Jul 18, 2018
In this episode, Jim and Jan
welcome Vincent Stanley, Co-Author of The Responsible Company,
visiting Fellow at the Yale Center
for Business and the Environment, and Director of Philosophy /
Chief Storyteller at Patagonia. Vincent shares the evolution
of both product design and company leadership since his start at
Patagonia in 1973, and the ways they integrate new employees with
existing culture. He speaks to what makes Patagonia’s story unique
and authentic, the burdens of being responsible, and offers advice
to those looking to be change agents and storytellers within their
own community. Vincent believes that one of the most important
responsibilities we have is the right to be responsible.
Key Takeaways
[2:39] Vincent has been at
Patagonia on and off since 1973, and is the nephew of the founder,
Yvon Chouinard. He and his uncle co-wrote
The Responsible
Company with two
different yet powerful intentions. Yvon wanted to create something
practical for people who are motivated to see how Patagonia
operated as a business over the past several decades. Vincent’s
motivation was to come to an understanding the core culture. These
responsibilities encompassed much of what we saw was important in
the early 1960’s.
[3:35] Vincent discusses how
people are yearning for full agency throughout their day. He
discusses the traditional 1960’s corporate model where businesses
focused both on the financial health and bottom line of a company,
and also the strong commitment to honor the employees, customers
and community of which they serve. Patagonia took this and added in
environment, as this area has been compromised immensely by
population and economy growth over the past several
decades.
[6:52] When Vincent started work
in the 1970’s, the population was now 3.8 Billion. It is now
doubled, with economic activity up 500%. This has put tremendous
pressure on economic and social systems, so Patagonia aims to do
their part to stay responsible to traditional stakeholders, and our
original CEO, nature.
[7:11] Leadership at the top is
important, but there must also be a strong middle management with a
sense of agency built into everyone’s role. The more coworkers that
feel a kinship and responsibility to help others in the company,
the easier it is to add new people while helping current ones
expand their skills.
[11:35] Vincent’s discusses what
the title of Chief Storyteller means to him, and Patagonia as a
company. He helped write some of the early catalogs and business
philosophies, so he pulls from the foundation of their core values
and creates the story to reflect their authentic meaning in today’s
world. Vincent feels as though Patagonia’s success in
its ability to be a model for other companies, is that their
stories are based in reality and not to create spin. Patagonia’s
story is complex, however it’s important for the story to
consistently build credibility and trust with employees, customers
and suppliers.
[13:23] There are many fibers
woven into Patagonia’s story. One being their position as an
outdoor gear company, with products designed for technical
performance. Then, the origin story of the company coming out of
climbing equipment, and their community activism; donating 1% of
sales to environmental causes; and use of catalogs and websites to
educate the general public.
[14:57] Vincent shares a
story on when they changed to organic cotton, and how they took
steps that entailed a financial risk in order to do the “right
thing”. It was a huge move, as they broke their connection to
the global supply chain. They took providing an explanation to
everyone involved very seriously, and bussed 40 people in at a time
from all different departments to cotton fields. Here they could
see the difference between conventional cotton and organic cotton,
and now the reason for the change went from abstract to tangible.
They invested both time and money in explaining why the change, and
it paid off in dividends.
[20:20] One of Vincent’s key
tenets of success is maintaining the impulse towards improvement.
Two of the dirtiest industries are apparel and agriculture, and he
sees this as an opportunity to make a difference.
[22:47] Many associate Patagonia
as a super responsible brand, but Jim and Jan note that how well
their gear actually performs and holds up while used for exactly
what it was meant to do. Patagonia also makes a lot gear for the
Military.
[25:55] Vincent describes their
different environmental campaigns, and how they started small in
the 1980’s by giving 1% to organizations that were respected
locally but not getting a lot of coverage. He talks about the need
to restore agricultural soil to health, and what Patagonia is doing
about it.
[35:21] There is a strong sense
of culture and permission to be active at Patagonia. The
employees are outdoor enthusiasts and it wouldn’t be out of the
ordinary for a group to take a hike or bike ride in the middle of
their work day.
[38:28] Vincent’s advice is to
give what you can from the beginning, and start right away, no
matter how small the amount. It’s about creating a chain of
positive effects, and even a small gesture of service can ripple
out and affect others. Vincent feels in business there is sometimes
too much of a focus on the politics, rather than looking inward to
see what can do to serve.
[41:43] Vincent’s future focus
is based on how they can work with other parts in the world to
create more change globally, and also in their own community on a
regional basis.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/patagonia
Website: http://www.vincentstanley.com/
The Responsible
Company
Wes Jackson
Patagonia Provisions
Quotable Quotes
- “The
most important right we have, is the right to be responsible.” -
Gerald Amos
- “Our
company has a responsibility to traditional stakeholders, and
nature as well.”
- “We
are careful to use our stories to express the core values of our
company.”
- “Don’t craft your story to imitate the
competitor who is 20% bigger than you. Every business is
different.”
- “It
is important to have an impulse towards improvement.”
- “Start giving from the first day.”
- “Whatever your business is should solve a
problem, but it should also address environmental and social
problems at the same time.”
- Every
time you get one action that addresses 3 or 4 problems, you are
hitting the bullseye and creating real change.
Let My People Go
Surfing
Field Museum Chicago