What separates humans from other animals is our empathy. With the possible exception of bonobos, we are the most empathetic animal on the planet.
Andy Dunn
Passion provides purpose, but data drives decisions.
Leadership is inspiring people. Management is keeping the trains running on time.
Tolerance, diversity, and inclusion are not political opinions. They are non-negotiable human rights - hard fought and secured in America.
From Nike, we buy victory. From Under Armour, we buy protection. From Lululemon, we buy zen. From Patagonia, we buy conservation. From BMW, we buy performance.
Who would you rather be with: someone with more alternatives or someone with fewer?
Perhaps America works like this: Presidencies swing, as reactions to each other, like a pendulum. My optimistic belief is it is how we keep our country in balance.
'I'm sorry, honey. I was wrong.' Are there six more magical words you can say to your wife?
A little narcissism is good. At least that's what I am telling myself.
The only reason courage exists is because sometimes it is required.
Marc Lore has been a mentor of mine for a long time. He taught me how to hire people and how to do the hardest thing in business, which is to make a great culture. I believe Marc is the most innovative and ambitious e-commerce entrepreneur on the planet.
A protective self-narrative during conflict and duress sometimes obscures us from seeing the worst in ourselves. When the self-sustaining haze lifts after that conflict has subsided, we may recognize in ourselves the flaws the other saw in us at the time that we didn't have the emotional bandwidth to examine in the moment.
The digitally-native vertical brand drives a lot more customer intimacy than its competition. The data is better because every transaction and interaction is captured.
Why should men be constrained by antiquated stereotypes of masculinity? What does it even mean to 'Be a Real Man' anymore? Shouldn't we all be celebrating a wide range of definitions of manhood?
Your sympathy is worthless to people in need without action.
The act of founding a company is its own act of narcissism: 'I alone can do this.'
The general rule is that entrepreneurs need the fear of their brand's demise to make it magic. It is too safe to do it as a corporate subsidiary.
Maybe everyone lives forever. Or maybe, like in the animated movie 'Coco,' only those whose stories get told by the living definitely do. It takes a story worth telling.
Being a founder is about being so driven to distraction by the world that you want to put something new in it. It's an act of creation, of irreverence, of defiance, of hope, and arguably one of narcissism.
A good idea is not enough. It must be the fit of a particular idea for a particular entrepreneur and, ideally, unfair advantages in why said particular entrepreneur is going to address said particular idea.
When it came to religion, I felt I belonged to no one. It saddened me, it angered me, it confused me, and it made me religiously ambivalent. So I chose my calling: Cubs baseball.
Bonobos are not monkeys! Bonobos are apes.
I have always loved the Day of the Dead - a chance to celebrate death rather than to treat it like that awful scene in the cemetery.
Everyone is entitled to their own political opinions. It is what makes our country great.
Money greases the wheel of American democracy and corrupts it all.
A company that can't fire people well is like a forest that never has a fire. It becomes overgrown, full of weeds, and it fails.
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) cannot be medicated. It is treatable only through therapy. The problem is therapy is rarely sought by the afflicted. It cannot be cured.
It's easy to be cynical about American politics. It's more important not to be.
Sometimes, to move into the future, you must go back the past.
The story of the merchant is told by the marketer. They need each other, and if they get along, it's peanut butter and jelly. If they don't, it's oil and water.
I am particularly wary of authors who put themselves on the cover of their own book.
History rewards those who can change their minds when the stakes are high.
Since its founding, I've been friends with ModCloth's cofounders and many of its executives and investors. I have long imagined we would one day belong under one roof with that brand as a force in the future of apparel.
To an entrepreneur, closing a financing often feels like the end of a marathon. It's actually the starting gun.
Taking risks and being focused, sometimes, are at odds. Both are required to build a great company.
My Indian grandmother was born in Punjab.
The history of innovation is the story of ideas that seemed dumb at the time.
Most of the time, when you need something at a company, you make it. If you want to sell a product, you create it. If you need a head of marketing, you hire one. If you want to create a great company culture, what do you do? The lack of a clear answer on this is why I believe most companies don't have a great culture.
Business books are generally read and written by people who aren't good at business.
Empathy is the bridge to understand those who you may be lucky to one day lead, and it is - in my opinion - the most under-appreciated human skill in business.
Growing up, my religious identity was primarily one of confusion. Nothing was pushed on me; nothing was overtly offered.
At Bonobos, we believe in the future of men.
You don't think, when you start a company as the founding CEO, that if your venture actually works, you end up with three jobs: founder, CEO, and chair of the board. The first eight years at Bonobos, I have learned a lot about the tension between the first two. It didn't even occur to me that I had the third job until much later.
The people that elected Donald Trump are Americans. They are every bit as entitled to weigh in on who should lead as any of us. The fact that they disagree with the values some of us hold dear is the point - America has always been about a battle of ideas that plays out over time.
The more defensive and angry I get, the more I later discover those feelings are usually just projections of feelings I am having towards myself.
Plenty of entrepreneurs can start a company. What is more rare is to evolve it and to scale with it over time.
Entrepreneurs are not that special. If you are one, stop drinking the Kool Aid, and if you aren't, definitely don't drink it.
Money talks, and when it starts to say goodbye, humans listen and act accordingly.
Good parents are always on time. So are good CEOs.
Lincoln was an American messiah, seemingly sent by God to save our country, our union, and our soul. He prioritized unity above all. Perhaps we should do the same.
