The Hippie Guide to Climbing the Corporate Ladder & Other Mountains: How JanSport Makes It Happen

With contagious enthusiasm, droll photographs and '60s lingo, Yowell tells the breezy story of JanSport, maker of Trail Dome tents and ubiquitous day packs. One of the company's cofounders—"three long-haired hippies with little more to their names than a thirst for high adventure and a love for the outdoors"—Yowell chronicles JanSport's "forty years of innovation, adventure, and general outdoor grooviness." While offering an inside look at some specific corporate decisions and initiatives, he keeps the focus on incorporating "the spirit of freedom" in everyday business life. But if the author's voice weren't so engaging, some sections, like the multiple chapters on JanSport mountain-climbing events, would feel off-target. Yowell seems amused by the whole idea of writing a business book—he follows a long tale about yaks and a Mount Everest climb with "I'm sure there's a business principle somewhere in that experience." Yet he does offer some feel-good ideas that may resonate with readers, such as nurturing and speaking well of others and being "glad when things don't work out as planned. You might just discover the next great invention." Right on, brother. (Jan.)