My Passion
Read to Lead
As told to Joel Weber
May 3, 2008 - 7:53:46 PM
The founder of a $100-million-a-year brand shares the books that have made him a better businessman
If there's one real secret to my success, it's this: I love
books. I'm the CEO and founder of Icebreaker, an outdoor-apparel
company based in New Zealand. We make all of our clothing out of pure
merino wool. In the past 14 years, I've managed to spin this amazing
natural fiber—merino is much finer and lighter than other wool, and it
doesn't itch—into a brand sold in 30 countries. I've amassed so many
books in that time that I had to build a home library to shelve them.
I'm always learning because I'm always reading—about nature,
innovation, spirituality, design, leadership, travel, and history. More
than once I've ordered 150 copies of a book, one for each of my
employees. Treating the people in the company as valued individuals
means they're more likely to feel creative, think about innovation, and
lead the organization to greatness. I'm not the only CEO who
voraciously tears through pages: I've read that Steve Jobs and Phil
Knight are bookworms too. They feel so strongly about their reading
lists playing a role in their success that they keep the books in their
libraries highly secretive. Transparency, however, is one of my tenets.
Here are some titles that have shaped the way I do business.
Cradle to Cradle
By William McDonough and Michael Braungart
"McDonough, an architect, and Braungart, a chemist, explain how the
Industrial Revolution spawned the unsustainable cradle-to-grave
manufacturing model that's still in place. When someone throws
something away, he squanders all the energy and resources used in its
creation. The authors helped me envision a different model—a
sustainable and collaborative existence that recycles itself—where, as
in nature, output becomes input because waste equals food. They want to
redefine the way humans conceive and make products so that we harmonize
with the planet instead of harm it."
Porsche 911
By Randy Leffingwell
"This book explores the discipline of design at Porsche through the
company's respect for its marquee product, the 911 series. Leffingwell
illuminates brand management at its finest. In every 911 model, from
the 1963 original to today's 997, Porsche has evolved its design with
incremental improvements. Not once has the company lost its way. I've
applied the lessons of the 911 to one of my sweaters, the original zip.
I've evolved its design ever so slightly for 12 years without ever
compromising the balance between form and function."
Good to Great
By Jim Collins
"I think the author's challenge to business leaders is to find
sustainable differences—what defines a product, company, or brand—and
be empowered by that realization. Ultimately, that's what distinguishes
'good' companies from 'great' ones. Collins helped me better understand
why my company has succeeded. I sell a product from New Zealand's
Southern Alps, a unique origin that's a little edgy, and I've tried to
communicate that in everything we do—from a sweater's design to the
photography on our labels."
Culture & Consumption
By Grant McCracken
"Reading this writer, a cultural anthropologist, helped me better
understand consumer behavior. We buy objects that are congruent with
our sense of self, that reflect who we are or who we want to be.
Businesses that make stuff only to sell it can't achieve the same
success as those that make functional or aspirational goods."
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
By Deepak Chopra
"I want my work and my life to complement each other, and I consider
this a handbook for achieving that balance. I know Deepak, and he walks
the talk. His laws culminate with learning to live a life connected to
your purpose, your dharma. You know you're aligned with your dharma
when you feel connected to and exhilarated by your activities. He also
made me more aware of an inner strength that, when I was younger, I
didn't know I had."
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
By Yvon Chouinard
“Like Icebreaker, Patagonia is an outdoor company with a conscience.
Here, founder Yvon Chouinard, a man of great integrity, tells the story
of growing his business from a one-man show into a global brand,
largely because of his own passion and beliefs. I was amazed at the
parallels, at almost every level, between our two journeys. And even
though we’re competitors, I very much respect how he has built his
business. Without a doubt, competition can create great internal
cohesion within an organization. It brings everyone together to attack
and defend against a threat, and it also fuels innovation and keeps
minds sharp and focused. But it can also be a great distraction if
people start looking at competitors in the rear-view mirror.”
The Story of Mankind
By Hendrik Willem Van Loon
“Beginning with cavemen and ending 485 pages later circa 1922—the year
the book was published—this title provides a brief history of mankind.
Seeing the rise and fall of the Roman Empire compressed between pages
132 and 168 puts modern-day power shifts into perspective. Van Loon has
a snappy, lively tone, and he doesn’t take anything too seriously. He
can’t, because each great civilization, whether the Egyptians, the
Romans, or the English, has fallen from dominance. Their steadfast
convictions that their way is best always plays a role in their peril.
If Van Loon were still writing, the past 85 years would get about two
pages of ink.”
Inés of My Soul
By Isabel Allende
“I love Latin storytellers. While Allende is my favorite, I also adore
Gabriel García Márquez and Paulo Coelho. There’s a deep fantasy and
sensual wonderment deeply infused in their prose. I think Icebreaker’s
branding evokes a similarly mysterious feeling. Set in the early 1600s,
Inés of My Soul is the
fictional love story of two Spaniards in South America: a widowed woman
and a general determined to conquer Chile. It’s written from the
perspective of the woman later in her life. She’s trapped inside her
body yet still feels very much alive. Allende writes the story of a
life filled with love, adventure, and great challenges, elements that
inspire me to wonder,
When I grow old, what will make me feel truly happy? I ask that question whenever I’m making ‘big’ decisions.”
Jeremy Moon, 38, started his now-global apparel company, Icebreaker, in 1994 by selling samples out of his briefcase.
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