Let My People Go Surfing

Maintaining a sense of urgency throughout a company is one of the most difficult challenges in business.

Computers don’t screw up; people screw up. Garbage in, garbage out.

didn’t have the time” or “I’ve been too busy” to answer your letter, to return your call, to write a weekly report, to clean my desk, whatever. These are dishonest excuses. What the person really means is that the job didn’t get done because it had the lowest priority, and in fact he may never return your call because he really doesn’t want to.

“I didn’t have the time” or “I’ve been too busy” to answer your letter, to return your call, to write a weekly report, to clean my desk, whatever. These are dishonest excuses. What the person really means is that the job didn’t get done because it had the lowest priority, and in fact he may never return your call because he really doesn’t want to.

“I didn’t have the time” or “I’ve been too busy” to answer your letter, to return your call, to write a weekly report, to clean my desk, whatever. These are dishonest excuses. What the person really means is that the job didn’t get done because it had the lowest priority, and in fact he may never return your call because he really doesn’t want to. People do what they want to do.

On the contrary, sales representatives, shop owners, salesclerks, and people in focus groups are usually not visionaries. They can tell you only what is happening now: what is in fashion, what the competition is doing, and what is selling. They are a good source of information if you want to be a player in the “cola wars,” but the information is too old if you want to have leading-edge products.

The entrepreneurial way is to immediately take a forward step and if that feels good, take another, if not, step back. Learn by doing, it is a faster process.

how important it is for the designer to work with the producer up front. This applies to every product. Building a house proceeds more smoothly and less expensively when the architect and contractor work out the real-world problems of a blueprint before the cement truck shows up to pour the foundation. Likewise, a rain jacket is better made when the producer understands from the start what the product needs to achieve and, conversely, when the designer understands what processes have to be followed and, finally, when everyone stays on the job and works as a team until it’s done.

concurrent approach brings all participants together at the beginning of the design phase.

That suffering taught us that taking extraordinary steps to set up the manufacturing correctly the first time is much cheaper than taking extraordinary steps down the line. If you’re committed to being the best, you’re going to have to take those extra steps at some point in production anyway. It might as well be at the start.

Anything that is built should be repairable and easily maintained.

A company’s public image can be very different from who they really are.

It’s easy to promote a game-changing product because there is no competition and there are great stories to tell. If we come out with a product that is difficult to promote, it’s probably because it’s no different than anyone else’s and we probably shouldn’t be making it.

profits happen “when you do everything else right.”

A quality presentation will always outsell “messiness.”

We believe that quality is no longer a luxury. It is sought out by the consumer, and it is expected.

only 14 percent of Americans were likely to contact a company about a problem. In Europe, the number was less than 8 percent, and in Japan only 4 percent.

only 14 percent of Americans were likely to contact a company about a problem. In Europe, the number was less than 8 percent, and in Japan only 4 percent. Correspondingly, other studies show that one-half to one-third of customers who have had problems will never purchase from that company again.

It’s easier for a company to make a profit when it’s growing at 10 percent or 15 percent a year. We have been profitable in years when we grew only a few percent by increasing the quality of our product, maximizing the efficiency of our operations, and living within our means.

In an age when change happens so quickly, any strategic plan must be updated at least every year.