Sunday, January 28, 2007

Patagonia and Clutter

I was watching Sunday Morning before church, and caught a special on Yvon Chouinard. He's the founder and CEO of outdoor activity elite company - Patagonia. I came to find out that he started making gear for himself, since he couldn't locate any good rock climbing pitons out on the market. (Lightbulb moment!) This is usually how it starts out via a need.

Anyways, he became very successful in marketing to extreme outdoorsmen. Similiarly, he runs his company in a free spirited fashion. He's even published a book about his management style called Let My People Go Surfing. [When the surf's up, you won't find Chouinard behind a desk. And he doesn't hog all the fun for himself. Patagonia has a company policy that if the surf is good during work hours and an employee is a serious surfer, he can go. "It's like, there's no waves today," he said. "You go surfing when there's surf. I don't care when you get your work done, as long as it gets done." ]

Interesting philosophy.

On a final note, I was struck by a quote that spoke to those who keep messy desks and say it's a sign of being a genius. As for me, disorganization inhibits my ability to focus, instead I want to declutter and file before I can really get to work.

"If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, then an empty desk is a sign of what?"

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