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Spies Hiding ... to Find out Why We're so Successful

One of the most fascinating parts of business and management to me is seeing excellent companies and business leaders emerge, and then all the copycats come out thinking that they can figure out what it is that makes them tick.

That's what Branson was talking about when he wrote a letter to one of his competitors one time. Here's an excerpt from the letter:

"Yet three years later you are telling your staff that this same airline, 'that was making it up as it went along' and that now has 30% of the market could, 'Drive Qantas out of business!' We also find it flattering, if a little silly, that three years on you now have spies hiding behind pot plants in the Virgin terminal trying to work out why we are so successful."

What is great about excellent companies and leaders is that in reality they can't be copied, if you mean by that looking at some outward behavior that you can than take back to your company and try. I've seen that happen a lot with companies that are trying to move ahead.

They take a look at a bunch of the things another more successful company is doing in their space, and then they put it together and put on seminars across the company on how they are starting new initiatives, etc.

Rarely have I ever seen any of this work, if ever. Sure you can find out a software program or system that may help you streamline some processes, but you can't copy the mentality of an entire company that has been enculturated to be who they are. If it could be done, why isn't there another Virgin out there? It's unique and the people hired are hired upon certain characteristics the company looks for, just like other great companies that know exactly what they want to represent to their customers.

This is something that is done over years, and simply can't be watched and duplicated. That's why all the spying in the world doesn't help when a company has a unique position in the minds of those using them. It's what the company is that makes it different, not the processes it employs. The processes come out of who they are, not the other way around.

Other Richard Branson Resources:

Branson on Branson

The Gonzo Way of Branding

Richard Branson's Virgin Success

Thoroughly postmodern billionaire
 
Richard Branson's latest adventure will take Virgin into space

Richard Branson - Life - Philanthropy - Money

Richard Branson, Business Personality

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