Thread by @chrisxmunn

In 1963, Ferrari insulted a tractor manufacturer in Northern Italy.

That tractor manufacture would become a $11B problem for Ferrari.

A wild story on revenge and listening to your customer.

Yesterday @agazdecki shared a tweet about listening to your customers that made me think.

What's the craziest story of someone who didn't listen?

Let's find out 👇

In 1916 in Renazzo, Italy, a young man named Ferruccio was born to a family of grape farmers.

As a boy, Ferruccio was always more interested in the farming equipment than the farming itself.

In 1940 Ferruccio was drafted into the Italian Royal Air Force.

He went on to fight in World War II; where he served as a mechanic.

Vehicle maintenance was his specialty.

He would go on to put that experience to good use shortly after.

After the war, with the knowledge he gained in the AIr Force, Feruccio started building tractors in Northern Italy.

The timing couldn't have been better.

There was an industrial boom all over Europe and the tractors were in high demand.

Ferruccio's business took off.

Ferruccio had found success.

He was selling tractors all over Italy. And farmers loved the product Ferruccio was making.

The business made Ferruccio very wealthy and you can actually still buy the tractors to this day in Italy.

With his new found wealth, Feruccio began collecting cars. Mercedes, Jaguar, Maserati's, etc.

But, his favorite car was the Ferrari 250 GT.

Any time Ferruccio had business meetings around town, he drove the 250 GT.

It was his trophy.

Despite his love for the car, Ferruccio thought the Ferrari was poorly made.

Especially the clutch in the car.

He claimed the car used inferior parts.

Due to his vast vehicle mechanical knowledge, he knew a better way.

One day, Ferruccio caught up with Enzo Ferrari (the founder of Ferrari).

He expressed his displeasure with the parts to Enzo himself.

After paying good money for a Ferrari, he expected better quality.

Due to his expertise, he told Ferrari how to make it better.

Ferrari didn't take well to this tractor maker telling him about his cars.

So he told Ferruccio:

“Let me make cars. You stick to making tractors.”

This infuriated Ferruccio.

He knew manufacturing and Enzo Ferrari simply dismissed his complaints.

He thought he could probably make his own car and make it better.

So he set off to do just that.

You may notice I haven't mentioned Ferruccio's last name.

It was Lamborghini.

Ferruccio set off on a mission.

Make a quicker car with better quality than Enzo Ferrari ever could.

Automobili Lamborghini was founded in 1964 and would go on to become a giant in the car industry.

Lamborghini's are known for their sharp lines and raging speed.

Almost all the names of the cars are in some way related to bulls.

Their logo is a bull.

Ferruccio could be considered a raging bull as well.

Currently the Lamborghini brand is part of the Volkswagen group and does over $600M in sales annually.

The brand is valued at $11B USD.

But still to this day, Ferrari and Lamborghini are still very much rivals.

Lesson:

If Enzo Ferrari would have listened to his customer, Lamborghini probably wouldn't exist today.

No one knows the issues of your product/service more than your customers.

TL;DR

Enzo Ferrari pissed off one of his customers.

That customer was so mad that he started Lamborghini.

Don't piss off a Ferrari owner (or a customer).

Doesn't everyone love a good revenge story?

Here's my personal favorite.

Whats' yours?

If you enjoyed the content, I'd appreciate if you retweeted the 1st tweet of the thread.

And follow @chrisxmunn

I write 1-2 threads a week related to business and leadership.

@agazdecki tweet on listening to customers yesterday.

Or the tractor lover