Inc – Holly Branson, Daughter of Virgin’s Founder, Merges Profit and Purpose in Book ‘WEconomy’

Logan Chierotti

February 15, 2018

Holly Branson, the daughter of Virgin founder Richard Branson, has written a book focused on the benefits of running a purpose-driven business.

Holly Branson, The daughter of Sir Richard Branson, has written a book called WEconomy to inspire the next generation of social entrepreneurs.

Holly Branson works with Virgin Group alongside a team tasked with driving forward the companies’ business strategy as a force for good. Holly co-authored WEconomy with Marc and Craig Kielburger, brothers and founders of WE, a global movement that brings people together and gives them tools to change the world.

On a LinkedIn post describing the project, Holly said, “WEconomy is a collection of stories and learning around the importance of embedding purpose at the core of business.”

The book will share stories from megastars like Oprah Winfrey, Magic Johnson, and Holly’s father, Richard Branson, to show how it’s possible to make the world a better place through purposeful – and successful – business strategies. The book’s authors also share their personal experiences with purpose-driven business, from both the nonprofit and social entrepreneurship sectors.

To complete the book, Holly relied on some business advice for dear old Dad and integrated the mindset of, “saying yes first and learning how to do it later.” Although Holly had never written a book before, WEconomy has already received some stunning recommendations from business leaders such as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Unilever CEO Paul Polman, and Spanx Founder Sara Blakely.

With the rise of social entrepreneurship and the growing demand for more meaning in our work lives, WEcononmy is primed to find a base of interested readers.

And with such an intense culture of work in modern society, this book couldn’t be coming at a more relevant time. Today, the average person will spend approximately 90,000 hours working during their lifetime. Or, looking at this figure in a different way, you will spend approximately one-third of your life at work. That’s a lot of time.

Although we are still a work-driven society, this generation also realizes that there should be a purpose in work. Employees today want to live and work in alignment with their broader social values. They want to feel that hours spent at work have meaning beyond the weight of a personal paycheck they receive.

In WEconomy, Branson suggests that having a purpose-driven business is “key to increasing productivity and retaining top performers.” Findings like these are great news for the business community.

The 21st century has already birthed some of the most innovative examples of social entrepreneurship. However, with each additional business case that points to the practicality of purpose-driven business, this trend will continue to increase.