I finally read Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. It’s a fun read as a personal history of an outdoorsman who happens to start a great, socially responsible company.

Some of the business insights aren’t great — the best CEOs are the ones that have worked with their hands — but he certainly knows how to kept good employees: flexible hours, on-site childcare, good food. At times I wondered what Jim Collins would think — most likely he’d wonder where the data was.

I find it reassuring they plan further along than their next quarter’s earnings Instead, they look at Iroquois practice of considering the impact of their actions on the next seven generations. Even though people might not find it completely applicable as a business text, it would give industries a great ideal — to constantly examine their companies’ negative impact on the world and trying to lessen it. This led to their switch from using conventionally produced cotton to organic cotton and their use of fleece that has been produced from recycled soda bottles.

Other fun bits -

1. A bunch of anti-abortion groups picketted Patagonia and other companies for their support of Planned Parenthood. Yvon Chouinard tells them for every protester that shows up, they’ll donate $10 to Planned Parenthood. Protests soon stop.
2. Tom Brokaw regularly goes on outdoor trips with Chouinard.
3. Yvon Chouinard’s father’s at-home dental techniques (which were probably typical for that era) included a pair of pliers.

Tags: patagonia, business