‘Do one thing well’ - the Opinel knife

In 1994 I met a French bloke called Alain. He lived in Strasbourg and we became good friends. In the mid '90s a group of us used to meet up in France for walking holidays.

Alain would always have his cherished Opinel knife on him that he'd use for everything: to whittle a stick, slice a baguette or spread some cheese for a picnic.

He was generous in giving me my own Opinel knife which I still have today. But I'd got the blade wet so it had got a bit rusty.

On holiday in France this week we spotted an Opinel store - the only one in the country. And I bought my teenage sons and myself a new Opinel knife, opting for stainless steel this time.

The knives are still made in Chambery in the French Alps, 50kms away from the store. It's a brand with a lovely backstory that dates back to 1890 when Joseph Opinel designed his first pocket knife: a tool that set out to be as robust and functional as it was simple and beautiful.

I love that brand promise.

When I was my sons' age my Dad gave me a Swiss army life. Sure I loved all the different functions, but actually there's something beautiful about the simplicity of a single knife over multiple blades and fancy scissors!

It reminds me of what David Hieatt says - that philosophy of Doing One Thing Well.

Early on in my entrepreneurial career I guess I was like the Swiss army knife: with a handful of skills and services to offer the marketplace. And now I have fine-tuned the proposition, I'm like the single-blade Opinel knife. Doing one thing well. Using storytelling to cut through the noise ;)

And whether it was cutting cheese, slicing open an avocado or splitting a baguette - our Opinel knives were must-carrys on our holiday last week.

Bon travail Joseph Opinel!