Six lessons to learn from Levi Strauss:
- Take risks. Strauss was not afraid to choose his path and travel to America and then to San Francisco.
- Look for opportunities. He showed a propensity to spot possibilities when he chose to serve the needs of the miners instead of becoming a miner himself.
- Networking. He understood leverage, and rather than sell directly to consumers, he became a wholesaler who leveraged his connections with the thriving East Coast.
- Innovate. He was not afraid to pivot when he saw the promise of adding rivets to reinforce weak areas of the standard work pant.
- Audacity. Be bold to drive the message of your brand as he did with the horse demonstration.
- Be true to yourself. He gave most of his fortune away to causes that he believed in.
