Uncontainable: How Passion, Commitment, and Conscious Capitalism Built a Business Where Everyone Thrives

by Kip Tindell, Casey Shilling (With), Paul Keegan (With)

Overview

"You're going to sell what? Empty Boxes?"

Back in 1978, Kip Tindell (Chairman & CEO of The Container Store) and his partners had the vision that people were eager to find solutions to save both space and time - and they were definitely onto something. A new category of the retailing industry was born - storage and organization. Today, with stores nationwide and with more than 5,000 loyal employees, the company couldn't be stronger. Over the years, The Container Store has been lauded for its commitment to its employees and focus on its original concept and inventory mix as the formula for its success. But for Tindell, the goal never has been growth for growth's sake. Rather, it is to adhere to the company's values-based business philosophies, which center on an employee-first culture, superior customer service and strict merchandising. The Container Store has been named on Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies To Work For" list for 15 consecutive years. Even better, The Container Store has millions of loyal customers.

In Uncontainable, Tindell reveals his approach for building a business where everyone associated with it thrives through embodying the tenets of Conscious Capitalism. Tindell's seven Foundation Principles are the roadmap that drives everyone at The Container Store to achieve the goals of the company. Uncontainable shows how other businesses can adapt this approach toward what Tindell calls the most profitable, sustainable and fun way of doing business. Tindell is that rare CEO who fully embraces the "Golden Rule" of business - where all stakeholders - employees, customers, vendors, shareholder, the community - are successful through a harmonic balance of win-wins.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455526857
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	10/07/2014
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Kip Tindell is currently Chairman & CEO of The Container Store. He was presented with Ernst & Young's prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1991 and is a recipient of the National Retail Federation's 1998 Innovator of the Year Award. In 2006, along with wife Sharon Tindell (Chief Merchandising Officer) and Garrett Boone (Chairman Emeritus), Tindell was inducted into the Retailing Hall of Fame and he is a 2009 Junior Achievement of Dallas Business Hall of Fame inductee.

Most recently Tindell received the National Retail Federation's 2010 Gold Medal Award, the most coveted award in retail, given to individuals who have served the industry with distinction and achieved a national reputation for excellence. He serves on the board of Whole Foods Market (WFMI), the executive board of the National Retail Federation as its Vice Chairman and is on the Board of the Baylor Healthcare Systems Foundation. He is a leader and passionately involved in Conscious Capitalism, Inc.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Chapter 1 Selling Empty Boxes? 1

Chapter 2 Our Seven Foundation Principles 15

Chapter 3 Finding Love 28

Chapter 4 1 Great Person = 3 Good People 53

Chapter 5 Fill the Other Guy's Basket to the Brim. Making Money Then Becomes an Easy Proposition 87

Chapter 6 Man in the Desert Selling 112

Chapter 7 Communication IS Leadership 138

Chapter 8 The Best Selection, Service & Price 159

Chapter 9 Intuition Does Not Come to an Unprepared Mind. You Need to Train Before It Happens. 184

Chapter 10 Air of Excitement! 211

Chapter 11 The Best Is Yet to Come! 234

Epilogue 245

Index 251

Editorial Reviews

08/25/2014
In this mash-up of memoir and business how-to, Container Store CEO Tindell tells the story of his company since its launch 30 years ago, presenting it as the kind of company customers love—and employees love just as much. (The turnover rate is extremely low, and only 3% of applicants are hired.) While the company faced the same difficulties as every business after the 2008 financial meltdown, Tindell was determined, he says, not to lay off people—and using his mantra of “Conscious Capitalism” (“not making profit your number one priority actually makes you a lot more profitable”), he met this goal. Tindell briefly covers his personal story: “a real Leave it to Beaver childhood”; his first job at a local Sherwin-Williams paint store; and founding the business and eventually achieving great success and growth. The meat of the book explores Tindell’s seven “Foundation Principles,” which prove to be widely applicable to most businesses (they include “hire the best”; “maintain great vendor relationships”; “perpetuate an air of excitement”). The book stands out in its infectious good cheer; the ideas are genre standards, but Tindell’s unflaggingly enthusiastic tone could sell even Ebenezer Scrooge on an “air of excitement” as a foundation business principle. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"The Chairman and CEO of The Container Store Kip Tindell's new book, Uncontainable, is in the tradition of Yvon Chouinard's Let My People Go Surfing, Blake Mycoskie's Start Something That Matters, and Muhammad Yunus's Building Social Business. These are all leaders who believe that treating people with respect is the path to true success and have spread that message in really good books . . . In Uncontainable, Tindell clearly lays out The Container Store's path to streamlining that hard work, and he does it with writing as passionate and purposeful as you will find in any business book you'll read this year, or next year, or the year after that, or..."—800-CEO-READ


"The book is an enjoyable read that doesn't uniformly fall into the sometimes dry and buttoned-up business management genre. Tindell and his co-authors offer creative company-culture secrets and tips of the trade that can be applied to businesses in other industries. And, the book's jovial tone should be taken as a nod to the oft-overlooked idea that running a business can be fun, too."—D CEO Magazine

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