Sept. 22, 2025
958.Tire Makers. Map Makers. Taste Makers. How the Michelin Brothers Sold Trust, Not Just Tires.
Send us a text The Michelin Brothers didn’t just sell tires—they sold a movement. They built maps to encourage people to travel. They fueled behavior before they ever pitched a product. They created so much trust that people assumed the tires had to be just as good. Eventually, they weren’t just guiding roads—they were defining culture. From tires... To travel... To the world’s most trusted restaurant rating system. This episode unpacks how you can sell more—by pushing...
The Michelin Brothers didn’t just sell tires—they sold a movement.
They built maps to encourage people to travel.
They fueled behavior before they ever pitched a product.
They created so much trust that people assumed the tires had to be just as good.
Eventually, they weren’t just guiding roads—they were defining culture.
From tires...
To travel...
To the world’s most trusted restaurant rating system.
This episode unpacks how you can sell more—by pushing less.
How to influence behavior, build trust through usefulness, and create lasting impact.
📌 Stop selling the thing.
📌 Start showing people where to go.
📌 Be the mapmaker. Be the movement.
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Keep it simple. Keep it moving. Never settle. Stay tough.
WEBVTT
00:00:00.630 --> 00:00:01.530
alight 3, 2, 1.
00:00:01.530 --> 00:00:02.069
Let's get it.
00:00:02.850 --> 00:00:07.679
Lemme take you back to something I was listening to recently on Founder's podcast.
00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:16.769
If you have not subscribed to his podcast, man, I would tell you to do so, especially like if you're into biographies or how people think.
00:00:16.769 --> 00:00:19.109
It's a excellent, excellent podcast.
00:00:19.710 --> 00:00:27.660
And so one of the episodes I was listening to was about the Michelin brothers, like the tire guy, Michelin brothers.
00:00:28.660 --> 00:00:35.920
But what I realized in listening was these weren't just tire guys.
00:00:36.909 --> 00:00:38.469
They were movement guys.
00:00:39.466 --> 00:00:43.185
See, most people think Michelin just sold tires.
00:00:44.206 --> 00:00:45.496
They weren't selling tires.
00:00:46.305 --> 00:00:47.506
They were selling a movement.
00:00:48.555 --> 00:01:05.536
and I got to thinking about this sometimes in sales, we get so focused on the product that we're offering, like the pitch, the perfect close, the perfect script that we forget people don't wake up wanting your product.
00:01:06.436 --> 00:01:07.221
They want progress.
00:01:08.146 --> 00:01:12.016
They want possibility, they want a better version of themselves.
00:01:12.915 --> 00:01:20.896
And if your product just happens to help them get there, then that's where the real connection happens.
00:01:21.896 --> 00:01:28.376
Interestingly, the Michelin brothers knew this at the time, hardly anyone owned a car.
00:01:29.165 --> 00:01:32.646
If they don't own a car, then they don't need tires.
00:01:33.203 --> 00:01:46.207
But instead of the Michelin brothers thinking like, man, you know, there's no market for this and it's too small, and instead of bitching and complaining about that, they ended up flipping the script.
00:01:47.528 --> 00:01:51.878
The Michelin brothers gave away maps, but not just any maps.
00:01:52.537 --> 00:02:09.358
They created maps that were filled with restaurants worth visiting, roots worth driving and places worth seeing they realized if people travel more, they use their cars more, and if they use their cars more, they wear out their tires.
00:02:10.348 --> 00:02:12.268
So see, they sold the journey.
00:02:12.807 --> 00:02:14.008
They sold the motion.
00:02:14.728 --> 00:02:15.747
And the tires.
00:02:16.798 --> 00:02:21.027
The tires just sold themselves, and here's where it gets even better.
00:02:22.198 --> 00:02:29.038
These maps were so exceptional, so useful, so trusted, so well designed.
00:02:29.788 --> 00:02:38.997
That people start associating Michelin with reliability and expertise and that trust, it transferred.
00:02:39.390 --> 00:02:49.230
They said, man, if Michelin puts this much effort into a map and they just give it away, man, their tires must be solid too.
00:02:50.491 --> 00:02:52.350
And this is when the business exploded.
00:02:53.330 --> 00:02:54.950
See, that's your first lesson right there.
00:02:56.300 --> 00:02:57.561
Don't force the product.
00:02:58.104 --> 00:02:59.034
Fuel the behavior.
00:02:59.875 --> 00:03:00.925
Be the map maker.
00:03:01.557 --> 00:03:10.258
Meet people where they are, and ask them where they want to go, and then show 'em the clearest path to get there and stick with 'em.
00:03:11.098 --> 00:03:16.078
Because even when the map is clear, people are gonna take wrong turns.
00:03:16.318 --> 00:03:17.138
That's just part of it.
00:03:17.638 --> 00:03:20.068
Sometimes you gotta be wrong on the way to being right.
00:03:20.758 --> 00:03:21.657
But they'll learn.
00:03:22.155 --> 00:03:23.564
They'll build resolve.
00:03:24.104 --> 00:03:25.455
They'll find their own rhythm.
00:03:26.145 --> 00:03:28.094
They'll learn how to figure it out on their own.
00:03:28.574 --> 00:03:30.610
They'll learn how to use your map.
00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:46.506
And when they have a flat tire, emotionally flat, frustrated, overwhelmed, skeptical, getting beat down by their past decisions, thinking there's no use in even trying, you don't take it personal, you don't push harder.
00:03:47.225 --> 00:03:50.105
You're there to help them get back on the road.
00:03:51.276 --> 00:03:59.075
You're their guide, the steady hand, the one who reminds them of the direction that they want to go.
00:03:59.592 --> 00:04:01.663
Now here's the final layer to the story.
00:04:02.772 --> 00:04:08.832
Michelin went from tire makers to map makers to taste makers.
00:04:09.383 --> 00:04:19.822
They didn't stop at helping you get from point A to point B. They started rating restaurants that you may stop at along the way, and this is where the Michelin stars come from.
00:04:20.093 --> 00:04:21.142
I always wondered that.
00:04:21.382 --> 00:04:25.103
I'm like, how is Michelin tires associated?
00:04:25.583 --> 00:04:26.903
With Michelin restaurants.
00:04:26.963 --> 00:04:31.139
I had no idea the journey that took them to this place.
00:04:31.642 --> 00:04:32.723
It's crazy as hell.
00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:36.079
So a one star restaurant is considered a good stop.
00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:36.889
Two stars.
00:04:37.218 --> 00:04:38.358
It's worth a detour.
00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:39.769
Three stars.
00:04:40.369 --> 00:04:43.608
Oh, that's worth the whole journey itself.
00:04:44.209 --> 00:04:45.559
I mean, think about that for a second.
00:04:46.218 --> 00:04:48.079
These are tire manufacturers.
00:04:48.843 --> 00:04:52.803
Who now determine the best restaurants in the world?
00:04:53.314 --> 00:04:54.004
Why?
00:04:54.783 --> 00:05:00.874
Because the trust they earned through usefulness expanded into new territory.
00:05:01.548 --> 00:05:13.262
People thought if Michelin maps are that good and their tires are that dependable, I trust them to guide me anywhere, even through the world of fine dining.
00:05:13.668 --> 00:05:13.728
Yeah.
00:05:14.478 --> 00:05:19.187
That's what happens when you commit to service over selling.
00:05:19.577 --> 00:05:30.069
When you fuel the behavior, not just the sale, when you stay with people through the whole journey, not just the pit stop, this is where you earn your seat at the table.
00:05:30.430 --> 00:05:39.040
You earn the right to grow, to expand, to be respected in places that you weren't supposed to, quote unquote, supposed to dominate.
00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:44.319
Today, you're selling a product tomorrow, you're selling a whole freaking movement.
00:05:44.620 --> 00:05:45.459
Next year.
00:05:46.089 --> 00:05:50.199
Your name stands for excellence in any room that you walk into.
00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:52.939
So lemme ask you this.
00:05:53.269 --> 00:05:58.370
Are you pushing a product or do you see yourself fueling a movement?
00:05:59.300 --> 00:06:04.790
Are you pitching or are you creating a map for someone else's journey?
00:06:05.629 --> 00:06:11.329
You gotta sell the movement, fuel the momentum, and let the product take care of itself.
00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:13.579
All right, let's get outta here.
00:06:13.610 --> 00:06:15.050
Thanks for sharing today's episode.
00:06:15.050 --> 00:06:16.194
Remember, keep it simple, keep it moving.
00:06:16.670 --> 00:06:17.240
Never settle.
00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:17.779
Stay tough.
00:06:17.785 --> 00:06:18.064
Peace.
00:00:00.630 --> 00:00:01.530
alight 3, 2, 1.
00:00:01.530 --> 00:00:02.069
Let's get it.
00:00:02.850 --> 00:00:07.679
Lemme take you back to something I was listening to recently on Founder's podcast.
00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:16.769
If you have not subscribed to his podcast, man, I would tell you to do so, especially like if you're into biographies or how people think.
00:00:16.769 --> 00:00:19.109
It's a excellent, excellent podcast.
00:00:19.710 --> 00:00:27.660
And so one of the episodes I was listening to was about the Michelin brothers, like the tire guy, Michelin brothers.
00:00:28.660 --> 00:00:35.920
But what I realized in listening was these weren't just tire guys.
00:00:36.909 --> 00:00:38.469
They were movement guys.
00:00:39.466 --> 00:00:43.185
See, most people think Michelin just sold tires.
00:00:44.206 --> 00:00:45.496
They weren't selling tires.
00:00:46.305 --> 00:00:47.506
They were selling a movement.
00:00:48.555 --> 00:01:05.536
and I got to thinking about this sometimes in sales, we get so focused on the product that we're offering, like the pitch, the perfect close, the perfect script that we forget people don't wake up wanting your product.
00:01:06.436 --> 00:01:07.221
They want progress.
00:01:08.146 --> 00:01:12.016
They want possibility, they want a better version of themselves.
00:01:12.915 --> 00:01:20.896
And if your product just happens to help them get there, then that's where the real connection happens.
00:01:21.896 --> 00:01:28.376
Interestingly, the Michelin brothers knew this at the time, hardly anyone owned a car.
00:01:29.165 --> 00:01:32.646
If they don't own a car, then they don't need tires.
00:01:33.203 --> 00:01:46.207
But instead of the Michelin brothers thinking like, man, you know, there's no market for this and it's too small, and instead of bitching and complaining about that, they ended up flipping the script.
00:01:47.528 --> 00:01:51.878
The Michelin brothers gave away maps, but not just any maps.
00:01:52.537 --> 00:02:09.358
They created maps that were filled with restaurants worth visiting, roots worth driving and places worth seeing they realized if people travel more, they use their cars more, and if they use their cars more, they wear out their tires.
00:02:10.348 --> 00:02:12.268
So see, they sold the journey.
00:02:12.807 --> 00:02:14.008
They sold the motion.
00:02:14.728 --> 00:02:15.747
And the tires.
00:02:16.798 --> 00:02:21.027
The tires just sold themselves, and here's where it gets even better.
00:02:22.198 --> 00:02:29.038
These maps were so exceptional, so useful, so trusted, so well designed.
00:02:29.788 --> 00:02:38.997
That people start associating Michelin with reliability and expertise and that trust, it transferred.
00:02:39.390 --> 00:02:49.230
They said, man, if Michelin puts this much effort into a map and they just give it away, man, their tires must be solid too.
00:02:50.491 --> 00:02:52.350
And this is when the business exploded.
00:02:53.330 --> 00:02:54.950
See, that's your first lesson right there.
00:02:56.300 --> 00:02:57.561
Don't force the product.
00:02:58.104 --> 00:02:59.034
Fuel the behavior.
00:02:59.875 --> 00:03:00.925
Be the map maker.
00:03:01.557 --> 00:03:10.258
Meet people where they are, and ask them where they want to go, and then show 'em the clearest path to get there and stick with 'em.
00:03:11.098 --> 00:03:16.078
Because even when the map is clear, people are gonna take wrong turns.
00:03:16.318 --> 00:03:17.138
That's just part of it.
00:03:17.638 --> 00:03:20.068
Sometimes you gotta be wrong on the way to being right.
00:03:20.758 --> 00:03:21.657
But they'll learn.
00:03:22.155 --> 00:03:23.564
They'll build resolve.
00:03:24.104 --> 00:03:25.455
They'll find their own rhythm.
00:03:26.145 --> 00:03:28.094
They'll learn how to figure it out on their own.
00:03:28.574 --> 00:03:30.610
They'll learn how to use your map.
00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:46.506
And when they have a flat tire, emotionally flat, frustrated, overwhelmed, skeptical, getting beat down by their past decisions, thinking there's no use in even trying, you don't take it personal, you don't push harder.
00:03:47.225 --> 00:03:50.105
You're there to help them get back on the road.
00:03:51.276 --> 00:03:59.075
You're their guide, the steady hand, the one who reminds them of the direction that they want to go.
00:03:59.592 --> 00:04:01.663
Now here's the final layer to the story.
00:04:02.772 --> 00:04:08.832
Michelin went from tire makers to map makers to taste makers.
00:04:09.383 --> 00:04:19.822
They didn't stop at helping you get from point A to point B. They started rating restaurants that you may stop at along the way, and this is where the Michelin stars come from.
00:04:20.093 --> 00:04:21.142
I always wondered that.
00:04:21.382 --> 00:04:25.103
I'm like, how is Michelin tires associated?
00:04:25.583 --> 00:04:26.903
With Michelin restaurants.
00:04:26.963 --> 00:04:31.139
I had no idea the journey that took them to this place.
00:04:31.642 --> 00:04:32.723
It's crazy as hell.
00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:36.079
So a one star restaurant is considered a good stop.
00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:36.889
Two stars.
00:04:37.218 --> 00:04:38.358
It's worth a detour.
00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:39.769
Three stars.
00:04:40.369 --> 00:04:43.608
Oh, that's worth the whole journey itself.
00:04:44.209 --> 00:04:45.559
I mean, think about that for a second.
00:04:46.218 --> 00:04:48.079
These are tire manufacturers.
00:04:48.843 --> 00:04:52.803
Who now determine the best restaurants in the world?
00:04:53.314 --> 00:04:54.004
Why?
00:04:54.783 --> 00:05:00.874
Because the trust they earned through usefulness expanded into new territory.
00:05:01.548 --> 00:05:13.262
People thought if Michelin maps are that good and their tires are that dependable, I trust them to guide me anywhere, even through the world of fine dining.
00:05:13.668 --> 00:05:13.728
Yeah.
00:05:14.478 --> 00:05:19.187
That's what happens when you commit to service over selling.
00:05:19.577 --> 00:05:30.069
When you fuel the behavior, not just the sale, when you stay with people through the whole journey, not just the pit stop, this is where you earn your seat at the table.
00:05:30.430 --> 00:05:39.040
You earn the right to grow, to expand, to be respected in places that you weren't supposed to, quote unquote, supposed to dominate.
00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:44.319
Today, you're selling a product tomorrow, you're selling a whole freaking movement.
00:05:44.620 --> 00:05:45.459
Next year.
00:05:46.089 --> 00:05:50.199
Your name stands for excellence in any room that you walk into.
00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:52.939
So lemme ask you this.
00:05:53.269 --> 00:05:58.370
Are you pushing a product or do you see yourself fueling a movement?
00:05:59.300 --> 00:06:04.790
Are you pitching or are you creating a map for someone else's journey?
00:06:05.629 --> 00:06:11.329
You gotta sell the movement, fuel the momentum, and let the product take care of itself.
00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:13.579
All right, let's get outta here.
00:06:13.610 --> 00:06:15.050
Thanks for sharing today's episode.
00:06:15.050 --> 00:06:16.194
Remember, keep it simple, keep it moving.
00:06:16.670 --> 00:06:17.240
Never settle.
00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:17.779
Stay tough.
00:06:17.785 --> 00:06:18.064
Peace.