Let my people go surfing

7th October 2007

I keep meaning to write a long post about this book by Yvon Chouinard, founder of the outdoor firm Patagonia. Their mission statement sums up their approach:

Build the best product, do no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

One of the reviews on Amazon sums it up: “Who would’ve thought you could read a book that inspires you to climb, surf, make obscure pieces of ironmongery, design clothes and run a company - all in one slim volume.”

One interesting question is whether they would have been able to do what they’ve done if they had been a public company. Chouinard thinks not.