Chip Wilson — Building Lululemon, the Art of Setting Goals, and the 10 Great Decisions of Your Life | Brought to you by Laird Superfood (http://lairdsuperfood.com/tim), Four Sigmatic (http://foursigmatic.com/tim), and Helix Sleep (http://helixsleep.com/tim). Show Notes: https://tim.blog/2021/05/19/chip-wilson/#more-55970 Chip Wilson (@chipYVR) is a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist. His career in the apparel industry began in 1979 as founder and CEO of Westbeach Snowboarding Ltd. In 1998, after selling Westbeach in 1997, he founded lululemon athletica inc., creating an entirely new category of technical apparel called “athleisure” — now a $400 billion global industry. Through his holding company and family office, Chip focuses his interests on apparel, real estate, private equity, passive investments, and philanthropy. Chip and his wife Shannon’s passion for design led to the creation of the internationally recognized KPU Wilson School of Design in 2018. In 2019, the Wilsons partnered with Anta Sports to buy Amer Sports, which includes brands such as Arc’teryx, Salomon, and Wilson Sporting Goods. Chip currently sits on Amer’s board of directors. The 2021 edition of his business memoir, The Story of lululemon, is available for free at chipwilson.com/book. Last but not least, Chip is steadfast in his pursuit to cure facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). He is on the board of Facio Therapies and has begun his latest big 2021 project, Cure FSHD. Please enjoy! SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1dSzTkW LINK TO ALL SHOW TRANSCRIPTS: https://tim.blog/2018/09/20/all-transcripts-from-the-tim-ferriss-show/ About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 500 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ Start [00:00] Where Chip calls home, and what was his upbringing like? [07:02] “The highest-paid 18-year-old laborer” in Alaska. [11:30] Chip’s theory about the age of 43 and living a long life.[14:45] Top three life decisions. [21:01] From pipeline worker to apparel tycoon. [23:19] On setting goals. [28:19] The path to lululemon. [37:05] Some alternative names. [41:19] Chip’s original hopes for lululemon. [46:12] Sleeping in a tent in his store. [48:22] What was the required reading for Chip’s transformational curriculum? [49:52] The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and the constraint theory of production. [51:56] A few other book recommendations. [53:38] A transformational, goal-setting curriculum and encouraging employees to quit. [55:17] The Landmark program’s strengths and weaknesses. [58:53] Companies that do a good job of employee development. [1:03:40] Linguistic abstraction to foster quick communication. [1:04:36] What is a brand (and what is it not)? [1:06:52] Design strategies to drive sales and understanding the needs of customers [1:10:42] More elaboration on linguistic abstractions. [1:14:36] Does Chip have any regrets about speaking his mind? [1:19:55] The uncanny ability to see five years into the future. [1:26:04] Why does Chip ask prospective hires if they want families? [1:30:32] What would Chip’s billboard say? [1:34:40] Most gifted books. [1:37:45] Favorite restaurants in Vancouver? [1:40:22] The Story of lululemon (previously published as Little Black Stretchy Pants). [1:42:18] Chip’s ask of the audience. [1:42:50] Favorite audiobooks and podcasts. [1:44:05] Parting thoughts. [1:47:12]