Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman--Including 10 More Years of Business Unusual
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-01 13:56:30
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Yvon Chouinard
- ISBN：0143109677
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Summary
In his long-awaited memoir， Yvon Chouinard-legendary climber， businessman， environmentalist， and founder of Patagonia， Inc。-shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth。 From his youth as the son of a French Canadian blacksmith to the thrilling， ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment， Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life-a book that will deeply affect entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike。
Reviews
Spavlovcik
，
This book makes me feel two things: 1） doom for the human species and 2） Patagonia is the model for what every single company on this earth should be。 I loved learning about the scrappy beginnings of Patagonia （and Yvon Chouinard’s unintended success as a businessman）。 Learning about all the philosophies and moral integrity the company make me feel like there is hope for other companies to exist like it too。 But yeah， at the end of the day， this book just intensified my disdain and contempt for This book makes me feel two things: 1） doom for the human species and 2） Patagonia is the model for what every single company on this earth should be。 I loved learning about the scrappy beginnings of Patagonia （and Yvon Chouinard’s unintended success as a businessman）。 Learning about all the philosophies and moral integrity the company make me feel like there is hope for other companies to exist like it too。 But yeah， at the end of the day， this book just intensified my disdain and contempt for our society at large。 Humans are truly the worst， and Chouinard doesn’t sugar coat it。 He reminds us that we are making our own habitat uninhabitable- due to global warming， deforestation， pesticides， gmos， making plastic， overfishing， mass consumerism/capitalism， etc。 Aaaand we’ve definitely gone too far。 There’s really no going back。 。。。more
James Mackey
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The narrative part was great。 I stopped reading once it got to his principles。 Narrative is a 4。5。
Rob De Bruyn
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Inspirerend！
Shayle Sabo
，
One of these days I’m going to own a business， and this book will be my guiding star。 Incredibly inspiring。
Carly Schafrik
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Pretty interesting as we think about sustainability and the future of our world。 Makes me want to do more good。
Sheila Dumlao
，
Well done YC。。。 I'm more keen on buying something from Patagonia。Today's consumer is smarter， more informed， more curious and some consumers， like myself， would like to know where their $ is going and not solely looking at the product but also want to know the story and values of the company behind the product。Prior to reading this book， I was already a supporter/customer of Patagonia and aware of its values and product quality。 What I enjoyed learning about was how YC started Patagonia and how Well done YC。。。 I'm more keen on buying something from Patagonia。Today's consumer is smarter， more informed， more curious and some consumers， like myself， would like to know where their $ is going and not solely looking at the product but also want to know the story and values of the company behind the product。Prior to reading this book， I was already a supporter/customer of Patagonia and aware of its values and product quality。 What I enjoyed learning about was how YC started Patagonia and how others could build a more "sustainable"， people and planet first business。I'd happily work for Patagonia :P 。。。more
Sarah
，
I hated this book。 I will save you some time and money， and suggest you go talk to your favourite boomer relative。 Let them tell you how computers are evil， we are all consumerists， we are destroying the earth， and you'll get the gist of this book。 This guy is so pretentious， and so clearly doesn't see his own privilege， it made this book hard to read because my eyes were so busy rolling。 I also find it pretty hypocritical to call yourself a "reluctant business man" （read capitalist who hates ca I hated this book。 I will save you some time and money， and suggest you go talk to your favourite boomer relative。 Let them tell you how computers are evil， we are all consumerists， we are destroying the earth， and you'll get the gist of this book。 This guy is so pretentious， and so clearly doesn't see his own privilege， it made this book hard to read because my eyes were so busy rolling。 I also find it pretty hypocritical to call yourself a "reluctant business man" （read capitalist who hates capitalism）， when you're very clearly a capitalist。 I get that Patagonia is an eco conscious company， they treat their employees well， and they do tons to help the environment。 But if you're making millions off of a clothing company， how can you not be anything other than a capitalist？ Hu， Yvon？I'll finish this review by saying I think this genre is just not for me。 I am not a huge fan of business books， and I'm not sure why I thought I would like this。 If you do like this genre， I thought the book was well written and it does offer a perspective I appreciate that goes against fast fashion and the general disposable culture that has developed around apparel。 Hence the 2 stars。 。。。more
Rhys
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"There is no business to be done on a dead planet。" - David Brower。 "There is no business to be done on a dead planet。" - David Brower。 。。。more
Chrissie
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About the history of Patagonia， but even more about their business philosophy and the state of the world's environment （which of course has only gotten worse since this was published in 2006）。 Really enjoyed the book and learned a lot from it。 About the history of Patagonia， but even more about their business philosophy and the state of the world's environment （which of course has only gotten worse since this was published in 2006）。 Really enjoyed the book and learned a lot from it。 。。。more
Hugues Le Gendre
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Un livre à la fois très inspirant et très déprimant。 L'histoire de Patagonia est assez fascinante et montre un chemin à suivre pour les entreprises。。。 Mais Chouinard lui-même pense que ce chemin n'est pas possible pour une entreprise cotée。。。 Et la description de l'évolution de l'écosystème naturel qu'il a lui-même observé peut mettre dans un ressenti compliqué。。。 Un livre à la fois très inspirant et très déprimant。 L'histoire de Patagonia est assez fascinante et montre un chemin à suivre pour les entreprises。。。 Mais Chouinard lui-même pense que ce chemin n'est pas possible pour une entreprise cotée。。。 Et la description de l'évolution de l'écosystème naturel qu'il a lui-même observé peut mettre dans un ressenti compliqué。。。 。。。more
Jamie Santiago
，
Patagonia is always the buzzword thrown around among any fashion / retail company that wants to be sustainable， but I honestly didn't know much about its history nor business model。This book is a textbook guide for anyone who wants to learn about the pioneer of sustainable business in the retail industry， entrepreneurship and environmental activism。 It wasn't only a "blueprint" of Patagonia's business model， but it's also a good read about successful leadership and for those who wants to develop Patagonia is always the buzzword thrown around among any fashion / retail company that wants to be sustainable， but I honestly didn't know much about its history nor business model。This book is a textbook guide for anyone who wants to learn about the pioneer of sustainable business in the retail industry， entrepreneurship and environmental activism。 It wasn't only a "blueprint" of Patagonia's business model， but it's also a good read about successful leadership and for those who wants to develop a business or career based on values or philosophies。 Equally educational and reflection-inducing。 。。。more
Pepijn van Dijk
，
Patagonia-oprichter Yvon Chouinard is een activistische miljardair， een rotsklimmende ondernemer en een CEO zonder kantoor。 Kortom， een bijzondere man。Zijn fascinerende levensverhaal en zakelijke succes roepen twee vragen op:- Als het echt zo is dat goede mensen geen vaste kantoortijden nodig hebben （let my people go surfing）， waarom stoppen we dan mensen nog steeds acht uur per dag in non-descripte， slecht geventileerde gebouwen？- Patagonia houdt compromisloos vast aan het adagium dat zijn prod Patagonia-oprichter Yvon Chouinard is een activistische miljardair， een rotsklimmende ondernemer en een CEO zonder kantoor。 Kortom， een bijzondere man。Zijn fascinerende levensverhaal en zakelijke succes roepen twee vragen op:- Als het echt zo is dat goede mensen geen vaste kantoortijden nodig hebben （let my people go surfing）， waarom stoppen we dan mensen nog steeds acht uur per dag in non-descripte， slecht geventileerde gebouwen？- Patagonia houdt compromisloos vast aan het adagium dat zijn producten zo min mogelijk schade aan de natuur aanrichten: waarom krijgt dit niet meer navolging？Mogelijke antwoorden:1。 De meeste mensen doen niet wat ze echt leuk vinden en hebben dus dwang nodig2。 De meeste mensen hebben moeite lange termijnbelangen op waarde te schattenChouinard is in de tachtig， wie durft het over te nemen？ 。。。more
Verneri
，
Absolutely perfect。
Paulina
，
I don’t know much about rock climbing， actually， I don’t know anything about it so the beginning really lost me。。 I thought I’d learn some new things but ultimately by the end of it I just wanted to get a jacket from Patagonia instead of being inspired or motivated about what I learned and bringing it to work so little disappointed I must admit
Emma Wenckowski
，
As far as a review of a company could go， I found this book an excellent read。 Learning how Patagonia came to be， I thought that Chouinard would be distraught over preppy kids buying his specially made clothes to simply show off at school。 And he is。 But he also know that those sales help unleash Patagonia’s true passions and live out its purpose in the world。 As Chouinard dives into his company’s philosophies， the read is subtly invited to reflect on their own philosophies: do I have a goal？ A As far as a review of a company could go， I found this book an excellent read。 Learning how Patagonia came to be， I thought that Chouinard would be distraught over preppy kids buying his specially made clothes to simply show off at school。 And he is。 But he also know that those sales help unleash Patagonia’s true passions and live out its purpose in the world。 As Chouinard dives into his company’s philosophies， the read is subtly invited to reflect on their own philosophies: do I have a goal？ A direction？ Do I set intentional boundaries on myself to promote the kind of excellence I want to create？ Chouinard lays out why and individual and any corporation should have a deeply rooted mission to guide their life。 。。。more
Andrew Schaaf
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Patagonia Propaganda to a point， but some good pieces on business philosophy
Brianna McDaid
，
4。5 stars。 I wish every company operated and had the external and long term outlook Patagonia has。 This book was inspiring and eye opening and I’d recommend to anyone who is concerned about the health of our planet。
Magdalena Ćwieluch
，
Very interesting read。 Very good observations about the environment！
Aehavs
，
This sat on my bookshelf a shameful amount of time。。。it is flat out excellent。
Tyler Kearns
，
Enjoyed the technical aspects and decision making processes。
Jessie Jwu
，
Educational， inspiring and really looking into the business philosophy of Patagonia
Yolanda Islas
，
Best environmental and business book。 Great and inspiring stories about the founder of Patagonia and his journey。
Belhal Karimi
，
Great reminder of environmental challenges and good consumption behaviour。
Nicole forttes
，
Lecciones para el cambio social y para clases de emprendimiento
Siddharth Krish
，
The book definitely made me think and consider the decisions we make in life everyday。 And to add， this is a great book for what it’s possible to do with a company like Patagonia
Jose
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Are you a global company or a company that does business internationally？
Sheri
，
I’ve always admired Patagonia’s business module and passion to help better the environment。 He has some great stories， but it does get a bit dry at times。
Luis Guilherme
，
No bullshit。 Straight to the point。 It's all about long-term thinking。 Just read it！ No bullshit。 Straight to the point。 It's all about long-term thinking。 Just read it！ 。。。more
Gurkan
，
“Who are businesses really responsible to？ Their cuatomers？ Shareholders？ Employees？ We would argue that it s none of the above。 Fundamentally， businesses are responsible to their resource base。 Without a healthy environment there are no shareholders， no employees， no customers， and no business。”Which company gives 10% of gross profit to the nonprofit environmental organisations？ It s a journey of a company and its owner who put product and sustainability at first and how this philosophy drove a “Who are businesses really responsible to？ Their cuatomers？ Shareholders？ Employees？ We would argue that it s none of the above。 Fundamentally， businesses are responsible to their resource base。 Without a healthy environment there are no shareholders， no employees， no customers， and no business。”Which company gives 10% of gross profit to the nonprofit environmental organisations？ It s a journey of a company and its owner who put product and sustainability at first and how this philosophy drove all other things around。 。。。more
Jarod
，