A Hero Essay

Paola Soto Wayne Macedo October, 2014

! A Hero’s Essence

! Few days ago, I have been asked to respond to the question “Who is your hero?”. That answer made me think in what makes a hero, what are the ingredients needed to be Pondering that, I concluded that heroism is an action. Sometimes heroism can be a brave deed determined by the circumstances of the moment, such as when people risk their own lives to protect others from harm. Other times what makes a hero is a process of sequential actions in which an individual identifies a problem and is quite willing to work hard to find solutions which in turn inspires the rest of us. That said, immediately a name came to my mind, Yvon Chouinard1, a selfmade man who lives passionately, doing the things that he likes most, but in the best way possible so as to leave this world untouched as well as engaging the world attention in favor of a new sustainable system of life. In this paper, I will describe those qualities that make this man heroic for me: Passion, perfectionism and revolutionary spirit. The first trait that I admire is his passion. By passion, I mean that intense and eager interest, enjoyment and desire for something. In other words, a passionate person has very strong feelings and emotions that direct his life. A hero should have passion because he needs to feel that he has a purpose in his life, and to pursue it enthusiastically. Being passionate is also about knowing and feeling that he has chosen the right path in his life, working inspired, happy and

Yvon Chouinard is the founder and owner of Patagonia Inc, a company that sells outdoor clothing and equipment and that has a reputation as an enlightened employer and champion of the environment. 1

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hopeful. As for my hero, Yvon Chouinard, a noted rock climber, surfer, kayaker, falconer and fly fisherman, his passion for outdoor activities led him to create products and techniques that are today standard practices in those sports. With the same passion that he has to do the things that he likes most, he runs his business and his primary aim is to keep a highly motivated workforce. Besides generous benefits, his employees are encouraged to enjoy activities in the great outdoors. Indeed getting away from the office regularly is a job requirement considered essential for thinking up the next generation of products. Whenever employees play outdoors, they are testing the newest gear or coming up with improvements. Chouinard is not only a passionate sports and businessman, he has also a passion for the planet that has taken him to lead an energetic environmentalist campaign. It is this force of his approach to business and his workers that inspires others and makes him similar to many great heroes in history. The second trait that I admire is his perfectionism. By perfectionism, I mean the refusal to accept any standard short of high quality. In other words, a perfectionist cares about the quality of things being free or as free possible from all flaws and defects. A hero should have this feature because he is willing to do things the best way possible and inspires people to do the same. Furthermore, is a role model that stimulates incessant improvement to do things better. As for my hero, proof of his perfectionism is the fact that the company’s highest goal is to produce the highest-quality products. Chouinard is involved in every process of the company thoroughly demanding excellence in each phase. He proclaims that the company’s reason for being is to build the best product. For example, In order to produce more durable clothing for outdoor sports, he realized that scaling up excellence boosts innovation, which makes people to break the patterns, to foster creativity and to introduce new ideas, methods and products. As an illustration,

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innovative endeavor includes researching and inventing new fabrics and technologies such as Capilene® to make products multifunctional and to follow the company’s guiding design principle: “perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness.”2 The third trait that I admire is his revolutionary spirit. By revolutionary spirit, I mean the quality of a person who works for and engages in revolution. In other words, a revolutionary person aims an overthrow of social order or habits of thought in favor of a new system. A hero should be revolutionary because is willing to help others restructure their mindsets, actions and way of life. Moreover, a hero has to be an activist whose efforts are addressed to bring forth solutions. As for my hero, I will provide two examples in which Chouinard promoted radical change. First, he broke the rules of business. The most compelling evidence of this is the fact that since the beginning, he has run his company within the framework of sound business practice and the concept of slow company (As the opposite rapid growth and expansion). In other words, part of his company’s mission statement is to contribute a better society in which people, environment and society are placed above of the pursuit of profit. In fact, Chouinard calls himself a reluctant businessman, and his unconventional company culture code rejects the traditional corporate culture that makes business hidebound and inhibits creativity. Indeed, the company holds its own values and traditions since 1960. Among the radical business practices are two that stand out: hire self-motivated, intelligent employees and give them flex time to enjoy surfing, climbing and being with their family; if something breaks, we will fix it. The second revolutionary example is in the company’s mission statement: “cause no unnecessary 2

Excerpt from “Wind, Sand and Stars” 1939 by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis”.

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Environmental ethics have been ingrained in Chouinard and the company’s culture from a very early stage, in their knowledge that there is no need for their product if there is no nature-land, rocks or water-for people to explode. Moreover, this perception is the foundation of the environmental and sustainability initiatives taken on by the company. In fact, the company donates at least 1% of its sales to hundreds of grassroots environmental groups all over the world. In addition, Chouinard leads “1% For the Planet” an organization that asks companies to contribute 1% of their sales to the same cause. Last but not least, he is aware that running his business creates pollution as a by-product, thats why he fosters a continuous effort to reduce those harms, by recycling polyester, using organic fabrics in clothes manufacturing, etc. It is this force of his that inspires others to change, this revolutionary spirit, that makes him similar to many great heroes in history. Looking back on the initial thoughts about the indispensable qualities that determine the character of a hero, I am pretty sure that Yvon Chouinard has the perfect traits that make a role model. First, Passion is the spark that catalyzes purposes, dreams and hopes, it is the reason for which something is done enthusiastically. Second, the quality of perfectionism —as a commitment to quality and scaling up excellence— boosts innovation, elicits creativity and hence new ideas, methods and outcomes. Finally, the essence of a revolutionary person is the flare needed to break the status quo and take vigorous action to bring the change. A passionate, perfectionist and revolutionary person, inspires others to change, demands others participation to

“Our Reason for Being” Patagonia Company Information 3

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fight fervently against unfair or harmful practices, to reverse the harm, and to aspire toward something better. It is true that we may never know the ultimate reason of our existence, but we do know that we have souls gifted of volition as an unrestricted capability to want something; and intelligence, as the ability to understand what we perceive, learn or reason. Together, intelligence and volition govern the sum of acts that we call life, and I can’t think of a better way to accomplish our great purpose of living than doing it with passion, in pursuit of perfection and with a revolutionary spirit.

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