A brief first-person recount by Colin Sprake about visiting Sir Richard Branson on Necker Island. Branson told him, 'Go find great people and pay them well,' which prompted the narrator to stop underpaying top hires and instead offer premium ('champagne and caviar') compensation so they join and stay. The piece reflects on billionaire authenticity and a memorable leadership lesson that changed the narrator's hiring approach.
Chapters
I recently visited a billionaire's private island, and it was eye opening for me. I got to spend time with Sir Richard Branson in the great room on his island at Necker Island. And the one thing he sat me down. And one thing I love about billionaires, they are authentic, they're humble. They will spend time with you. That tells me a lot between someone who's super successful and absolutely successful versus someone that, you know, it looks like they're successful in some way or four. And Richard said to me, he said, colin, I. I want to teach you one thing and really understand this. Go find great people and pay them well. And I never used to do that. I always used to think, how do I find your champagne people? And I pay them a VR income. And that just never served me. Now I find champagne people, pay them champagne and caviar incomes. So guess what? They join my team, they stay with me, and they've done more for me. That's one of the biggest pieces Sir Richard Branson taught me. I left that island going, wow, I've just been punched in the forehead. But you know what? I will take that punch because it comes from a billionaire that I will always listen to.
