In 1989, Bob Williams co-founded the home furnishings company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams with Mitchell Gold, serving for decades as its head of design. He also co-authored design books reflecting the brand's aesthetic, including The Comfortable Home and Who We Are.
We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least
2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured.
There is too little of Bob Williams on measured tape to publish a rate.
This says nothing about how they speak.
Bob Williams: Furniture businesses rely on rare super-winners to fund operations
“And out of those winners, you get one or two that become a super winner, and that's really how you build your business. That'll help fund everything else.”
Bob WilliamsMar 28, 2022▶ 44:21Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
Insight
Bob Williams: Chairs are 360-degree functional sculptures floating in rooms
“And one of the things I realized early on was that a chair actually, you know, will float in the middle of the room. So people see it not only from the front and the side, but also from the back. It actually is a sculpture that people sit on.”
Bob WilliamsMar 28, 2022▶ 43:55Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
Disclosure
Bob Williams: Nervous breakdown over identity prompted pivot to design school
“I remember after graduating high school and going off to college, basically having a nervous breakdown. And Being hospitalized for a week because of the stress of all this, and that was tough, but that was also a time when I looked at my life and it's like, al…”
Bob WilliamsMar 28, 2022▶ 10:16Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Bob Williams: Fully Upholstered Chairs Were Exclusively High-End in 1989
“Well, and these were also fully upholstered chairs. Which were more of a designer look. So you would see them at a higher price point, but they weren't necessarily for the mass consumer. And if you did, they were still expensive.”
Bob WilliamsMar 28, 2022▶ 31:10Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Williams: Co-founders ended romantic relationship on New Year's Day post-9/11
“We broke up on New Year's Day after nine 11.”
Bob WilliamsMar 28, 2022▶ 50:00Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
Disclosure
Bob Williams chose an ad agency in Hickory because they had computers
“It's so funny, because this was right before computers became popular, and the reason why I picked this agency over the other agency was they had computers.”
Bob WilliamsMar 28, 2022▶ 20:05Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
The other half of the tape: Bob Williams's own voice is left out of every number here.
4 statements on the record name them. every mention, with the transcript →
Statements about Bob Williams, by other people (4)
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Gold: Lane Furniture forced him to hide his sexual orientation
“They had moved me down to North Carolina, and it became very obvious to me that I couldn't be out. I couldn't bring Bob with me to functions of the company functions when they had spouses, and their whole way of operating was just not honest, is the best way I…”
Mitchell GoldMar 28, 2022▶ 22:51Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Gold: Cutting retail accounts from 72 to 48 grew business 48%
“Bob and I sat down, and we went through the 72 customers that we had, and we dropped it to 48, and we said, these 48 we're going to be able now to give better service to. I swear this number is true. In that year, our business increased 48%.”
Mitchell GoldMar 28, 2022▶ 48:41Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
Disclosure
Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams bought out their factory for $850k
“So we came up with buying them out for 850,000 dollars to be paid over five years at eight percent.”
Mitchell GoldMar 28, 2022▶ 41:52Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
Insight
Gold: Presenting Products Without a Sales Agenda Is Uniquely Effective
“There's something special about having somebody talk about the product who doesn't have this agenda as a salesperson.”
Mitchell GoldMar 28, 2022▶ 47:27Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings: Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
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