Chouinard argues immediate iterative steps beat overthinking plans beforehand
Yvon Chouinard · Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016) · Dec 25, 2017 · at 6:13
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard discusses his intuitive, hands-on approach to launching new product lines despite lacking formal industry training.
0:00 / 0:17exact quote · 17.5s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“If I get an idea, I immediately take a step forward and see how that feels. If it feels good, I take another step. If it feels bad, I step back. You know, it's different than people with a scientific view where they think everything out to the nth degree before they make a move. So I learned by just doing.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Yvon Chouinard
Chouinard says relying on customer feedback is too late for true innovation
“If you wait for the customer to tell you what to do, you're too late. So we were our own customer, and I think that was the secret of coming out with products that a lot of the products people didn't even know they wanted or needed.”
Chouinard claims the faster a business grows, the faster it dies
“And in fact, that's why the faster a business grows, the faster it dies also.”
Retrofitting radical workplace flexibility into existing companies is destined to fail
“I've had other companies come to me and say, oh, I love that idea. I think I'll institute it in my company. I say, forget it. You'll fail. Because you have to start with the very first person you hire.”
Copying Patagonia's flexible work policy fails without early cultural buy-in
“And you know, I've had other companies come to me and say, oh, I love that idea. I think I'll institute it in my company. I say, forget it. You'll fail. Because you have to start with the very first person you hire.”