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At Patagonia, making a profit is not the goal because the Zen master would say profits happen 'when you do everything else right'.
Yvon Chouinard
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The focus should be on doing things correctly, and profits will naturally follow.

This quote by Yvon Chouinard highlights the philosophy of prioritizing values and ethical practices over the mere pursuit of profit. It suggests that when an organization or individual consistently strives for excellence and acts responsibly, financial success will come as a byproduct rather than the primary objective.

Themes

ProfitValuesSuccessEthicsBusiness

In practice

Example use cases

In a business seminar discussing sustainable practices.

More from Yvon Chouinard

There's no difference between a pessimist who says, "Oh it's hopeless, so don't bother doing anything." and an optimist who says, "Don't bother doing anything, it's going to turn out fine anyways. Either way, nothing happens."
Yvon ChouinardRead
I think risk is important. I don't care if it's a great financial risk or a physical risk. You only get out of something what you put into it and the fact that you are willing to risk something means that you are going to get a lot more out of it.
Yvon ChouinardRead
The solution may be for a lot of the world's problems is to turn around and take a forward step. You can't just keep trying to make a flawed system work.
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We're a part of nature. As we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves. It's a selfish thing to want to protect nature.
Yvon ChouinardRead
Evil doesn’t have to be an overt act; it can be merely the absence of good. If you have the ability, the resources, and the opportunity to do good and you do nothing, that can be evil.
Yvon ChouinardRead
The future of Yosemite climbing lies not in Yosemite, but in using the new techniques in the great granite ranges of the world.
Yvon ChouinardRead

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