—Systemic change begins with personal change—
Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of The Responsible Company, has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller.
Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company’s interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company’s Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara. Follow Vincent on Facebook.
In The Responsible Company:What We've Learned From Patagonia's First 40 Years, Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia, and Vincent Stanley, co-editor of its Footprint Chronicles, draw on their 40 years' experience at Patagonia---and knowledge of current efforts by other companies---to articulate the elements of responsible business for our time.
For such a successful man, Vincent Stanley is as down to earth as they come. He returns to discuss his experience disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with his values, especially his words. People seem to believe that technology saves time or gives us attention despite experience, research, and headlines to the contrary. Vincent shares that disconnecting actually created more time for him. He felt less consumed and the need to be doing multiple things at one time truly diminished. We all know it will happen. The experience of doing it helps more than talking or reading about it. Vincent says that the experience of this challenge was “wonderful†-- something he wanted to do before we met because this is what connects with his values. Isn’t it funny how “disconnecting†allows us to “connect? We dive deeper in the reasons behind Patagonia suing the government, why it was natural and normal for them, not PR. We discuss how doing something that stands true to your values and spending time and resources there is much more valuable than plastering your images everywhere. Does Vincent take on a second challenge? I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how he’s viewed his first challenge and how he’s looking to level that up. (Note since I hosted him at my place, there's background noise of Manhattan.) Read the transcript.
Vincent shares several stories of Patagonia growing from a few dedicated outdoors people to discovering business growth, the usual ways businesses abandon values besides profit, and their not accepting that abdication of responsibility. The company grew financially, its employees grew emotionally and socially, and its community grew numerically. If you think you're alone in wanting to act, Vincent and Patagonia go farther. Vincent shares how the company made difficult decisions to protect the environment, its employees, its suppliers, their employees, and so on---decisions most people think would hurt companies financially---but didn't. As someone who dislikes many major corporations for what many consider standard business practices, I find in Patagonia and its decision-makers role models we can learn from. Having been there from nearly the start, Vincent gives an inside view. His personal challenge also differs from many others', but I expect you'll like it. Mechanically simple, I bet he'll find it insidiously difficult and incredibly rewarding. Read the transcript.