People often ask me what I consider my goal to be at TOMS. The truth is that it's changed over the years. When we first began, the goal was to create a for-profit company to help the children that I met in a small village in Argentina.
When you're buying a pair of TOMS, if you don't feel like you're part of a community, then I've failed.
I would never want to take TOMS or myself into an issues debate. That's not what we're about. We're about helping people.
I feel a deep sense of responsibility to share everything that we've learned from TOMS, so that others can learn from both our mistakes and the counterintuitive principles that have guided our success.
With TOMS, I found a way to create sustainable giving and consistently help those who are in need.
Walk away from anyone who is unduly focused on vacation and compensation. It's a sign of potential trouble. No matter how talented you are, if you don't really want to work at TOMS, you'll never work out here.