Kamprad seems to have viewed his team as extended
family. Back in 1957 he bankrolled a weeklong trip to
Spain for all 80 employees and their families as reward for
hard work. The early team of employees all lived near
each other. They worked together, played together, drank
together, and talked about IKEA around the clock. When
asked by an academic researcher what was the fundamen-
tal key to good leadership, Kamprad replied "love." Recol-
lecting the early days, he noted that "when we were
working as a small family in Aluhult, we were as if in love.
Nothing whatsoever to do with eroticism. We just liked
each other so damn much."9 Another manager noted that
"we who wanted to join IKEA did so because the com-
pany suits our way of life. To escape thinking about status,
grandeur and smart clothes.")