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Work can be fun AND profitable

by Steven

When I applied to colleges, I had to write essays on people who inspired me. I wrote about historical figures, such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, because I genuinely admired their principles. However, I didn't really feel such a personal connection with these great men because they are almost like gods in our society -- not real human beings.

Yvon Chouinard's book "Let my people go surfing" finally changed that. He is an entrepreneur who has high aspirations and sees business as a means to change the world.

Chouinard began his life as a young climber whose primary goal in life was to surf in the winter and spend his summers in Yosemite. His goal was to work as little as he could at a "real job" so he could focus on his true passion: climbing. Out of this work/life philosophy, he ended up starting a clothing company for outdoor sports that grew into a multi-million dollar organization. His company, Patagonia, believes that work needs to be fun in order to be a successful endeavor, and that it should be conducted in a way that is beneficial to employees and the environment.

He believes that in order for an individual to claim a love for wild and beautiful places, then one must participate in the fight to save them, as well as help reverse the steep decline in the overall environmental health of the planet. Patagonia donates time, services and at least 1% of its sales to hundreds of grassroots environmental groups all over the world.

Patagonians have been pioneers in designing products with the least possible environmental impact. The company uses recycled polyester in many of its clothes, and only organic, rather than pesticide-intensive, cotton.

He treats his employees with respect, and recognizes that they have lives that need flexibility. Patagonia has 300 employees at its headquarters, in Ventura, and one hundred children in its on-site development center. Chouinard believes that work/family balance is essentia, so his company provides at least sixty days of paid maternity/paternity leave. Patagonia is consistently one of the "top 100 firms to work for" and Chouinard questions why anyone would run a company that is "hard" to work for.

Chouinard demonstrates to corporate America that profit is not the goal. As he puts it, "the Zen master would say that profit happens when you do the right thing."

I have been out of college for many years now, but it took me this long to find a person whom I aspire to be like. Yvon Chouinard understands what is "right," and has made it his mission to run his company that way -- that's what I aim to do at kasina.