{"id":63420,"date":"2022-03-27T15:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-27T19:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=63420"},"modified":"2022-03-29T09:30:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T13:30:16","slug":"zappos-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/zappos-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Overview of the Zappos Book\u2014Delivering Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you read Tony Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness<\/em>? What are the most important takeaways from the book on Zappos’s culture<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the former CEO of Zappos, Hsieh wrote Delivering Happiness <\/em>to reveal the secrets behind Zappos’s healthy work culture<\/a>, and how he implements happiness into his company’s mission statement. In his book, Zappos is said to be built on employees’ and customers’ happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about the most important principles taught in Tony Hsieh’s Zappos book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Having a Company Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the book, Zappos is considered to have a healthy company culture<\/a>, which is one of the most important elements of a successful business<\/a>. While he never provides a concrete definition of company culture, we\u2019ve used his discussions on culture to define it as follows: Culture is the standard behaviors and beliefs that the employees of a company maintain both in business settings and in their personal lives.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to have a culture that reflects your business\u2019s mission<\/strong> so that your employees will habitually behave appropriately to advance that mission. For example, Google\u2019s mission is to make information universally accessible<\/a>. Behaviors and beliefs that fit this mission include encouraging curiosity and valuing transparency. Employees with these traits will approach their jobs with open minds and determination to innovate and improve information accessibility, advancing Google\u2019s mission. However, if Google\u2019s culture didn\u2019t reflect its mission, instead prioritizing profit over customer satisfaction or accessibility, employees might suggest and implement policies counter to the mission (such as putting up paywalls).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zappos sets itself apart from its competitors through a culture devoted to making its employees happy. Hsieh believes that by making its employees happy, Zappos will naturally fulfill its other objectives of great customer service<\/a> and continued success. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nurturing Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zappos began nurturing its culture early in the company\u2019s life. Shaping the culture at this stage was easy, Hsieh explains in his book, because Zappos had a small group of employees who joined the company because they were excited about the project,<\/strong> rather than just looking to make money. Zappos could start nurturing these good qualities from the very beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on these employees\u2019 suggestions, the Delivering Happiness<\/em> book can refine Zappos\u2019s culture into three critical categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n