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How to Be a Leader

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I’m not a Tony Robbins kind of guy, but I take a real interest when successful people speak. I have inspirational quotes all over my office. But for running a successful business, it takes more than just words— it takes actions.

Few people have combined words and deeds as well as Sir Richard Branson, who went from starting Student magazine in a church to boasting a personal net worth of more than $5 billion. And it’s no surprise that Branson has plenty of quotes that anyone can easily apply to their lives, especially business leaders

looking for advice on how to build a successful team. My favorite is, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

Here’s the bottom line: If you look after your staff, they will look after your business.

There are a lot of people out there, and lots of jobs. I can’t help but feel that good leaders inspire people, rather than threaten. Good leaders make employees happy, which brings out their best and creates a positive workplace that’s fun and energetic. In a time when many work to live, there are still people who actually live to work. I believe that most days, that’s me too. I’m betting that’s you, as well.

If I’m asked what one component is required for leaders to help their companies grow, it would most certainly be incentives. You know, performance rewards. Especially for salespeople who are inherently competitive. I think most people respond more favorably to the carrot than the stick.

Now I don’t hang on every word Branson says, but I did find an interesting blog post he wrote on the Virgin website. It’s one I think everyone who operates in the very risky online video industry should read (go2sm.com/branson). The blog post is—surprise—a collection of Branson’s favorite quotes about risk. Take a few minutes to read it. You won’t be sorry, and it’s short enough to remember and share. My personal favorite is, “If you don’t play, you can’t win,” from author Judith McNaught. So simple, yet it really hits home.

When the Streaming Media team puts together the Streaming Media 100 list each year, it’s a painstaking endeavor. Thankfully, we’ve been at it a very long time, so the changes in the industry, the innovations, and the real advances made by real companies don’t go unnoticed. This section, however, is where we ask leaders of the companies on this list if they would like to say a few words of their own. I hope you nd them inspirational, and that you can apply these words of wisdom not just to your business, but also to the rest of your life. 

Click here if you would you prefer a PDF of this complete section, as it appeared in the October 2016 Issue of Streaming Media magazine.

Special thanks for the contributions from: 1 Beyond, Inc., AJABeamr, Conviva, DVEO, Epiphan Video, EuclidIQ, EZDRM, Haivision, Kollective, Matrox, Panopto, TalkPoint, Tulix Systems, VisualOn, Wowza Media Systems.

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