About this podcast
“How to unleash the power of intrapreneurs like Joe? The key is to enable them to pursue their vision.”
This question, asked by Richard Branson back in 2010, feels more relevant now than ever before. Across the globe companies are increasingly giving autonomy and freedom to intrapreneurs to drive innovation from within. But what is it like to be an intrapreneur? Well, who better to ask than the original ‘Joe’ that Branson put so much faith in…our very own coach Joe Ferry.
Joe is a on courses such as Design Thinkers Bootcamp and Storytelling. He is an award-winning creative leader who Branson credits as a leading intrapreneur at Virgin Atlantic. As Branson notes in this interview from 2010: "none of the big, expensive seat design firms seemed able to solve the design problems posed by our specifications for our upper class cabin, but a young designer, Joe Ferry, volunteered (insistently) to give the project a go. We set him loose, and the herringbone-configured private sleeper suites that resulted from his 'outside the box' creativity put us years ahead of the pack and made for millions of very happy horizontal fliers."
This was just one thing from Joe's time at Virgin, where, during his 15 years there, he redefined the brand to focus on customer experience. On from Virgin, Joe has extensive experience working with brands within the airline, hospitality and luxury industries and is a visiting tutor for the Royal College of Art’s MA course in service design.
In this edition of the podcast we talk to Joe, and explore the role of intrapreneurs. This includes looking at what it's like to be a brand leader at organisations such as Virgin Atlantic, as well as directing design at international hotel groups IHG and Belmond, where local differences can make having a consistent brand experience more tricky. Joe also shares how you can develop your company’s brand and use storytelling to drive people to action and keep a vision on track. Interviewed by Sumant Bhatia, you can now listen to the podcast above.
