And it’s been the right choice.
And it’s also been a pretty amazing experience personally.

Italy’s a really special country and the temperament of the Italians I work with is something I really enjoy. I’m a pretty animated guy and I enjoy a good row. So the ongoing back and forth, the enthusiasm and excitement they bring to the project has been a really wonderful part of this journey.
I’ve found the people I work with to be incredibly talented and also great company – long dinners in Prosecco country can yield some pretty amazing product breakthroughs, who’d have thunk it eh.

So what’s with the shoes comment in the title then? I think as humans we can be a little lazy (or efficient) and so we use proxies. A way for us to figure out what someone is about in a quick way. It may be the college they went to, the pressure in their handshake, the accent they have, or what they order in the bar. With that little window we try and populate the picture of who it is we’re dealing with– well in Italy, it’s shoes.

I was sat at a trade fair watching a nice enough American sales rep wander over to talk to some of my Italian suppliers. Pleasant enough, couple of minutes chat. When he walked away the 3 Italian guys turned and started, well, ranting. The low to high hand gesture was being thrown liberally – the one where the fingers are pursed together, starting somewhere around the chin and then the hand is thrown skywards with a large “aghh” – I’m pretty sure it’s a “are you kidding me” gesture. Curious I asked what they were talking about.

“This guy, he’s wearing the same shoes, the same ugly shoes for the last 4 years. Can you believe it?”

So my advice for doing business in Italy; buy yourself some nice shoes.

Note to Self:

Make luxurious, premium quality sunglasses that help transform the life of someone in need.
Do it because people want to contribute to the solution, but they shouldn’t have to compromise their love of the finest things or their personal style. And do it because no-one, anywhere should suffer from avoidable blindness.
Make it in Italy, because that’s where artisans have been creating luxury products for nigh on a century and they just do it so well. You remember that old guy by the fountain in Florence, right – bang, 12-years old but you knew that’s how you wanted to carry yourself when you were 80.
Design it in California, because the progressive positive outlook and the drive for change capture the spirit of our mission. Modern diverse California Cool.
Do both, don’t let anyone tell you it doesn’t make sense, or they don’t work together. Embrace the tension between these two locations and between the mission and the product, because people aren’t one dimensional and they have tensions, and from that comes their greatest expressions. Create a product which mirrors that.
They say you can’t do it all, you can and you can do it looking mighty fine.
Use the best. Respect the customer, they deserve the best, they’re the ones taking this problem by the scruff of the neck and solving it.
Get after it, don’t fail for want of trying. Be honest with yourself, and get better everyday.
Keep smiling, you’re a lucky, lucky boy and the last thing the world needs is another grumpy Scotsman.