...it's the same with business. If you focus on the goal and not the process, you inevitably compromise. Businessmen who focus on… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
I'm kind of like a samurai. They say if you want to be a samurai, you can't be afraid of dying, and… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
If you want to understand the entrepreneur, study the juvenile delinquent. The delinquent is saying with his actions, ‘This sucks, I’m going… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
I'm the company philosopher and the burr in the saddle. I'm the one who says we need to try harder, improve the… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
Hiring people with diverse backgrounds brings in a flexibility of thought and openness to new ways of doing things, as opposed to… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
Mainly, my job is to be on the outside and bring ideas into the company and forge change. Most people hate change—it’s… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
But I'm really trying to run this company like it is going to be here a hundred years from now. That's what's… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
We've teamed up with some Japanese companies to, basically by 2010, make all our clothing out of recycled and recyclable fibers. And… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
I live for the moment. I'm basically a Buddhist-type person. I'm just here right now, and I don't think about what's going… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
While our managers debated what steps to take to address the sales and cash-flow crisis, I began to lead week-long employee seminars… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
So all of these companies that are going for the big growth, if it continues for any length of time, will outlast… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
My favorite quote about entrepreneurship is that to understand an entrepreneur, you should study a juvenile delinquent. They're both saying: "This sucks… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
Yeah, leading an examined life, I always say, is a pain in the ass. It adds an element of complexity to business… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
I never wanted to be a businessman; I was a craftsman and good at working with my hands. At some point, I… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
Growth isn't central at all, because I'm trying to run this company as if it's going to be here a hundred years… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
...there's no such thing as sustainability. There are just levels of it. It's a process, not a real goal. All you can… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
When I die and go to hell, the devil is going to make me the marketing director for a cola company. I’ll… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
“So in 2013, Patagonia launched a venture capital fund to invest in environmentally and socially responsible for-profit start-ups. We wanted to apply… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
I took a dozen of our top managers to Argentina, to the windswept mountains of the real Patagonia, for a walkabout. In… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
What they don't realize is that I'm not in the business to make clothes. I'm not in the business to make more… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
We grow by letting the customer tell us. So when the customer tells us that they're frustrated, that they just got their… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
...it's always been difficult for us to lead an examined life as a corporation. I've always felt like a company has the… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
Who are businesses really responsible to? Their customers? Shareholders? Employees? We would argue that it’s none of the above. Fundamentally, businesses are… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
A real capitalist knows that $10 given today does a lot more good than $100 given 10 years from now. — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
Doing risk sports had taught me another important lesson: never exceed your limits. You push the envelope and you live for those moments when… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
But I'm really trying to run this company like it is going to be here a hundred years from now. That's what's important. — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
Who are businesses really responsible to? Their customers? Shareholders? Employees? We would argue that it’s none of the above. Fundamentally, businesses are responsible to… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
It's okay to be eccentric if you're rich; otherwise you're just crazy. — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
Evil doesn’t have to be an overt act; it can be merely the absence of good. If you have the ability, the resources, and… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
The whole purpose of climbing something like Everest is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain. But if you compromise the process… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
At Patagonia, making a profit is not the goal because the Zen master would say profits happen 'when you do everything else right'. — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
Everything we personally own that’s made, sold, shipped, stored, cleaned, and ultimately thrown away does some environmental harm every step of the way, harm… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
We've teamed up with some Japanese companies to, basically by 2010, make all our clothing out of recycled and recyclable fibers. And we're going… — Yvon Chouinard Copy Share Image
