Leadership of Richard

Charismatic Entrepreneur Richard Branson 9Csikzentmihalyi¶s Flow TheoryRichard Branson¶s career path, although unorthodox, is a testament to Virgin¶s business practices that are founded in the theory of flow as described by Mihalyi Csikzentmihalyi. VirginGroup¶s communication style encourages employees to innovate and express their own opinionswithin the organization in order to remain in flow. Branson¶s leadership communication styleand the fundamental principles of the entire corporation are based on his ³Have Fun´ philosophy(Branson, 2008). As the CEO of a worldwide organization with entities in many industries,Branson is happiest and most fulfilled when working on diverse, dynamic, and challenging projects. He stays within flow by chasing opportunities and by finding talented, dedicated,creative individuals to develop ways to improve the services the Virgin subsidiaries offer tocustomers and investors. Branson¶s autobiography ³Losing my Virginity,´ and his book ³ScrewIt, Let¶s Do It´ explain the major decisions he made in considering acquisitions, mergers, newinitiatives, and the setbacks he experiences while trying to lead fledgling companies. He writesabout many mishaps he has experienced, and how the challenge of competition influenced hisdecisions to go into music, rail, airlines, or banking, as the young, relatively inexperienced, butenthusiastic innovator. One example of his initiative to innovate backfiring is the decision to sellorchids instead of roses on Valentine¶s Day in Virgin¶s airports, and being left with tons of dying, smelly flowers. At times like this, Branson re-establishes flow by agreeing to restoreconformity. He appears to relish danger and challenge as evidenced by regular attempts to flyaround the world in a balloon, yacht racing, fishing trips during hurricanes, rescuing hostagesfrom Iraq, opening health clubs in South Africa, and perhaps most daringly; starting acommercial space flight company. Flow, for Branson is overcoming