Today everyone knows the name Patagonia and on a cold winter day you can't go too far without seeing the familiar logo on someone's sweater or jacket. But nearly 50 years ago, the global company was just we'd today call a side hustle--it's founder, Yvon Chouinard, focused on making better rock climbing gear that he started selling to enable his hobby and passion. The memoir cum business blueprint 's prophetic title speaks to Yvon's quest for freedom as he sought (and continues to seek) to marry a love of the outdoor life with a way (i.e., a business) to fund and preserve that same environment.
Looking for book ideas? Check out our 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 reading lists!
Key Quotes and Takeaways:21 “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.” French aviator Antoine de Sainte-Exupery
42 “I’ve always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession and degree of specialization that doesn’t appeal to me. Once I reach that 80 percent level I like to go off and do something totally different; that probably explains the diversity of the Patagonia product line–and why our versatile, multifaceted clothes are the most successful. “
47 “Sometimes good ideas spring from having a sense of where you want to go, of having a vision of the next level of products.”
112 “Maintaining a sense of urgency throughout a company is one of the most difficult challenges in business.” This particularly applies when your company/unit is depending on others who may not have that same sense of urgency or dedication. Impossible is the lamest of excuses.
114 Concurrent approach to design means bringing all the participants at the beginning of the design phase–it’s at this 10% of the costs are spent but coming out of it 90% of the total costs are permanently committed–it’s essential that you get it right at the onset.
118 The idea of full partnership in business means all partners and suppliers are committed to the same standards.
158 Culture of Patagonia rewards the ensemble player and doesn’t look for “stars”
172-3 “The most important mandate for a manager in a dynamic company is to instigate change…but change doesn’t happen without stress, and it can happen quickly.”
202 “You are what do, not what you say you are.”
208 It was activist John Muir who convinced Teddy Roosevelt.
210-11 Patagonia supports Planned Parenthood
