In the recent Skytrax awards, Virgin Atlantic was named the winner of the Best Business Class Lounge Award. In a flying world bereft of thrills Virgin positively shines. With 96% recognition, Virgin is one of the best know brands not just in England, but worldwide. So just how does Virgin manage to keep it’s wining streak?

1. Knowing when and what to quit – a few months ago, I received an email from Sir Richard Branson, no less, informing me that they were reviewing the in-flight beauty therapy services. A month later, they advised that they were stopping this service immediately, while it was an innovation in the nineties customers preferred the on the ground comprehensive services offered in the lounges.
2. Focusing on the HOW – Virgin Atlantic has innovatively redefined travel. It is not about getting from airport A to airport B. For its upper class passengers, the travel experience starts as soon as they step out of their front door and last until they cross the threshold of their final destination. For economy/coach travels, in-flight entertainment is unrivaled.
3. Setting your sights on a realistic goal and then keep your eyes on the goal –Virgin announced that it was entering the US market to compete with low cost carriers, over a decade ago. According to Virgin America President and CEO David Cush “Virgin America’s goal was to create an airline that would make flying in the U.S. good again, by redesigning the entire guest experience with upscale, innovative amenities and top-notch service. With close to 1.7 million guests served, seven destination cities, and a list of travel industry best-in-class awards, we couldn’t be more pleased to celebrate our first birthday with the people who believed we could change the way people fly — our loyal guests and teammates.” 3.5 Celebrate your wins and acknowledge those who helped you get there.
4. Mapping out the next chapter before the current one ends – What’s next for Virgin, a trip to space on SpaceShipOne? Virgin Galactic is planning to offer a “groundbreaking opportunity to become one of the first ever non-professional astronauts.” Your next chapter, should be exciting, bold and somewhat daunting, think along the lines of a fantasy book and ask yourself “What if…..?” to create several next chapters.

A winning streak, does not mean that you always win, there may be a setback or two, which are critical to one’s development. The key is to learn what you need to learn from these moments and then move on swiftly to your next winning moment.

Tags: virgin atlantic, winning streak

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 12:51 am and is filed under Leadership Effectiveness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.