Let my people go surfing
by Yvon Chouinard · first published 2005
78% recommend20% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Patagonia founder's easy, entertaining account of building a company around environmental values, limiting growth, and running it for the long term; suits founders wanting an alternative to growth-at-all-costs.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The long-awaited memoir/manifesto from legendary climber, businessman, and environmentalist Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of one of the world's most inspiring companies, Patagonia, Inc.Whether you care about adventure sports, the fate of the natural world, or pure brand maintenance and business success, Patagonia, Inc. is one of the earth's most interesting and inspiring companies. For almost forty years, its reputation for unsurpassed high quality, maverick innovation, and long-term environmental responsibility has put it in a class by itself. And everything flows from Patagonia's founder
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If you find this interesting, Chouinard's story of the history of patagonia, "Let my people go surfing," is a quick and interesting read on how he built patagonia, while trying to stick to his beliefs about the environment.
on “ The 1972 Chouinard Catalog that changed a business – and climbing – forever” ↗Reading for half an hour before going to sleep really helps me clear my mind after a long day's work. Try to do it every evening. Currently reading: Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman - Yvon Chouinard (founder of Patagonia) - traces his journey from lifestyle business to super fast growth. Some excellent thoughts on leadership in there. Also…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading right now?” ↗…pledge in a variety of ways. At any rate. That's roughly what I've been noodling around with regard to this problem. [1] http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/ and I highly recommend Yvon Chouinard's book Let My People Go Surfing, which was where I was first exposed to the idea http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/let-my-people-go-surfing...
on “Side projects” ↗Patagonia are absolute pioneers of sustainable clothing, and significantly pushed the industry in the right direction. Please spend 30 seconds on their corporate website, or go read Let my people go surfing before making unsustaniated critiques.
on “Patagonia Stops Selling Vests To Some Finance Firms” ↗Recommendation to read Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman: https://www.amazon.com/Let-People-Surfing-Education-Business... Review: https://www-editor.npr.org/books/titles/138392461/let-my-peo...
on “Goldman Sachs, Patagonia, and the Mysteries of “Business Casual”” ↗"Made in America" by Sam Walton turned out to be an unexpectedly good read. "Let my people go surfing" by Yvon Chouinard (climber and founder of Patagonia) is an all-time favorite.
on “Ask HN: What are some good biographies to read?” ↗Let my people go surfing -- Yvon Chouinard http://amzn.com/1594200726 The seven day weekend -- Ricardo Semler http://amzn.com/1591840260 Getting Real http://gettingreal.37signals.com/ -- Also, help flesh out the list of…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite management books?” ↗…the above in reverse! Then write a book on what you did. The best book I read on entrepreneurship was by Yvon Chouinard who started Patagonia. Don't remember the title, but I'm fairly sure it wasn't Let My People go Surfing since I read it over 10 years ago.
on “Ask HN: The Best Books to Keep the Entrepreneurial Mindset?” ↗If you're interested in how this works in practise, I recommend reading "Let My People Go Surfing" by Yvon Chouinard, who founded Patagonia, which is run along these lines.
on “Steve Jobs and the Purpose of the Corporation ” ↗…everything from their videos to their site design just screams 'rad'. We're really stoked to build a company the way we want to.. making the decisions we feel are right. Yvon Chouinard wrote a book called 'Let My People Go Surfing' that was really inspirational to us.
on “HN saved us millions; we need to change our name” ↗Chouinard's book Let My People Go Surfing is an excellent overview of the history and philosophy of Patagonia, as well Chouinard's thoughts on innovation. I would highly recommend it to any entrepreneur. I think Patagonia is growing primarily…
on “The Patagonia Clothing Company’s Anti-Growth Strategy” ↗Check out "Let My People Go Surfing", Chouinard's business text, for a recounting of Patagonia's history. Their history is also recounted here: http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=3351
on “The Patagonia Clothing Company’s Anti-Growth Strategy” ↗…supply chain and were surprised to find that cotton--not nylon or polyester--did the most environmental harm because of the heavy use of pesticides. Their founder's book is an entertaining business book: Let My People Go Surfing, by Yvon Chouinard.
on “Repair is a Radical Act” ↗…nonprofits is very outcome focused. If you run a business I recommend joining 1% For The Planet: https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/ A lot of details on environmentalism are described in Chouinard's Let My People Go Surfing, which I highly recommend reading. It is a great book about quality, technology, supply chain, and ethics in business.
on “Patagonia and The North Face” ↗Only after reading "Let my People go surfing" by Yvon Chouinard I realized the potential scale of this issue. I now think twice before buying clothes and I'm willing to pay extra for better quality that will last me longer. Anyone has an idea what…
on “The dirty industry of fast fashion is causing an environmental “emergency”” ↗