Let my people go surfing
By Yvon Chouinard
Let my people go surfing is the story of “the education of a reluctant businessman” in his quest to build the Patagonia brand.
“If you wait for the customer to tell you what to do, you’re too late. My customer’s didn’t want a Model T, they wanted a faster horse”
Henry Ford
The design principle of Patagonia
Yvon describes how the guiding principle of design stemmed from Antoine de Saint-Expurery the French aviator
Have you ever thought, not only about the airplane but whatever man builds, that all of man’s industrial efforts, all his computations and calculations, all the nights spent working over drafts and blue prints, invariable cumulative in the production of a thing whose sole and guiding principle is the ultimate principle of simplicity….In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness.
Avoiding import duty
Yvon describes how to avoid import duty when sending climbing pistons to Scotland they soaked the metal in barrels of vinegar and water for days and the imported them as scrap metal. Upon receipt, the Scottish account would oil and polish up the pistons for re-sell.
Product Repairs & Re-Sell
Patagonia has the largest garment repaid facility in North America with an archive of every fabric and trim that they have ever used. They event have videos online so customers can repair things themselves.
Patagonia ever has an Worn Wear program in which they will purchase used Patagonia products from customers for store credit and then re-sell the re-worn Patagonia products.
Flexible Working
All employees at Patagonia have the Let my people go surfing flextime policy. In which they can choose their working hours.
“Remember, work has to be fun. We value employees who live rich and rounded lives. We run a flexible workplace, and we have ever since we were a blacksmith shop that shut down whenever the waves were six feet, hot and glassy. Our policy has always allowed employees to work flexible hours, as long as the work gets done with no negative impacts on others. A serious surfer doesn’t plan to go surfing next Tuesday at two o’clock. You go surfing when there are waves and the tide and wind are right.”
It is also a lot easier to teach people who are outdoor enthusiasts about business than it is to teach a business person about being passionate about the outdoors.
On Entrepreneurship
“One of my favourite sayings about entrepreneurship is: If you want to understand the entrepreneur, study the juvenile delinquent. The delinquent is saying with his actions, ‘This sucks I’m going to do my own thing.’ Since I had never wanted to be a businessman, I needed a few good reasons to be one. One thing I did not want to change, even if it got serious: Work had to be enjoyable on a daily basis. We all had to come to work on the balls of our feet and go up the stairs two steps at a time. We needed to be surrounded by friends who could dress whatever way they wanted, even be barefoot. We all needed to have flexitime to surf the waves when they were good or ski the powder after a big snowstorm, or stay home and take care of a sick child. We needed to blur that distinction between work and play and family.
