People say I am cheap, and I don’t mind if they do.
IKEA is not completely perfect. It irritates me to hear it said that IKEA is the best company in the world. We are going the right way to becoming it but we are not there yet.
Time is your most important resource. You can do so much in ten minutes. Ten minutes; once gone is gone for good.
To design a desk which may cost $1,000 is easy for a furniture designer but to design a functional and good desk which shall cost only $50 can only be done by the very best.
You can do so much in 10 minutes time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Divide your life into 10-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.
I’m stingy and I’m proud of the reputation.
Ikea people do not drive flashy cars or stay at luxury hotels.
A better everyday life means getting away from status and conventions – being freer and more at ease as human beings.
If there is such a thing as good leadership, it is to give a good example. I have to do so for all the Ikea employees.
It was our duty to expand. Those who cannot or will not join us are to be pitied. What we want to do, we can do and will do, together. A glorious future!
Simple routine have a greater impact. It is not just to cut costs that we avoid luxury hotels. We do not need fancy cars, posh titles, tailor made uniforms or other status symbols.
Ten minutes are not just one-sixth of your hourly pay; ten minutes is a piece of yourself. Divide yourself into ten units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activities. Most things still remain to be done.
I’m not afraid of turning 80 and I have lots of things to do. I don’t have time for dying.
I could have an office all to myself but since my collaborators don’t have one, then I too am contented to have a desk in a shared room.
What is good for our customers is also in the long run good for us.
How can I ask people who work for me to travel cheaply if I am traveling in luxury?
Everything we earn we need as a reserve.
We have to still develop the IKEA group. We need many billions of Swiss francs to take on China or Russia.
Once and for all, we have decided to side with the many.
Only while sleeping one makes no mistakes. Making mistakes is the privilege of the active – of those who can correct their mistakes and put them right.