Mountaineer Isamu Tatsuno, the founder of outdoor gear and clothing manufacturer Montbell, generalizes climbers as ¡°wimpy¡± people who are cautious by nature ¡ª not the swashbuckling adventurers people might have in mind.
¡°You don't agree ¡ª most people don't agree,¡± said the charismatic 77-year-old in a recent interview at his office in the city of Osaka. ¡°But it's really true, climbers are wimpy, always worrying about the future, always worrying about risk ¡ª what if the rain starts? What if the snow starts?¡±
Tatsuno has applied a similar logic to his own business from its early days, planning ahead for survival. It paid off, with the company recently celebrating its 50th anniversary. In fact, it¡¯s almost going too well.
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