Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard
“The Lee Iacoccas, Donald Trumps, and Jack Welches of the business world
are heroes to no one except other businessmen with similar values. I wanted to
be a fur trapper when I grew up.”
These are the first words in the memoir of Yvon Chouinard, the founder and owner
of the outdoor clothing and gear company Patagonia. His visionary business strategy,
coupled with his atypical, yet strong, values cause him to stand out from other business
leaders.
Chouinard is in big demand on the speaking circuit these days for two reasons: Patagonia’s
successful history and the unusual way his environmental principles have shaped Patagonia’s
direction. He offers a classic example of a leader whose convictions provide him
with the commanding presence we all seek. He speaks with a confidence that cannot
be feigned.
Patagonia is not a mega company. With $270 million in 2006 revenues, it is a fraction
of the size of most of its major competitors. Even so, Chouinard is not obsessed
with growth at any cost. In fact, he has repeatedly chosen not to compromise his
values for the sake of profit and growth. “Every time we’ve elected
to do the right thing, even when it costs twice as much to do it that way, it’s
turned out to be more profitable,” he wrote in his memoir Let My People
Go Surfing, an appropriately titled book for an executive who has the daily
surf report posted above the reception desk in the company’s Ventura, Calif.,
headquarters.
Guided by a strong moral compass, Chouinard refused to cave in to the sometimes
soul-mortgaging pursuit of profit. Starting in the 1970s, he began looking to improve
the way Patagonia’s clothes were made, often making seemingly counterintuitive
decisions. Consider, for example, Patagonia’s decision on the use of cotton.
In 1994, more than 20 percent of Patagonia’s sales were from cotton products.
But conventionally-grown cotton is an environmentalist’s worst nightmare due
to the use of extremely harmful pesticides.
Chouinard mandated that Patagonia change to organically- grown cotton. He gave his
managers less than two years to make a complete change at a time when organic cotton
cost approximately twice as much as conventionally-grown cotton. Considering Patagonia’s
cotton sales, many observers predicted it would be organizational suicide. Despite
pushback internally and externally, Chouinard held steadfast, threatening that Patagonia
would never use cotton again if the change was not made.
The move paid off. Sales of Patagonia cotton products rose 25 percent. Patagonia’s
leadership inspired a broader market shift towards organically-grown cotton. Demand
grew, production improved and prices dropped, thereby causing even more demand. Other
companies soon followed Patagonia’s lead — in 2006 Wal-Mart became the
world’s largest purchaser of organic cotton.
In short, Chouinard’s dedication to the environment drives nearly every aspect
of the way he runs his business. He does not pursue profit for profit’s sake,
and he is never afraid to do the right thing, even if it costs a great deal more
to do so. He proved that a company can thrive by having a voice and a strong belief
system.
Why am I taking you through this discussion? The answer is simple. The main article
in this issue of The Beacon discusses presence and how to command a room
when you stand up to speak. There is no better way to compel your audience to listen
to you than to display the confidence that can only come from absolute and unwavering
conviction.
• Dean M. Brenner
 Beacon Issue -
May 2007
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