“What else could I do at my age?” Kamprad asks. “Grow tomatoes in an allotment behind the house? I don’t know how to do anything apart from sell furniture. I am your classic, specialized idiot.” From one of the most remote, poverty-stricken corners of Sweden to becoming one of the world’s richest men, Kamprad broke the rules of retail when he created IKEA. And, it worked. Just how did Kamprad do it?
He Met a Need: “The word impossible has been and must remain deleted from our dictionary,” says Kamprad. When others said it couldn’t be done, Kamprad went and did it. From building quality furniture for less than it was ever thought possible to making products fit with ease in the trunks of customers’ cars, Kamprad listened to what the customer wanted and set out to meet that demand.
He Set an Example: “Simple routines have a greater impact,” says Kamprad. “It is not just to cut costs that we avoid luxury hotels. We do not need fancy cars, posh titles, tailor-made uniforms, or other status symbols. We rely on our own strength and our own will!” Whether it’s biking around town or sharing an office with his colleagues, Kamprad embodied the kind of leader he wanted all his workers to be.
He Used His Time Wisely: “Happiness is not reaching your goal,” says Kamprad. “Happiness is being on the way. It is our wonderful fate to be just at the beginning.” Kamprad was never one to sit still. From selling matches at the age of five to scouring the world for new markets to enter, Kamprad used his time to the best of his abilities.
He Made Mistakes: “Making mistakes is the privilege of the active,” says Kamprad. “It is always the mediocre people who are negative, who spend their time proving that they were not wrong.” From his teenage years in to adulthood, Kamprad was not afraid to make mistakes. Some he regretted, some he didn’t, but he took the opportunity to learn and improve from them all.
He Cared for his Community: Whereas companies such as Nike and McDonald’s come under heavy criticism for cultural imperialism, IKEA seems to fall beneath the radar. This is due in large part to its policies that appear to oppose the principles of greed and waste. Kamprad has made a deliberate effort to make his company one that not only he can be proud of, but so too can its workers and its customers.
Kamprad’s career has not been without its controversy. But, it is in surviving the tough times that Kamprad has distinguished himself as one of the most savvy and successful entrepreneurs of our time. He maintains an integral role in what has now become one of the largest privately held companies in the world. On the future of IKEA, Kamprad says, “I don’t think any of my sons are capable of running the company, at least not yet.” Time will tell how IKEA fares down the road, but one thing can be said for certain of its past – it had one of the most successful runs of any company in the history of the world.
Do It Yourself: Kamprad’s Guide To Success
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