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Little Black Stretchy Pants: Story of lululemon by the Founder, Chip Wilson
This is a book about ordinary people who took an opportunity to be creative, to be innovative, and to maximize their potential. Chip Wilson is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, loving husband and a father to five boys. As the founder of Westbeach and yoga-inspired clothing company lululemon athletica, Chip is a globally recognized innovator in the field of technical apparel. He is widely credited with starting the “athleisure” retail category, now a $100-billion-a year global business. At lululemon, Chip was known for his people-before-product leadership approach. He surrounded himself with like-minded creative, driven, athletic locals with a love for work-life balance inspired by the West Coast. This cohesive culture fueled the innovation and growth of the brand. In 2007, lululemon athletica was taken public and Chip remains its largest individual shareholder and biggest cheerleader.
443 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2020
115 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 12, 2023
Listened to the audiobook narrated by Chip and his family and friends when they are quoted. I absolutely loved it. Interesting to hear his perspective and to learn from such a visionary leader, who admittedly made his fair share of mistakes. And boy, is his distrustful of board members
August 3, 2021
Good content overall, but a bit jumpy in the story telling.
If you liked this at all, then you MUST go read shoe dog.
If you liked this at all, then you MUST go read shoe dog.
December 7, 2022
Listened to the audible which was read by the author. Really unique audible as the author got the people who gave quotes to record in their own voices.
Chip doesn’t hold back on his business life journey. He accomplished something great in his founding of Lululemon and details the steps that led him there. It was fascinating to learn about the incredible culture at the company and his intense focus on people development. The book becomes a little less interesting after Lululemon went public as most of what he details are board dynamics.
One of my favorite business memoirs of all time! Highly recommend.
Chip doesn’t hold back on his business life journey. He accomplished something great in his founding of Lululemon and details the steps that led him there. It was fascinating to learn about the incredible culture at the company and his intense focus on people development. The book becomes a little less interesting after Lululemon went public as most of what he details are board dynamics.
One of my favorite business memoirs of all time! Highly recommend.
Read
July 21, 2021the author built two companies that went through sport brand lifecycles (peak & commoditization phase) before founding lulelemon. he knew exactly how he wanted to build out the business and product (ie. vertical retail vs. wholesale biz model & product marketing/design). He learned that a wholesaler model actually jeopardizes product design innovation process, since their feedback comes from retailers/distributors who want the best selling product of that year. so wholesaler brands is not good at detecting changing customer taste. In contrast, vertical retail model enabled the author to develop product design process and feedback mechanism from community tastemakers (hard core yogi) in his locality through design meetings and hosting yoga class in house.
building a great product means also riding the changing tides. author saw the rise of 'supergirl' and yoga after attending yoga class (he is an athlete trying all sorts of sports). he used this hypothesis building exercise to conceive what we know as luluelemon today. he hypothesized the social norm change for women and the rise of 'supergirl' - independent & career pursuing as opposed to their homemaking mom generation more restricting social norm).
this thesis based goal setting, as opposed to past based goal setting, is inspired by zen philosophy (no past, no future, present now). zen actually has been quite cryptic to me but after reading this book, it started to make sense. our mind has tendency to project a future based on our past experience, so our imagination of the future is limited based on our past reference points of failures and wins. hence, it doesnt allow us to focus on present and build from the present.
I got frustrated and felt sorry for chip wilson, when metric driven operators come into the executive level. C level KPIs (such as performance optimized for public reporting and share price) are misaligned incentives & this will never take the company to be future proof. especially, metric driven operators don't understand the nuance that gave them its market positioning when testing price ceiling. luluelemon's strong market positioning came from this trademarked functional fabric. it was so good that other wholesaler brands wanted & asked the fabric price. they realized as wholesalers they couldn’t come close to matching lululemon sell-price. Chip wilson considers this as “first in market” advantage. to maintain its position, it has to continually increase quality and keep prices low enough to make it uneconomical for competitors, not testing customer's price tolerance level.
Another area of frustration is corporate's natural tendency for defensive play (i.e. "its not backed by data, so we should not") is also a losing play since creating a product with the edge is about what customers do not know yet they need & education.
there are so many more gems in the book that I wish I can write all out. it also shattered my preconceived image of the author informed by media play (I like learning about author before reading and I was taken aback a bit by media' characterization). I love this book and am really happy to discover an awesome person by author's own words. I would love to have tea with chip & shannon one day.
building a great product means also riding the changing tides. author saw the rise of 'supergirl' and yoga after attending yoga class (he is an athlete trying all sorts of sports). he used this hypothesis building exercise to conceive what we know as luluelemon today. he hypothesized the social norm change for women and the rise of 'supergirl' - independent & career pursuing as opposed to their homemaking mom generation more restricting social norm).
this thesis based goal setting, as opposed to past based goal setting, is inspired by zen philosophy (no past, no future, present now). zen actually has been quite cryptic to me but after reading this book, it started to make sense. our mind has tendency to project a future based on our past experience, so our imagination of the future is limited based on our past reference points of failures and wins. hence, it doesnt allow us to focus on present and build from the present.
I got frustrated and felt sorry for chip wilson, when metric driven operators come into the executive level. C level KPIs (such as performance optimized for public reporting and share price) are misaligned incentives & this will never take the company to be future proof. especially, metric driven operators don't understand the nuance that gave them its market positioning when testing price ceiling. luluelemon's strong market positioning came from this trademarked functional fabric. it was so good that other wholesaler brands wanted & asked the fabric price. they realized as wholesalers they couldn’t come close to matching lululemon sell-price. Chip wilson considers this as “first in market” advantage. to maintain its position, it has to continually increase quality and keep prices low enough to make it uneconomical for competitors, not testing customer's price tolerance level.
Another area of frustration is corporate's natural tendency for defensive play (i.e. "its not backed by data, so we should not") is also a losing play since creating a product with the edge is about what customers do not know yet they need & education.
there are so many more gems in the book that I wish I can write all out. it also shattered my preconceived image of the author informed by media play (I like learning about author before reading and I was taken aback a bit by media' characterization). I love this book and am really happy to discover an awesome person by author's own words. I would love to have tea with chip & shannon one day.
December 22, 2024
Really interesting insights
Start Up to now
Start Up to now
August 26, 2024
Summary: This book can be read as revisionist and cultish, to explain alway his critics. For those looking for a memoir on tenacity and the growth of a big company, it is an excellent read. It will encourage you. But it must be taken on its own terms.
Reading this memoir requires some familiarity with Chip Wilson’s tenuous relationship with Lululemon. Seemingly, it goes: Lululemon, a brand for women’s clothing and a cash cow in the 2000s because it captured the zenith of health development at the times, was being hamstrung by the crummy curmudgeon, founder and chairman, Chip Wilson. The pained relationship was continually stress-tested by Wilson’s controversy, most notably his saying that the pants weren’t made for certain women. For Chip, the purpose for the book being written is to reinterpret that story.
Although Chip is not the most lucid of writers, he is incredibly personable and a great storyteller. That is controversial as he’s a boogeyman with the general public (I know because I live in Vancouver). The book shows you in generally clear detail the building stages of a quality product. From the middle toward the end, the narrative focuses on other characters in taking Lululemon upwards.
The narrative privileges is very clear here—it is Chip’s. The opinions of others only come in carefully curated quotes to nearly always to serve his own opinion. And that is the main troubling point here. When he speaks of Christine—then CEO—it smacks of young children on playground: after quarrelling, wondering why so and so ‘decided to lie’. That is a minimally a paraphrase or if generous, an an exact quote. Certain parts are jarring for their self-congratulatory tone. When Lululeon went public, Chip recounts it with pleasure. For someone who thinks creatives are often too limited, he far too easily welcomed the company going public, so that it could ‘be audited’ by them. Tambien, there is an interesting departure point for meta-narratizing. Around page 162, he ‘blames’ himself (with no less self-congratulation) for letting HBR snoop uninterruptedly around the executives. He interprets this to be a smart tactical play for Christine to firmly augment her own professional reputation, to positively take credit for the speed and scale of Lululemon’s growth. That occludes the truth, he argues, because vertical retailing and people development were the successes, things well in place before Christine was in leadership. It’s a high point of irony, to say that the truth has been occluded, when Chip’s “version” of truth is submitted to object it.
But, these clear criticisms don’t make this book any less deserving of a read. It’s become obvious to me that it is this persistence, stubbornness, what is often maybe correctly interpreted as crummy curmudgeon man, that makes the vision and lens of Chip valuable. The logical conclusion isn’t that you have to be a dick to be successful. It’s an issue of levels of analysis. We can praise the man’s vision and abilities, while still faulting all those personality traits that we deem to be viruses. Accepting both premises isn’t failed logic. Alas, he has great business intuition. He believes in people, is controversial, but has demonstrated through and through that he can do it. How many can refinance their house because they know that injection of funds will smooth over the bump and raise their small business to new heights? As a sport coach and an educator, you cannot say what Chip says about people without also believing it. Fundamentally, he believes that you must help others actualize their own goals, treat them with differentiation to maximize individual and collective success.
. . .
It’s in one of the later chapters that he reinterprets his comment about ’not being built for specific women’. While I am partial to his story as a whole, when I put on my analytical lens, I think.. How can he not have seen so easily that the comment would be ill-received? Not giving air to that interpretation is maybe what gives him a bad rep, and we say that one that doubles down instead of rightly acknowledging receives none of our favour. Saying that, sometimes I am also surprised that comments never intended to be a certain way were taken as offence by others. I also have felt the way he does, sadly.
Earlier I said I am partial to his story, and I say so because immediately in the next section after the comment, he writes about how that incident gave him the idea of using higher thread count in the pants to better differentiate for non-average women. I respect this failing and trying. He has it when it comes to business, bar none. If his thoughts are not becoming, his actions for creating a better product in technical apparel is inspiring. Like a person that understands human development, he knows that differentiation and continuous toolbox development is what creates success - he has done this for the pants.
You will see his tenacity, and how infectious it drives others to also believe the movement. The engine of the book reads like a superstar sports team performing when it matters. This book emboldens and encourages you for whatever idea you have, to make it big, to make it streamlined; to recruit and collaborate. Taken on those terms, it’s a four star read.
Reading this memoir requires some familiarity with Chip Wilson’s tenuous relationship with Lululemon. Seemingly, it goes: Lululemon, a brand for women’s clothing and a cash cow in the 2000s because it captured the zenith of health development at the times, was being hamstrung by the crummy curmudgeon, founder and chairman, Chip Wilson. The pained relationship was continually stress-tested by Wilson’s controversy, most notably his saying that the pants weren’t made for certain women. For Chip, the purpose for the book being written is to reinterpret that story.
Although Chip is not the most lucid of writers, he is incredibly personable and a great storyteller. That is controversial as he’s a boogeyman with the general public (I know because I live in Vancouver). The book shows you in generally clear detail the building stages of a quality product. From the middle toward the end, the narrative focuses on other characters in taking Lululemon upwards.
The narrative privileges is very clear here—it is Chip’s. The opinions of others only come in carefully curated quotes to nearly always to serve his own opinion. And that is the main troubling point here. When he speaks of Christine—then CEO—it smacks of young children on playground: after quarrelling, wondering why so and so ‘decided to lie’. That is a minimally a paraphrase or if generous, an an exact quote. Certain parts are jarring for their self-congratulatory tone. When Lululeon went public, Chip recounts it with pleasure. For someone who thinks creatives are often too limited, he far too easily welcomed the company going public, so that it could ‘be audited’ by them. Tambien, there is an interesting departure point for meta-narratizing. Around page 162, he ‘blames’ himself (with no less self-congratulation) for letting HBR snoop uninterruptedly around the executives. He interprets this to be a smart tactical play for Christine to firmly augment her own professional reputation, to positively take credit for the speed and scale of Lululemon’s growth. That occludes the truth, he argues, because vertical retailing and people development were the successes, things well in place before Christine was in leadership. It’s a high point of irony, to say that the truth has been occluded, when Chip’s “version” of truth is submitted to object it.
But, these clear criticisms don’t make this book any less deserving of a read. It’s become obvious to me that it is this persistence, stubbornness, what is often maybe correctly interpreted as crummy curmudgeon man, that makes the vision and lens of Chip valuable. The logical conclusion isn’t that you have to be a dick to be successful. It’s an issue of levels of analysis. We can praise the man’s vision and abilities, while still faulting all those personality traits that we deem to be viruses. Accepting both premises isn’t failed logic. Alas, he has great business intuition. He believes in people, is controversial, but has demonstrated through and through that he can do it. How many can refinance their house because they know that injection of funds will smooth over the bump and raise their small business to new heights? As a sport coach and an educator, you cannot say what Chip says about people without also believing it. Fundamentally, he believes that you must help others actualize their own goals, treat them with differentiation to maximize individual and collective success.
. . .
It’s in one of the later chapters that he reinterprets his comment about ’not being built for specific women’. While I am partial to his story as a whole, when I put on my analytical lens, I think.. How can he not have seen so easily that the comment would be ill-received? Not giving air to that interpretation is maybe what gives him a bad rep, and we say that one that doubles down instead of rightly acknowledging receives none of our favour. Saying that, sometimes I am also surprised that comments never intended to be a certain way were taken as offence by others. I also have felt the way he does, sadly.
Earlier I said I am partial to his story, and I say so because immediately in the next section after the comment, he writes about how that incident gave him the idea of using higher thread count in the pants to better differentiate for non-average women. I respect this failing and trying. He has it when it comes to business, bar none. If his thoughts are not becoming, his actions for creating a better product in technical apparel is inspiring. Like a person that understands human development, he knows that differentiation and continuous toolbox development is what creates success - he has done this for the pants.
You will see his tenacity, and how infectious it drives others to also believe the movement. The engine of the book reads like a superstar sports team performing when it matters. This book emboldens and encourages you for whatever idea you have, to make it big, to make it streamlined; to recruit and collaborate. Taken on those terms, it’s a four star read.
December 28, 2024
I first discovered this book through a running friend, and it turned out to be an engrossing read. Chip Wilson delivers a raw and compelling account of his journey with Lululemon, offering what feels like an unvarnished glimpse into the highs and lows of building and leading an iconic brand. His passion and ambition leap off the pages, painting a vivid picture of the tension between his founder’s vision and the priorities of Private Equity-backed leadership.
As a founder, Wilson was deeply invested in cultivating a strong company culture, prioritizing people, and focusing on sustainable, long-term growth. In stark contrast, the board and executive team seemed fixated on metrics that promised quick returns. This fundamental clash created an intense and often fraught dynamic, which he describes with striking candor.
Wilson’s narrative resists easy categorization—neither purely triumphant nor wholly regretful. Instead, it reflects a nuanced blend of challenges, triumphs, and profound personal growth. I found it inspiring to witness his relentless hunger for knowledge and his openness to learning from a wide range of sources. He weaves in lessons from books he admired, many of which were authored by entrepreneurs and business school professors.
Reading this, I couldn’t help but reflect on the significant, real-world value of the work we do in academia and business. Wilson’s story is a powerful testament to the intersection of theory and practice—and how transformative it can be when ambition meets wisdom.
As a founder, Wilson was deeply invested in cultivating a strong company culture, prioritizing people, and focusing on sustainable, long-term growth. In stark contrast, the board and executive team seemed fixated on metrics that promised quick returns. This fundamental clash created an intense and often fraught dynamic, which he describes with striking candor.
Wilson’s narrative resists easy categorization—neither purely triumphant nor wholly regretful. Instead, it reflects a nuanced blend of challenges, triumphs, and profound personal growth. I found it inspiring to witness his relentless hunger for knowledge and his openness to learning from a wide range of sources. He weaves in lessons from books he admired, many of which were authored by entrepreneurs and business school professors.
Reading this, I couldn’t help but reflect on the significant, real-world value of the work we do in academia and business. Wilson’s story is a powerful testament to the intersection of theory and practice—and how transformative it can be when ambition meets wisdom.
November 22, 2021
เกล็ดที่ชอบ คือ พึ่งรู้ว่า Chip Wilson ก่อนมาทำ Lululemon ก็ทำบริษัทเสื้อผ้า Sulf & Skate อยู่นานแต่สุดท้ายก็ไปไม่รอด ถูกไล่ออก แล้วก็ Cash out เงินมาได้ส่วนหนึ่ง ก่อนมาเริ่มต้นทำ Lululemon เพราะมีโอกาสได้ลองเล่นโยคะ
Chip ได้มองเทรนถูกจังหวะสามอย่างพร้อมๆกัน (อาจเป็น hindsight bias)
-Yoga movement นี่คือการออกกำลังกายรูปแบบใหม่ ที่กำลังเติบโต แล้วไม่มีใคร focus ตลาดนี้
-Supergirl ปี 1990 เป็นต้นมาผู้หญิงไม่ได้ต้องอยู่บ้านเป็นแม่บ้านอย่างเดียว แต่ออกมาดูแลตัวเอง ทำงานนอกบ้าน
-Technical Sport ware + Everyday use Lululemon เน้นการให้แบรนด์ โดดเด่นด้านเทคนิคและดีไซน์ไปพร้อมกัน เพราะเขาเชื่อว่า ถ้าใส่สบายใส่ได้ดี คนจะใส��มันไปทำกิจกรรมอย่างอื่นนอกจากเล่นโยคะ ซึ่ง Chip เอาประสบการณ์นี้มาจาก ตอนทำ กางเกง Surf board ว่าคนก็ใส่ในชีวิตประจำวัน คือก้าวข้ามจากชุดกีฬา สู่แฟชั่นประจำวัน
Chip ชอบ Landmark forum ว่าไปแล้วหนังสือเล่มนี้ Advocate Landmark forum ถี่มากเลยทีเดียว
Vertical retail น่าจะเป็นสิ่งที่ Chip ภูมิใจสำหรับ model ธรุกิจนี้ พูดโดยง่ายคือการเป็นผู้ผลิต จำหน่าย และขายเอง ด้วยโมเดลนี้ สามารถควบคุมราคาได้ดีกว่า และออกแบบประสบการณ์ลูกค้าได้ดีกว่า
เพราะจากบริษัท Westbeach (ที่ทำชุดกีฬา Surf&Skate) เดิมที่ทำ ต้องมีส่งให้ Wholesale ทำให้ต้องลดราคา แล้วก็ประสบการณ์ลูกค้าก็ควบคุมไม่ได้ แต่ตอนนั้นเนื่องจากต้องการ Volume ในการผลิตเลย จำเป็นต้องทำ Wholesale ผมคิดว่ารอบนี้พอ lululemon มา Focus การทำ premium เลยมีพื้นที่ margin ให้ทำได้ดีกว่า
ที่ให้สามดาวเพราะ รู้สึกว่ามีความย้วยไปอยู่เล็กน้อย
Chip ได้มองเทรนถูกจังหวะสามอย่างพร้อมๆกัน (อาจเป็น hindsight bias)
-Yoga movement นี่คือการออกกำลังกายรูปแบบใหม่ ที่กำลังเติบโต แล้วไม่มีใคร focus ตลาดนี้
-Supergirl ปี 1990 เป็นต้นมาผู้หญิงไม่ได้ต้องอยู่บ้านเป็นแม่บ้านอย่างเดียว แต่ออกมาดูแลตัวเอง ทำงานนอกบ้าน
-Technical Sport ware + Everyday use Lululemon เน้นการให้แบรนด์ โดดเด่นด้านเทคนิคและดีไซน์ไปพร้อมกัน เพราะเขาเชื่อว่า ถ้าใส่สบายใส่ได้ดี คนจะใส��มันไปทำกิจกรรมอย่างอื่นนอกจากเล่นโยคะ ซึ่ง Chip เอาประสบการณ์นี้มาจาก ตอนทำ กางเกง Surf board ว่าคนก็ใส่ในชีวิตประจำวัน คือก้าวข้ามจากชุดกีฬา สู่แฟชั่นประจำวัน
Chip ชอบ Landmark forum ว่าไปแล้วหนังสือเล่มนี้ Advocate Landmark forum ถี่มากเลยทีเดียว
Vertical retail น่าจะเป็นสิ่งที่ Chip ภูมิใจสำหรับ model ธรุกิจนี้ พูดโดยง่ายคือการเป็นผู้ผลิต จำหน่าย และขายเอง ด้วยโมเดลนี้ สามารถควบคุมราคาได้ดีกว่า และออกแบบประสบการณ์ลูกค้าได้ดีกว่า
เพราะจากบริษัท Westbeach (ที่ทำชุดกีฬา Surf&Skate) เดิมที่ทำ ต้องมีส่งให้ Wholesale ทำให้ต้องลดราคา แล้วก็ประสบการณ์ลูกค้าก็ควบคุมไม่ได้ แต่ตอนนั้นเนื่องจากต้องการ Volume ในการผลิตเลย จำเป็นต้องทำ Wholesale ผมคิดว่ารอบนี้พอ lululemon มา Focus การทำ premium เลยมีพื้นที่ margin ให้ทำได้ดีกว่า
ที่ให้สามดาวเพราะ รู้สึกว่ามีความย้วยไปอยู่เล็กน้อย
July 24, 2021
"lululemon became a leadership development company disguised as an apparel brand."
This was a great read. An incredible story about the founding and growth of a company through people development. Despite Wilson's history in the apparel industry, he credits the success of lululemon to his decision to focus on developing people.
The book contains some fantastic insights on creativity, culture, personal develop, retail business growth and much more. The last third of the book, as Wilson lost control of his company to board members and investors who were more sophisticated in the machinations of a public company was a good cautionary part of his tale. But it was also a little tough to read, both because you could sense his bitterness and because it was like watching a slow-motion train wreck while you knew the ending.
But the most interesting part is his insistence that the change in their culture is what led to several years of no growth and cost the company billions of market cap.
Great read for anyone looking to grow a company through their people. Also, it's available as a free download in Kindle, PDF and audiobook on Wilson's website: The Story of lululemon.
This was a great read. An incredible story about the founding and growth of a company through people development. Despite Wilson's history in the apparel industry, he credits the success of lululemon to his decision to focus on developing people.
The book contains some fantastic insights on creativity, culture, personal develop, retail business growth and much more. The last third of the book, as Wilson lost control of his company to board members and investors who were more sophisticated in the machinations of a public company was a good cautionary part of his tale. But it was also a little tough to read, both because you could sense his bitterness and because it was like watching a slow-motion train wreck while you knew the ending.
But the most interesting part is his insistence that the change in their culture is what led to several years of no growth and cost the company billions of market cap.
Great read for anyone looking to grow a company through their people. Also, it's available as a free download in Kindle, PDF and audiobook on Wilson's website: The Story of lululemon.
July 20, 2024
"I assumed each new Lululemon person was already great and all we had to do was catalyse their lives. I believe it was important to train people for their own benefit, not because I was expecting some sort of return. I wanted to develop employees to their full potential and then set them free. They could then choose to work at Lululemon or fulfil other goals . With choice, the ones who stayed were outstanding employees. And the ones who left, left happy and always talked well about their time at Lululemon."
The story of a founder, from a young competitive swimmer, to the rollercoaster ride of scaling a $42B company, the Story of Lululemon is a thrilling journey. Chip Wilson set out to build an authentic "street technical" clothing manufacturer and retail brand that set the bar for quality and profitability - by staying true and close to its customers. From the earlier romantic years of creating the first street technical apparel to the later bitter years of a battle with the company's shareholders, Chip Wilson stays true to heart and shares intimate stories throughout his life. Highly recommended for all entrepreneurs, seasoned and new, especially the audio version which is narrated by the author
The story of a founder, from a young competitive swimmer, to the rollercoaster ride of scaling a $42B company, the Story of Lululemon is a thrilling journey. Chip Wilson set out to build an authentic "street technical" clothing manufacturer and retail brand that set the bar for quality and profitability - by staying true and close to its customers. From the earlier romantic years of creating the first street technical apparel to the later bitter years of a battle with the company's shareholders, Chip Wilson stays true to heart and shares intimate stories throughout his life. Highly recommended for all entrepreneurs, seasoned and new, especially the audio version which is narrated by the author
June 25, 2021
Chip is a great guy. Of all the characteristics describing him, what stuck out to me was his ability “to see the good in people before they could themselves”
Some notes:
- Be a good person; do the right thing
- sacrifice the short term for the long term, not the other way around
- always try your best
- do something you love that you can be the best in the world at with people you care about, and you will win
- create SMART goals, live with integrity, and maximize the potential of yourself and those around you
Some quotes:
“If you are sweating you are present and powerful.”
“Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney Word and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it.”
“Never make lunch plans you don’t intend to keep.”
“Alcohol and drugs are the sissy way of being in the moment.”
“If you are living in choice, there’re is no such thing as wasted time.l
“Good conversation is currency.”
“Forgive your mother and father.”
“To be of any value as a human being you have to keep growing.”
“However good or bad a situation is, it will change.”
Some notes:
- Be a good person; do the right thing
- sacrifice the short term for the long term, not the other way around
- always try your best
- do something you love that you can be the best in the world at with people you care about, and you will win
- create SMART goals, live with integrity, and maximize the potential of yourself and those around you
Some quotes:
“If you are sweating you are present and powerful.”
“Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney Word and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it.”
“Never make lunch plans you don’t intend to keep.”
“Alcohol and drugs are the sissy way of being in the moment.”
“If you are living in choice, there’re is no such thing as wasted time.l
“Good conversation is currency.”
“Forgive your mother and father.”
“To be of any value as a human being you have to keep growing.”
“However good or bad a situation is, it will change.”
February 2, 2023
Little Black Stretchy Pants: The Story of Lululemon by Founder, Chip Wilson was a fascinating listen that kept me interested from start to finish. I own quite a few Lululemon items and I love memoirs, so I was intrigued when my daughter and her boyfriend suggested this as a listen. Chip's story starts in Southern California when he was a young man living with his parents, his move to Canada, and goes all the way until almost present time. I found his story to be inspiring, he really never gave up when he felt he had a great idea. He showed how it can be a very difficult road to travel in getting to massive success, but with a 'can-do' attitude and great perseverance, hard things are possible. Toward the end there were parts that got a bit out of my realm in the business talk, but they were short and my attention never veered. I have read quite a few memoirs lately and this one stood out, highly recommend!
May 28, 2023
Every founder and CEO should read this before taking investment
This book is of course one-sided, Chip comes off as wronged by many people. But… he owns up to many mistakes and he talks very honestly about things people never talk about. Personal things about his failings in marriage and in management.
For anyone taking on investors… his descriptions of the transformation of the company’s culture after taking private equity money and then an IPO. These are subtle changes with big effects that no one links up or talks about.
Also, I suck at exercise, clothes and fashion. But I was gripped by his description of all these. It’s like reading anything by a master of a subject talking about the subject. The mastery and magic are mesmerising.
I highly recommend the book, it’s a joy.
This book is of course one-sided, Chip comes off as wronged by many people. But… he owns up to many mistakes and he talks very honestly about things people never talk about. Personal things about his failings in marriage and in management.
For anyone taking on investors… his descriptions of the transformation of the company’s culture after taking private equity money and then an IPO. These are subtle changes with big effects that no one links up or talks about.
Also, I suck at exercise, clothes and fashion. But I was gripped by his description of all these. It’s like reading anything by a master of a subject talking about the subject. The mastery and magic are mesmerising.
I highly recommend the book, it’s a joy.
April 27, 2023
The story of Lululemon demonstrates that business culture is probably the most important factor for success. Lululemon's culture drove the brand towards greatness.
I'm not giving a five stars rating because it spends a lot of pages talking about Wilson's previous company, which did not interested me at all. But it's a book worth reading.
I'm not giving a five stars rating because it spends a lot of pages talking about Wilson's previous company, which did not interested me at all. But it's a book worth reading.
February 10, 2024
This book feels like the ultimate 'tea spilled' account of the lululemon story. It was a fascinating story to listen to that slowly got harder to listen to as the wrong people got put in positions of power. I cannot imagine how it felt for Chip to go through the later half of this story after putting so much work into growing lululemon into something so special.
October 7, 2024
Good start with interesting insider information on how Lululemon developed and what life experience influenced the founder’s decisions. Unfortunately the second half of the book is ranting about the board of directors and the CEO. There is a couple lessons to extract from it, but the whole thing feels like a PR move to clear the founder’s name.
October 13, 2025
Sometimes the author strayed away from the point of this book. I think it’s definitely biased since lululemon ousted him as CEO, however I understand from his point of view why he has differing views from the direction his company went. Also in the audio book I think it’s distracting when he had family read different parts. Nice Idea but I would have preferred one person read the whole book.
October 14, 2021
Terrible writing and extremely biased, it was annoying to listen to a billionaire play the victim for hours. Yet, it was worth it, there are some great insights about building a company around people development and personal growth for every employee.
June 29, 2024
A good biography of one of the founders of one of the most successful fitness companies and the founder of athleisure. It does seem a bit one-sided as the founding story of Lululemon, but it has its nuggets of wisdom. I highly recommend it.
July 13, 2024
The writing is awful. The storytelling is one-sided. But it is true to the author, it really feels like Chip Wilson is speaking to you, and it's a genuine attempt from a founder to communicate his side of his story with plenty of learnings. 5 stars for being genuine.
April 30, 2021
There were parts that really change my point of view on life and company making, but maybe could be more concrete
June 17, 2021
A must read
November 15, 2021
Awesome business story from Chip.
September 22, 2022
Recommend the audiobook narrated by the founder.
October 29, 2022
Warts and all!
February 9, 2023
Interesting thoughts from Chip Wilson in his business life and great insights and honesty on his perspective on Lululemon once it went public.
June 2, 2023
Got many learnings from it.
February 8, 2024
Cope and seethe, fatties. Chip Wilson rules.
February 12, 2024
As interesting as it is cringe. Would read again.
March 28, 2024
Amazing story. Had no clue this had all happened. Great author. Had me wanting more throughout the entire book.
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