19 October 2000 I looked. I looked again. I could not believe my eyes. There in front of me was the most spotless, most uncluttered desk I had ever seen in a chief executive’s room. The only things on the table were a laptop, a phone and two Virgin model aeroplanes.
I looked at Andrew Craissati, the 37-year-old chief executive officer of Virgin (Asia) Management. “How do you do it? Keep your desk so clean,” I asked in wonder.
“Easy. I make sure I clear every piece of paper when it lands on my desk,” he replies, straight-faced.
“Where do they go to,” I persisted. I was intrigued. Virgin, to me, represents creativity and innovation. Creativity and innovation, to me, equals chaos and clutter. This was the antithesis of what I had expected.
“Come with me,” says Craissati, who joined Virgin from Seagrams where he was heading the entertainment division. He takes me to “the heart” of the small office. “This is our central filing area. Everyone is encouraged to file their papers here. No one leaves paper on their desk. That way, whoever is working on whichever project knows the files are here and they don’t have to go searching.”
That introduction impressed upon me two points.
One, don’t put companies or people into the boxes you want them to be in because they fit your perceived scheme of things. I had come to this interview expecting Craissati to be a brash, upstart start-up CEO who thought he ruled the world.
He turned out to be an earnest, intense young man who realises he has a very big job on his hands, and is keen to do it right.
Two, desks, whether clean or cluttered, are mere workstations and everyone has a different way of working. Just as Craissati could not work with my workstation, neither could I in his. The making of a corporate culture therefore depends on individuals to believe in it, and make it happen.
First off, Craissati dismisses talk of Virgin Asia being an “incubator”, as it has been called in the local media. It is the regional headquarters for the Virgin group of 200 trading companies all bearing the mother brand.
“We are not an incubator but we are proficient at start-ups. The way we work, we tend to develop new ideas for businesses within the group. Seventy percent of ideas come from within, the rest from individuals and entrepreneurs who have a great idea and as individuals, have the potential to make it a success but all they need is money and a brand name to make it easier,” says Craissati.
He says proudly, “We have almost never acquired an existing business. Even Virgin Atlantic was a start-up.”
SEARCHING FOR THE BIG IDEAS
The Singapore office sifts through 1,000-1,500 ideas a month in search for THE big idea. What goes into the selection process?
“We know the Virgin brand can only support certain business ideas so the first question we ask is, is this something that should carry the Virgin brand. That exercise eliminates three-quarters of the ideas. For the remainder, we look at the quality of the people and the opportunity to meet internal financial objectives,” says Craissati.
Virgin’s brand values are clear, he says. Innovative, sense of fun, a true emphasis on value for money and superior customer care.
PRODUCTS IN THE PIPELINE
Apart from bringing Virgin Mobile into Singapore, Craissati said Virgin would bring businesses such as radio stations, cinemas, Internet companies, cosmetics and fragrances, soft drinks and Virgin Megastore to Asia.
Soft drinks will be one of the first products on offer in Singapore. Craissati said cola would only be 10-20 percent of the portfolio.
It has Virgin Cinemas in Japan and is looking to expand elsewhere in Asia. He sees an opportunity for Virgin to “reinvigorate” the business in Singapore where he says the cinemas are looking quite tired.
Next week: What does it take to work for Virgin?
VIRGIN TRIVIA
BURN THOSE TIES – “My biggest shock was when my wife burned all my ties when I joined Virgin. I have never seen Richard wear a tie.”
HEY, BIG SPENDER – “It took 10 minutes for me to get the approval for the US$1.7 billion joint venture with Singtel and I haven’t heard from him since about it.”
NO VIRGIN MOBILE FOR THE BOSS – “Everyone has access to Richard but he does not have a handphone. If he had, it would never stop ringing.”
BRANSON’S NOT THE BRAND – “Some of the businesses have an association with Richard. However the brand attributes have nothing to do with Richard. It’s just that he has created a layer on top of the brand – his persona which is an effective way of getting publicity.”
NO NAKED BRANSON – “I am not sure what stunts he will do for the launch of Virgin Mobile. His stunts are not very rehearsed but one thing’s for sure, he will keep his clothes on.”