Here's The Revolutionary Management Philosophy That Prompted Richard Branson To Give Virgin Employees Unlimited Vacation...

Associated PressRichard Branson just announced that Virgin is eliminating the concept of "vacation days."

Henceforth, Virgin employees will be able to take as much vacation as they want.

In adopting this policy, Virgin is following in the footsteps of Netflix, which pioneered this concept about a decade ago. The policy was initially met with incredulity and trepidation at other companies. People thought it would lead to one of two extremes - either workplaces in which no one ever came to work... or workplaces in which no one ever took vacation, because of concerns that their bosses and colleagues would consider them slackers if they didn't voluntarily work 365 days a year.

Over time, however, the policy-which is really more of a culture and management philosophy-gained traction in the tech industry. At our company, Business Insider, we had some concerns about it. But, on balance, we liked it. So, we tried it. And, despite some issues and questions, it has been a big success.

Given that a major company outside the tech industry is now adopting the policy, it's worth reviewing the revolutionary management presentation that spawned it.