But it wasn't until his appointment to the president's office, in April 1991, that Crisafulli zeroed in on Marmot's most intractable problem: delivery. As Cooley notes, "Credibility in the outdoor industry turns on timely delivery. If you miss it by 30 to 45 days, you're history."
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The "marmots" -- employees who were true believers in the Marmot cult -- were wary of Crisafulli. The trim, white-haired, 54-year-old executive who pulled up in a Porsche each morning was an interloper among the community of mountaineers who had founded the company; his business background and his appearance cast doubt on his entire value system.
Gradually, Crisafulli cultivated the Marmots' confidence. To alleviate fears that he'd sacrifice Marmot's legendary product quality, he gave veto power to Randy Verniers. Verniers, the pensive, bearded director of product development, is the high priest of Marmot's famous "no compromise" philosophy -- the "keeper of the Holy Grail," as Crisafulli jokes. "If Randy said it wasn't Marmot, it didn't happen," says Crisafulli, who turned to fixing the company. His battle plan was disarmingly simple and sensible.
"The way to run a small business is to concentrate on one or two small things," he asserts. "Most of what you lack in a small business is resources. People often say, 'I don't have enough money,' but the real thing you lack is time. People are doing a once-over-lightly on too many things. Trying to advance on too broad a front, they don't go anywhere. In a military campaign, the way to advance is to hold a broad front and attack in one place. Running a business is the same: anchor yourself down on a broad front, and try to improve in one or two places."
Crisafulli took aim at the delivery problem. In the fall of 1991 he declared that it would be Marmot's highest priority over the next year. The 40-member Marmot staff agreed on a goal of shipping winter 1992-1993 clothes by mid-September of 1992. "Anything that negatively impacts delivery has to wait," he asserted.
The management established interim deadlines, choosing four easily remembered dates by which Marmot had to place orders with its Asian suppliers: Pearl Harbor Day (December 7) and tax day (April 15) for winter clothing, and a manager's birthday (June 15) and Columbus Day (October 12) for spring 1993 product. Marmot had never before set precise ordering and delivery schedules. Three days before December's order deadline, all meetings that might endanger delivery were postponed, and "everyone was running around, asking, 'How are we doing?" recounts Crisafulli.
Managers had to communicate. Director of imports and exports Debbie Bender suggested, and Crisafulli instituted, daily meetings of the 10-member management team. Each manager would identify and head off conflicts that might result in delays. In one case a prototype snap featuring the Marmot logo failed to meet specs. So the committee abandoned it until the following season: to wait for a perfect prototype would delay delivery.
The morning meetings provided a forum for collectively monitoring progress. If anyone was falling behind or pursuing a project that was diverting precious resources, other managers would insist the culprit address the delivery deadline. "What you end up with is a fair amount of group pressure," says Crisafulli.
Marmot's suppliers were also under the microscope. Marmot dispatched its quality-control gurus from Santa Rosa to Asia to ensure that products were made right and shipped promptly. The quality-control people hit the road 10 times -- up from the 2 trips to Asia they'd made in the previous year.
To reach its new goal Marmot had to limit growth temporarily. Cooley forbade the commissioned sales reps to open accounts for 18 months -- until Marmot could service its most loyal buyers. The reps signed on to the strategy because Marmot's problems had become their problems; if Marmot could fix itself, their jobs would be easier. Cooley imposed the same restraints on marketing: advertising and marketing budgets were diverted into production and more quality-control trips to Asia.
"The decision to have a single goal looming taints or filters all small decisions," Cooley explains. "Whether you are talking about a new label, resizing a jacket, or introducing a new product, if it modifies the overarching goal, you change your smaller goal. It becomes very tangible."
Even Marmot high priest Randy Verniers compromised. "In design-committee meetings, we got to the point of saying, 'No, it's too late. If we start making changes now, it will delay product delivery.' Late changes would just have to wait till next season."
The summer of 1992 progressed, the delivery deadline loomed, and Marmot's people worked nights and weekends to ensure that no last-minute glitches arose. When a Chinese supplier threatened to delay a shipment of parkas because it hadn't received the correct fabric, a Marmot staff member headed to China and found the giant roll of fabric lying in a neglected corner of the factory. When U.S. Customs in San Francisco sat on a shipment because of faulty Hong Kong paperwork, a Marmot employee traveled to the docks and sat on the customs agent until he released the freight. The Marmots could taste success, and they were hell-bent on showing the outdoor industry -- and themselves -- that they could both manufacture and deliver right.
In one feverish late-August week, Marmot filled orders, loaded boxes, and dispatched trucks filled with Marmot products to dealers -- two weeks ahead of schedule. Marmot had battled tirelessly on its weakest front and slain its enemy.
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At 9 a.m. one day last January, Sheryl Harten, Marmot's vice-president of operations, like Pavlov, walks around ringing a silver bell. Ten casually dressed people respond, migrating to a small conference room. This is Marmot's daily "stand-up" meeting -- "We stand so it doesn't go on too long," explains Crisafulli -- a 10-minute ritual in which members of the management team keep one another posted. "We're gonna deliver spring '95 early!" proclaims Neide Cooley, director of merchandising. A spontaneous whoop is followed by applause.
