Reading Branson’s Losing My Virginity

I’ve always had an interest in reading non-fiction books. I also find many of them to be national top sellers (easier to read for the general public). To name a few, Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers (my favorite of the three); Steven Levitt’s Freakonomics (not to brag but I wrote Steven an email and he even replied!). I had the urge to study economics for quite a while.

My most recent and exciting discovery is Branson’s Losing My Virginity. Knowing the Virgin Group for the past decade though never followed closely, I only learned Branson’s name on Hulu’s A Day in the Life show. I was amazed and amused at the same time.

Branson is all about fun. Not just about having fun but also creating fun. Similarly to Google, Apple, Virgin’s employees seem to be extremely passionate about working for the dozens of companies under the Virgin branch.

Branson’s famous philosophy is to give others a chance to run the Virgin companies as if they were their own and give them opportunities to learn from their own mistakes. I am not sure if I’ve heard this from many other founders.

Not all mistakes are careless – some mistakes are made when people try taking on new challenges, getting to the “unknown”. How do we promote ‘mistakes’? Oh well, if I were to run my own company, I’d start a Cherish and Learn from Your Mistake Day. On this day, people will create a post of their mistake, be proud and learn something from it. More importantly, have a good laugh!

Regardless of Branson’s wild success (knighted by the queen, being the 5th richest person in England, started businesses in a full spectrum of domains and succeed), Branson is truly down to earth. I’d encourage all my friends to read this book – Branson is honest, bold but also easy to relate to.

Though I am only half way through the book and had trouble putting it down every time, I have learned a tremendous amount of applicable knowledge in business, personal relationship and friendship. Branson had to make very tough decisions – the choice between a best friend, business partner and his new venture of starting an airline; his love for sailing, hot air balloon and separation from his family – his son was born when he tried to recapture the Blue Riband for Britain. In the end, he and his crew had beaten the Blue Riband record by a mere 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Branson will never settle and is always on the look for new challenges even at the age of 61.

One of his latest plans is Virgin Galactic – astronauts and everyday people can now reserve their tickets to travel to space. When he was questioned how Virgin managed to compete with United States, a country that dominated in aerospace for the past few decades, Branson smiles and said that Virgin may or may not succeed. As we all know, however, Branson and the Virgin team will do their very best to ‘take off’ in the most unexpected way.

By living on the edge and being bold, Branson lives his life with passion and to its fullest. Branson persevered and powered through most of all obstacles that came his way. It is more than a skill to be learned but a lifestyle.

Watching Bat Boy in Syracuse

A good friend of mine, John Haggerty, played Dr. Thomas Parker in a rather unexpected off-broadway show called Bat Boy in Syracuse on Sat, Nov 5th.

I always loved reasons to simply ‘get away’ for the weekend. Given that I had never been to Syracuse, watching a friend in a show seemed like a perfect excuse.

John showcased his talent in various broadway shows including Les Mis, King and I, Miss Saigon. I’ve also seen his in several off-broadway shows in NYC such as The Living Room. He was incredible and some of the moments were breathtaking to say the least. I was blown away by each and every one of the cast members. The cast make an average story come to life by living it first.

The Bat Boy was a one of a kind experience for John, who was introduced to the show by his friend and former cast member of Les Mis. Anton has an incredible physique and the Bat Boy naturally became a perfect fit for him.

John and Anton joined a few other local actors and actresses, a few fresh college grads and high school students to be part of the show. The students looked up to both of them very much and mimicked their acting and singing talent.

Student feedback after the field trip…

I left my business cards with the students and received several follow up emails. Some of the comments touched me and some still make me wonder till this day:

“Thank you so much for all your hard work and hospitality. The students had a wonderful experience and learned so much. Here are some of the comments that they said after the trip” – from Sue Brooks, Art Teacher from Newton North

“I learned how there is such a large variety of fields that can be incorporated into design, it’s amazing.”

“I learned that sometimes awesome ideas like giant Roombas don’t succeed, but it doesn’t’t mean they weren’t’t good.”

“I was really impressed with the space and the wide variety of projects that you guys do!”

It was mad cool!”

“I found out what I want to do once I’m out of college, so don’t go changing your contact information within the next four years.”

“It was really cool to see the inner workings of a firm that focuses on advertisements and websites.”

“There wasn’t a moment where I didn’t feel impressed with Sapiens’s presentation, projects and office space.”

“I love how design allows people of many different backgrounds to collaborate and create an amazing piece of work.”

“m. WAAAAAAAARD”

“Learning about the process that goes behind the development of an advertising campaign was intriguing and made me contemplate the unknown effect of ads on my everyday purchases. It made me think more about my daily interactions with products and the impact of commercialism.”

Talented high school Art students visit Sapient

A few impressive snowstorms later, Sue and ten curious art students arrived at the Sapient Boston Office on March 9th.

Some of the kids started playing with our famous coke machine and touch screen table immediately. Others gathered in front of the wall where Sapient staff members’ artworks are turned into little glass tiles.

I slowly herded the group toward DC 1 (Design Center) reserved for the visit. Two large projectors inside were going to put to good use.

Matt Lindley, a mentor of mine and a Creative Director for Sapient Boston, volunteered to be the first speaker.

Unlike me, Matt did not need a script or preparation. His charisma and charm dominated the room instantly. “Now all of you, take out your cell phones. I am not going to judge.” It was an experiment I had not thought of. On the table, we had cell phone generations apart. From 2002 Nokia to iPhone, Blackberries, we instantly learned more about each other than a hour conversation. Sue and the students bursted into laughters.

A visual deck went up on the projectors, there were nearly no text and only screenshots. “I know you kids just watched our Sapient demo with all the beautiful designs. BUT…” he paused for a second, “all these results have to come from somewhere.” Matt fired up his red laser pen and pointed at the first slide, a rough sketch of a college bookstore. He continued, “We thought, wouldn’t it be great if students can design their own college T-shirts and sell them to friends and families? Well, this idea didn’t quite get through. I remember only one client in the back corner was interested and clapped at the wrong time.” He smiled and a few of us chuckled. “Well some other ideas did come to life, like this vending machine, that campaign, this digital menu board…”

The story went on and Matt spoke for 45 mins that felt like 5. Hands raised, questions answered and Matt left for a meeting after shaking the students’ hands.

Next up was a tour around the office followed by a series of student presentations. The topics ranged from putting together professional brochures for Newton North Vocational Programs to designing the new floor for Newton Cinema. A number of Sapient staff members joined the crowd and showed the students their thumbs-up.

Our talented video producer Brittany only received the short notice from me the day before the trip and offered to help. She put together this video that we will use to remember this wonderful experience forever. We hope you like this as much as we do:

The beginning of an experiment…

7:30PM, Monday. Boston. 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you lived in New England, you’ll know what I mean. There I was, surviving another day in January, promising myself I’d move to a warmer climate someday.

It was pitch black outside. Another snowstorm was about to hit us unannounced. I was one of the last few sitting in the office. The AC was about to shut down.

Juggling between various reports and endless emails trying to wrap up the day, I saw Barry, a creative director at Sapient, walked toward my desk. He yawned and then hit the “play” button on his new shiny iPhone, a voicemail followed:

“Hi, this is Sue Brook from Newton North High School. I was wondering if we can set up a time for our field trip. My number is…”

“Could you do me a favor Fei?” Barry continued, “Sue is an art teacher at Newton North who wants to visit our office with a bunch of students. I’ll be at the client site this week and next. Do you mind reaching out to her?”

Barry had never asked a favor from me before. “No problem. I’d love to!”  This was my simple reply. I felt intrigued. I could not remember ever seeing a group of high school or college students visiting the office. Ever.

On my way home from work that night, I imagined being the “king of all babies”, leading the students through our still dot-com like office with nerve guns, mood board, and rubber ducks strategically positioned near the desks. The teenagers had their eyes wide-open like little kids in the candy shop. And I, the facilitator and leader of this group, would show them what the “real world” is really like.

Barry walked away without setting any expectations and I was excited to “have it my way”.