EP815: Tim Leatherman - The Leatherman Multitool Story

"There's a fine line between persistence and failure to accept reality. But if you're going to err on one side or the other, you want to err on being overly persistent rather than giving up too soon." — Tim Leatherman

Tim Leatherman is back for his third conversation with Nicky — and this one comes with a new book. The Leatherman Book releases October 6th, 2026, and it tells the story of how a note scribbled in a travel journal — add pliers to a pocket knife — became one of the most recognized tool brands in American history.

The origin story is almost improbable. Tim and his wife were traveling through Europe and into Asia on a shoestring budget in the early 1970s when Tim kept running into the same problem: his pocket knife could start the job but couldn't finish it without a pair of pliers back in the car. He came home, went into the garage, and spent two years building a prototype. Then seven years trying to sell it. Knife companies said it wasn't a knife. Tool companies said it was a gadget and gadgets don't sell. More than 100 catalogs received a photo and cover letter. Zero wrote back.

What finally moved the needle was a Seattle catalog buyer who did something unusual: instead of saying no and sending them home, he sat Tim and his co-founder Steve Berliner down, looked at the tool, and told them exactly what to remove to make it manufacturable at a price people would pay. Tim simplified the design, drove back to Portland, and six months later returned with the tool that would become the Leatherman Pocket Survival Tool. In their first full year, they hoped to sell 4,000. They sold nearly 30,000. By 1993, Leatherman was shipping more than a million tools a year. Today it's around 2 million — all made in Portland, Oregon.

Tim and Nicky also go deep on persistence, the detail-obsession that made the tool worth carrying, Tim's design philosophy (highest quality, most functionality, smallest space, least weight), and why he considers the company's warranty a profit center rather than a cost.

Learn more and connect: Leatherman Tool Group — https://www.leatherman.com The Leatherman Book (releasing October 6th) — https://www.leatherman.com

Resources mentioned: The Leatherman Book by Tim Leatherman — https://www.leatherman.com John Wooden's Pyramid of Success — https://www.coachwooden.com Leatherman Wave+ Multi-Tool — https://www.leatherman.com/wave-10.html Leatherman Arc Multi-Tool — https://www.leatherman.com/arc-950.html Cabela's — https://www.cabelas.com

Visit https://www.eCircleAcademy.com and book a success call with Nicky to take your practice to the next level.

Listen at thethoughtleaderrevolution.com/episodes/815