It was a once in a lifetime experience: Bob and I had this extraordinary partnership with common goals, aspirations and synergy to create a furniture company that would be a North Star for others to love and or aspire to. I wrote the Mission Statement within our first 6 months on a plane ride to Los Angeles. I can’t remember what I read on the plane that inspired me, but this was basically created with the first draft and a few small tweaks after. Bob loved it so we put it out. It’s been hanging in our factory and all our retail stores to make sure all our team knows…the North Star.
While on a ‘brain food trip’ to England and France, Bob and I walked past a beautiful shoe cobbler’s store. In the window was a small sign expressing the owner’s values. We went back and told Charley Holt, our Chief Marketing Officer at the time. A few days later he came into my office with his perception of who we were. With a few minor tweaks, Who We Are became our other North Star. Charley will always be one of the heroes of the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams story.
I’m enormously proud of the company we built. Even as I write this, I get a little choked up. We touched so many lives in such a good way. Check out our segments on CBS and Guy Raz’s How I Built This.