Last week Mike, Fabian and I had a great breakfast with Lawerence Koh founder and CEO of International Diversified Products (IDP). He has a unique approach to business focused around relationship building. We chatted and learned a lot over the four or so hours we sat together, the two paraphrased quotes below where two things I found especially noteworthy.
On building factory:
"At first you make a factory to produce what you designed, in the end your factories will mandate what you are able to design.."
On product: "Study your top four products and identify what they share in common...their common essence. Remember, their essence isn't design or material, it's their spirit..."
A few additional notes:
- make your own factory when your volume demands it and product lines can use the same machines
- capital can quickly get caught up in (raw material) as well as inventory
- industry cycles cause fluctuations in manufacturing employment a decision that may come down to unemployment checks or investment in training. unions may play a role.
- hard to keep mundane manufacturing jobs exciting and engaging its important to build a culture that compensates
- variations in color require more material input but also typically dont last season to season
We also talked about the book "a course in miracles", the teaching style at the khan academy and the book "firms of endearment". It was inspiring to talk, listen and learn from his experiences in production, as well as, his personal outlook and generous manner.
