“Do what you know” is common career advice, but not everyone agrees it’s wise. Virgin Group co-founder and billionaire Richard Branson says it’s the worst career advice he’s ever received.
In fact, Branson broke through by doing the opposite, he discussed on a recent episode of the Work Life with Adam Grant podcast. “Most of my successful businesses were in industries where I had no industry experience at all,” he said.
Branson — who has a $2.6 billion net worth, according to Forbes — built his career and fortune from the Virgin Group, a venture capital and holding company. The conglomerate started over five decades ago, when Branson co-founded Virgin Records.
While Branson sold the music label for nearly $1 billion in 1992, the Virgin Group now owns companies in sectors ranging from airlines and hotels to media and spaceflight.
Grant, a Wharton organizational psychologist, said exploring new projects and fields is smart: People who stay in a single, familiar industry …