Thursday Mar 09, 2023

The Future Of Modern With John Edelman

John Edelman is the President and CEO of Heller, an American modern design company that makes and sells indoor/outdoor furniture and accessories. John was previously the CEO of Design Within Reach, which was sold to Herman Miller in 2014.

OUTLINE:

(00:00) - Intro
(4:09) - Early years in an entrepreneurial home
(8:13) - Advice for starting a new company
(11:00) - The Importance Of Taste
(14:20) - Learning to love modern design
(18:30) - The art of the flip
(22:27) - Getting a visit from Andy Warhol
(24:35) - The power of window displays
(27:33) - Tips for running a family business
(29:47) - Changing the strategy at Edelman Leather
(33:25) - Dealing with family in your business
(35:37) - Using your competition to power growth
(40:15) - Discovering the Brazilian show business
(42:50) - Selling the family business
(48:09) - Keeping your family happy while running a business
(50:19) - Almost losing a deal in the last moment
(56:06) - How to motivate your team
(1:07:12) - Selling Design Within Reach
(1:16:26) - The 10/80/10 Management Model
(1:19:33) - After selling Design Within Reach
(1:21:24) - Failing in the vodka industry
(1:24:26) - Having a partnership and also a friendship
(1:27:36) - Running the legendary design brand, Heller

EPISODE LINKS:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-edelman-4361a012/
Heller: https://hellerinc.com/
Design Within Reach: https://www.dwr.com/
Herman Miller: https://www.hermanmiller.com/

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://forwardobsessed.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forward-obsessed/id1615760781
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2TrkOZ7xL7WSlzc2mrwXuC?si=aa5e7790aca64e05
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ldUUGxQZ5b9WPqVXz_qlfXgK3hHPs4z
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-ldUUGxQZ5Yt0LiPml0y6pNUSrqHzWql