Finally finished reading Tony Hsieh’s book this week!
We (“KoFounders” at YouNoodle/KISED) visited Zappos’ Vegas office in April - I have to say, it was a pleasantly surprising experience; the way everyone seemed happy in their vibrant (somewhat weirdly decorated, all with each person’s personality) office, creating their own culture within the community with own initiatives; especially given that many of Zappos employees are doing ‘call center’ work, which is usually considered to be the most dull and boring job (something most companies outsource & terribly fail at pleasing customers - even @ Singapore Airlines!) - but at Zappos, it was all about, really, delivering ‘happiness’ to customers. They have no restrictions on the length of conversation nor do they have a script; other than being themselves - apparently one of them spent 10+ hours with a customer…
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Some quotes from Hsieh, T. (2010) Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, And Purpose. New York: Business Plus.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” - Gandhi
“Happiness is really just about four things: perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness (number and depth of your relationships), and vision/meaning (being part of something bigger than yourself).”
“Money alone isn’t enough to bring happiness … happiness [is] when you’re actually truly ok with losing everything you have.”
“I had decided to stop chasing the money, and start chasing the passion.”
“I don’t need more money, so what was it good for? I wasn’t spending the money i already had. So why was i staying at microsoft, vesting in peace, trying to get more of it?
I made the list of the happiest periods in my life, and i realized that none of them involved money. I realized that building stuff and being creative and inventive made me happy. Connecting with a friend and talking through the entire night until the sun rose made me happy. Trick or treaitng in the middle school with a group of my closest friends made me happy. eating a baked potato after a swim meet made me happy.”
“Without conscious and deliberate effort, inertia always wins”
‘A great company is more likely to die of indigestion of too much opportunity than starvation from too little.’ - Packard Law (p89)
‘Be humble: In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind, there are a few’ - Shnryu Suzuki.
Zappos 10 core values
- Deliver WOW through service
- Embrace and drive change
- Create fun and a little wierdness
- Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded
- Pursue growth and learning
- Build open and honest relationship with communication
- Build a postive team and family spirit
- Do more with less
- Be passionate and determined
- Be Humble
