Pencil Stubs and Metro Rides for the Boss

"What he places above all: “Intellectual honesty.” The kind that creates duties more often than rights. As a boss, he must set an example. Like Bonaparte at the bridge of Arcole or Joan of Arc before Orléans. He must be at the forefront of his troops, the symbol of the firm and the virtues that have allowed it to rise to the top ranks globally by itself. If he travels by plane, it’s in economy class. In Paris, he takes the metro, lives in a small apartment in the 17the arrondissement, and has lunch with his tray at the canteen of the offices on Avenue de Breteuil, like any secretary or maintenance service agent."

"“How can you refuse an engineer who comes to you asking for money to buy a device he considers indispensable,” explains a member of his staff, “if you are in a comfortable office, where the carpet, furniture, and master paintings on the walls cost several times the price of the equipment being requested?” Asceticism is both a guarantee and a safeguard."

"It is necessary to learn to distinguish between what is important and what is trivial. The shabby facades of Place des Carmes, the monastic offices with lime-coated walls, the outdated furniture, the pencil stub that must be returned to get a new one, the envelopes turned over and re-sent, the memos written on the back of unsold or misprinted road maps, the stamp “Michelin & Cie” instead of a personal signature, the business card without any mention of academic titles, decorations, or even functions—all of this must be forgotten, it is incidental. On the other hand, the cleanliness of the workshops, the purchase of the latest equipment, suggestions for improving productivity or making savings, that’s what’s important. This is what will advance the Company, allow it to raise its “temperature” (commercial penetration in internal jargon). In these immediate post-war years, Michelin is the first industrial company in France to acquire an electron microscope imported directly from the United States."