’t a dress rehearsal.

10. Do what you love, and keep a couch in the kitchen.

As long as you are surrounded by the people you love and you’re doing what you love, it really doesn’t matter where you live or how much money you make. When we are on Necker Island, my family tends to spend most of our time in the kitchen together. If you have a roof over your head and a partner you love, you really don’t need too much more.

Now, I really must get back to my hammock so I can do some business – around here that’s known as the Virgin Islands way!