The whole quote attributed to Ben Franklin is “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of the low price is forgotten“. And it is tempting today to go down the road of compromise because business is so challenging. In the final analysis, when is it okay to cut a corner or bring in substandard products into your world? I don’t know the answer to that but I can tell you that cheap, as far as the world that our customer occupies is never the answer. Sure, it may be a temptation but at what cost?
Lately I’ve been thinking about my father who passed away almost four years ago. If he were here, he’d ask me “Ed, if you were a suit, what brand would you be?” a good question. Notice, he would not ask what brand “am I”, but “would be”. That’s the engine that drives my thinking in my work and at home. Quality is nearly impossible to define so we create a narrative. My dad’s narrative was a suit, yours may be a fine time piece or a car, others may think of fine crystal or even wine. So if in doubt about what to do today or where to go tomorrow, we need to know who we want to be, because if we do not know where we are going, any road will take us there.
So, what suit would I be (and why)? I would be a Brioni. A Brioni suit is impossible to compromise. The name itself is a call to action if you are a tailor. The processes that created this brand are passed from generations through meticulous adherence to quality standards, materials and craftsmanship. Yet, the responsibility that comes with maintaining a legendary brand is daunting. Temptations to cut corners and work with inferior materials to appease threats of low cost options is always there. The opportunists that appear year after year ready and happy to knock you off your mount are many. Those that claim to have the Brioni quality with more a “modern” style and of course, lower prices sing persuasive until you drape the garment on your shoulders. I can’t afford Brioni suits but I know what they look and feel like. I’ve even had a sport coat on at the store, fantasized about meeting mysterious people on the streets of Rome and looking impossibly dashing sipping my Negroni at Harry’s Bar. That is the standard by which I measure the suits I can afford and more than that, it’s the standard by which the uncompromising nature of our products are based. Like me, my company can’t afford Brioni, but it can sure aspire to the ideal of what makes it a legendary brand. We would be the company with integrity, quality and more than anything have our customers in mind when creating our world. The byproduct is what we sell: pictures. And in those pictures you would find 50 years of like-minded individuals all striving and working under the onus of a legendary brand with the responsibilities that comes with it. To trip-up or cheat or cut corners would be unthinkable. If you were a suit, or car or a watch or…what would you be? –EM
