There are so many good things to pull out of this fascinating article about wine salesman Jon Rimmerman in the New York Times article Drunk with Power.
Rimmerman is the founder of Garagiste and the author of one of the most popular email newsletters on wine.
His meandering missives are part salesmanship in print, part trivia junk-drawer on topics like vintage 1960s tube amplifiers or 100k bike rides in the high-hills of France (after two bottles of Beaujolais).
His fans call his daily emails “crack.”
But it’s his method for crafting a mission statement (or mantra) that deserves particular attention:
Rimmerman claims that he made two lists — things he liked about the wine business, and things he did not — and decided that his company’s goal would be to transform the industry until his “don’t like” column was empty.
In other words, transform your life until your “don’t like” column is empty.
I’ve already started my personal list.
You?
By the way, don’t forget the eight rules every writer should live by.
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Image credit: Photograph by Emily Shur for The New York Times
Within us a filter. drawn by a simple line on a page. Separating the toxic from the pure, the good, the meaningful.
This is motivating, and sad.
Unexpected.
As always, well done and thank you for sharing it.
That’s a pretty powerful metaphor, Justin…the vertical line on a page. Good job.
Just signed up for Rimmerman’s newsletter. Very cool how personal it is. Love the simple, conversational feel where you just reply to the email with your order. Definitely a refreshing way of doing business. Thanks for the heads up!
Yeah, I’m not a wine drinker but I get a kick out seeing where his mind goes. The stories he tells are flawlessly entwined with the wine he’s selling that almost seems like he’s making it up. Masterful storyteller. It’s the details that count.
Yeah, I enjoyed seeing this site, too, Demian. When we have the whole world of wine at our fingertips at winelibrary.com it is fascinating to see the allure of the opposite. Jon’s got a secret boutique going and he makes people feel privileged to enter his world by buying from him. Really interesting. Thanks.
Great use of the velvet rope–and stories.
Yet more dynamite. Thanks Demian!
You bet, Rob.