Analysis of Entrepreneurial Cases: Compare & Contrast

Ted Turner & Richard Branson

Prepared By
ABIR, MD. ZABER TAUHID
ID: 10-15556-1
Entrepreneurship Development
Section: F
FBA, BBA
American International University-Bangladesh

MD. ZABER TAUHID ABIR

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Table of Contents
Introduction ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 02
Compare & Contrast ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03
Plugs of Conversation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03
Detail Conversation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03
Early Life ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 03
Entrepreneurship Type -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 04
Leadership Strategies ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 04
Business Operation Strategies ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 05
Management Strategies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 05
Managing Human Resource -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 06
Business Expansion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 06
Conclusion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 07
Bibliography
Case Study on Entrepreneurship: Ted Turner
Case Study on Entrepreneurship: Richard Branson

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Introduction
Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy. These are the people who have the skills and initiative
necessary to take good new ideas to market and make the right decisions to make the idea profitable.
The reward for the risks taken is the potential economic profits the entrepreneur could earn.
Entrepreneur is an Economic Agent who plays role in the economic development of a country
[Kumar, 2008]. An individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and
assumes all the risk and reward of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale.
The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business
processes.
Despite that fact, Ted Turner has been called some pretty brash names throughout the years, for
instance, the mouth of the South and Captain Outrageous for his notorious volubility and singular
opinions, [Auletta, 2004]. Not only has he been successful in the television/cable industry, though,
but he has visualized the value of land and at present he owns various ranches within the U.S. The
Harvard rejected boy has turned his luck with hard working and future orientation. He has turned his
fathers 1 million dollars billboard company into multibillion dollars American media colony. He is
a nonconformist leader who thinks of original ideas and looks to the future [Turner, 2010].
We find his ultimate risk taking ability; he regularly extends his business into areas in which he has
no expertise; but he succeeds with dignity in those fields. The future orientation was just amazing
when he bought few radio stations without any profit/loss thinking. Turner has controlled and
managed his employees very strictly and did not share any managerial decision with employees. All
of the decisions has been taken by him and personally monitored by him. He has changed the face of
America with the development of media colony by 1980s.
The British hero Richard Branson is quite such a business maker, adopting the big risk, big reward
attitude. The man created an empire from nothing, starting at the age of 13. The school dropout boy
Branson who was suffering from dyslexia has shown his ultimate leadership characteristics. He
learned from failure which has made him millionaire at the age of 23. He is very flexible with his
business and employees, he is capable to adapt with any complex business situations. Branson
believes that, employees should be happy with their positions and should fill the pride of ownership.
Branson Said, If a flower is watered, it flourishes. If not, it shrivels up and dies. This statement
reflects his skills of motivation and leadership. Branson is just unstoppable making ventures
globally, his business expansion is like a Maya for other business holders. He has got more than 350
ventures since 1970 to 2012, how a person can make this possible, its an illusion to us.
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Compare & Contrast

Plugs of Conversation

Early Life

Entrepreneurship Type

Leadership Strategies

Business Operation Strategies

Management Strategies

Managing Human Resource

Business Expansion

Detail Conversation
Early Life
The boy Ted Turner, who was a passionate reader of heroes, was unsuccessful in playing but a
successful thinker and a moderate risk taker. He was rejected from Harvard. Ted worked from an
early age, learning every aspect of the outdoor advertising business, from maintenance to finance.
But Ted Turner's childhood was not all work. At age nine, he began sailing and soon developed a
passion for sailboat racing. By age 11, he was competing in the junior regatta of the Savannah Yacht
Club. At 12, Ted Turner was sent to the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Although he
balked at the school's discipline in his first years there, he later emerged as a leader among his
classmates, winning the Tennessee debating championship.
Richard Branson had a leadership quality from childhood while he was the captain of both football
and cricket team. He has also failed in two businesses in early age; one is Growing Christmas Tree
and Raising Australian Parrots. Richard, who struggled with dyslexia, had a hard time with
educational institutions. He nearly failed out of the all subjects at Scaitcliffe School, which he
attended until the age of 13. He has started his first business named Student Magazine when he
was dropped out form Stowe school at the age of 16.

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Entrepreneurship Type
Ted Turner is an American media tycoon, who was found himself in an infuriated family from
where he has turned his fathers One Million Dollars Billboard Company into Multi Billion Dollars
Media Business. As a 2nd Generation Entrepreneur, Turner was strongly ambitious, confident, strong
work ethic, self-starter and competitive and very much futuristic who is the founder of strongest
world media like WTBS, CNN, MGM, TNT and Cartoon Network.
Unlike Ted Turner, Richard Branson was a pure entrepreneur who has started his Virgin Group
from scratch. Branson has also failed in his early age, growing Christmas trees and raising Australian
parrots. It's the pure entrepreneur who often leads the way [Kirsner, 2004]. Branson has a strong
leadership quality, human resource management skills, risk taking ability and much more flexible to
adopt with the emerging business situations.

Leadership Strategies
Ted Turner has a charismatic leadership style. He inspires his people to follow him through his
business sense, strategy, and his overall desire to move forward. He is a nonconformist leader who
thinks of original ideas and looks to the future. Considered a Rebel in the business world, Tuner
regularly extends his business into areas in which he has no expertise. His businesses range from
cable companies, ownership of sports franchises, ranching, and restaurant chains, which
demonstrates his visionary leadership quality. Visionary leaders are especially noted for
transforming old mental maps or paradigms, and creating strategies that are outside the box of
conventional thought. [McLaughlin, 2001]
Richard Branson is the brightest example of leadership; he was the captain of both football &
cricket teams in his school. Branson has been identified as a Transformational Leader for his style of
leadership in which he has identified the needed changes, creates a vision to guide the change
through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitment of the members of the group. The
Transformational Leadership is concerned with improving the performance of every follower
individually to their fullest potential [Lang, 2011]. Branson enhances the motivation, morale, and
performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include connecting the follower's
sense of identity and self to the project and the collective identity of the organization; being a role
model for followers that inspires them and makes them interested.
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Business Operation Strategies

Ted Turner has the amazing ability to look forward the future and taking accurate chances. When
he started his fathers billboard company, he was just fuming for acquiring billboard companies &
radio stations by taking loans, but he was successful to create sufficient cash flow to pay the debt
payments. He saw the media as the strongest path to be the leader of the world. His business
flourished with the merger of Atlanta TV Station which made WTBS network. For the first time in
USA, Turner has started 24-hour news channel, most media partners were criticizing him, but he has
shown his ability to handle such a new way of business.
Richard Branson says he spends about a third of his time on trouble shooting, another third on new
projects, and the last third on promoting and talking about the businesses he has set up. Branson
always spends a lot of time on his business planning and promoting. He is very supportive to his
employees and he believes the way he has set up the business, can be run even without him. He has
built a trust on the executives that they can operate the business as their own. Branson also said, I
intervene as little as possible. Give them that, and they will give everything back.

Management Strategies
Ted Turner is a real risk minimizer, very hard working and an autocratic manager. Since 1970,
Turner has found a way through the improbabilities in telecommunications and sports, and with a
management style that is not to everyone`s liking or maybe to anyone`s liking [Daley, 1985]. It`s
management by walking around and it seems to work pretty well for Turner. Turner always
supervised his business by himself and has taken all decisions by his own judgment. And no doubt he
is an actual risk taker.
Richard Branson is a model for all managers of all time; he has shown his transformational
leadership by challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the
strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that enhance their
performance. Richard Branson has created autonomous companies under the Virgin umbrella,
precisely so that these companies can operate without him. Succession planning has been built in to
the very core of Virgin. We can understand his management strength by his comment in TIME100
conference, The Company must be set up so it can continue without me.

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Managing Human Resource & Motivation

Turner is very strict with his employees; he never let his managers to make some fun together.
Turner personally guided his employees to get the ultimate output. He used to take all of the business
decisions by himself.
Unlike Turner, Branson is very clear minded with his employees & Executives. He believes
employees must be happy with their work to give their best shoot. Branson always discusses the
business decisions with his employees; he takes the innovative ideas even from a low level worker.
Branson shares his personal contact with the employees and keeps all updates provided by
employees. He used to party together with his employees; he believes, this interaction motivates
employees and help to be spontaneous to the boss and also helps to gain more respect.

Business Expansion
The media tycoon Ted Turner just keeps expanding his business from 1970 to 2000. If we see the
business expansion line, there are several news, entertainment and cable networks- CNN, HLN,
CNN Airport Network, CNN International, TBS, TNT, TCM, truTV, NBA TV, WPCH-TV, Adult
Swim,

Boomerang,

Cartoon

Network

and

some

web

based

business

including-

TheSmokingGun.com, bleacherreport.com, thingx.com etc.

Richard Branson is unstoppable; he has started his successful business career with selling records
by mail order in 1970; until 2012 he keeps expanding his ventures. He has almost 350 companies
including, Virgin Recording Studio, Virgin Records record label, Kensington Roof Gardens, Virgin
Communications, Virgin Games, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin cargo, Virgin Holidays, Music
Box, Virgin Airship & Balloon Company, Virgin re-opens, Virgin Classics, Virgin Megastores,
Virgin Broadcasting, Virgin Publishing, Virgin Cola, Virgin Direct Personal Financial Services,
Virgin Brides, Virgin Trains, Virgin Cosmetics, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Energy, Virgin Cars, Virgin
Galactic, Virgin Fuel, Virgin Health Bank, Virgin Media, Virgin Digital, Virgin Money, Virgin
Healthcare, Virgin Racing etc.

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Conclusion
The prime movers and shakers are the entrepreneurs who created mighty companies, built great
fortunes innovated with new products, services, methods and markets. They make their own rules
which are one of their most important qualities.
After analyzing these two business rock stars career, there is no or very little similarities between
them. We know, entrepreneurs instinctively understand what combination of revenues and costs will
yield the greatest and fasting-growing businesses. The media mogul Ted Turner and the Business
guru Richard Branson is the true entrepreneur who reflects their own charisma in the way of doing
business. Turner has shown his strength and risk taking ability in his business combinations while
Branson has maintained a warm relationship with the employees and executives. As a second
generation entrepreneur Turner joined his family business and has grown as a media fair while the
school dropout Branson has built his Multi-Virgin business combination from scratch. As we know
the Visionary Leader, Turner has a high risk taking capability by which he has altered the definition
of media market. Unlike Turner, Branson has proved himself by setting goals and achieving the
target working with employees as a friend, which reflects his Transformational Leadership
characteristics. Although, their playground is different, they are playing a very distinguished role in
the world of business. Apart from that, these two heroes are working together for a long period of
time.
Some YOUTUBE VIDEO LINKS on Turner & Branson Meetings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPk_QzoJlI4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQCWr-xnU0Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5NX3sOACQA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIsuMS-Gzjs

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Bibliography
[1] S. Anil Kumar [2008] Entrepreneurship Development, 1st Edition, page 1, New Age
International.
[2] Ken Auletta [2004] Media Man: Ted Turner's Improbable Empire, New Edition, page 104,
Enterprise N. Y.
[3] Ted Turner [2010] Call Me Ted, Illustrated, Little Brown Book Group.
[4] Scott Kirsner [2004] Pure Entrepreneur, 2nd Edition
[5] Corinne McLaughlin [2001] Visionary Leadership, Press Conference.
[6] Michael Lang [2011] Transformational Leadership, 1st Edition, page 6, Grin Publishers.
[7] Steve Daley [1985] Ted Turner: A Maverick Trying To Live Up To His Ambition, US Magazine.
[8] http://mubbisherahmed.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/richard-bransons-ceo-virgin-managementstyle-and-cios/, visited at 11:05pm, 15th Feb.
[9] http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/tur0bio-1, visited at 11:15pm, 15th Feb.
[10] http://www.biography.com/people/richard-branson-9224520, visited at 11:30pm, 15th Feb.
[11] http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-branson-virgin-bloomberg-tv-game-changers-20115?op=1, visited at 07:15pm, 16th Feb.
[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Turner, visited at 07:45pm, 16th Feb.
[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson, visited at 8:30pm, 16th Feb.
[14] http://www.topmba.com/articles/general/richard-branson-extract-movers-and-shakers-people,
visited at 9:30pm, 16th Feb.
[15] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPk_QzoJlI4, watched at 11:50pm, 16th Feb.
[16] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQCWr-xnU0Y, watched at 12:10pm, 16th Feb.
[17] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5NX3sOACQA, watched at 12:30pm, 16th Feb.
[18] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIsuMS-Gzjs, watched at 12:45pm, 16th Feb.

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