Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

DIAMOND
RATING
Senteo Rating 3.5
04/27/23
views 4504
comments0
Author:Tony Hsieh
04/27/23
views 4505
comments0
Author:Tony Hsieh
DIAMOND
RATING
Senteo Rating 3.5

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
Tony Hsieh, Business Plus, 2010
Senteo’s Review information

This book chronicles the rise and success of Zappos and its unique company culture, as told by author, founder and entrepreneur, Tony Hsieh.

It is a light and entertaining read, in which the author seeks to strike a balance between customer, the employees and bottom line, identifying 10 core values that the company lives by:  deliver WOW through service; embrace and drive change; create fun and a little weirdness; be adventurous, creative and open-minded; pursue growth and learning; build open and honest relationships with communication; build a positive team and family spirit; do more with less; be passionate and determined; be humble. This book is about corporate culture and entrepreneurism, and a rather unique case, at that.

A fun, honest, entertaining read, which defies the average business norms. Considering Hsieh was able to sell the business to Amazon for over $1billion, a very unique success story.

 

One may get the feeling reading this that it is more of a manual for employees of Zappos to promote the corporate culture, as opposed to a recipe for other companies. Without the forward-thinking, emotionally balanced and driven leadership, this approach might be difficult to implement in many businesses.

 

Now in trade paperback, the hip, iconoclastic CEO of Zappos shows how a different kind of corporate culture can make a huge difference in achieving remarkable results — by actually creating a company culture that values happiness –and then delivers on it.

  • Pay brand-new employees $2,000 to quit
  • Make customer service the responsibility of the entire company-not just a department
  • Focus on company culture as the #1 priority
  • Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business
  • Help employees grow-both personally and professionally
    Seek to change the world
  • Oh, and make money too . . .

This book contains interesting examples of corporate culture and entrepreneurship. The company pursued a balance between unique culture and an operational efficiency model of rapid response to customer needs through mail order, seeking to promote their culture outward and delivering “WOW” to its customers. For additional perspective on this subject, see Senteo’s review for Authenticity: What Customers Really Want.

Senteo Subject Category
Senteo

This book provides an analysis of what worked for Zappos in terms of creating a unique model of company culture and customer service focus. It also provides a framework of 10 core values that the company identified and lives by in designing and maintaining its business model, however this more a list of principles than specific methodology.

The best book reviews in your inbox!
Subscribe now and receive a special gift with your subscription.


    Leave a Reply

    Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
    Tony Hsieh, Business Plus, 2010
    Have you already read this book?
    Here, are people invited to rate the book?

    How useful was this post?

    Click on a star to rate it!

    Average rating / 5. Vote count:

    No votes so far! Be the first to rate this book.

    See content on this topic

    Interested in finding out more about the latest trends in marketing? Shannon Quilty outlines the role of neuromarketing and experiential marketing in shopping centers and on their websites today.
    In this paper, written in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Michael Ruckman explains why customer-centric business models can and must survive periods of crisis.
    Voice On Demand Retail Podcast: Part 1 – Customer Experience & Journeys
    Michael Ruckman talks about Customer Experiences & Customer Journeys, The three faces of Digital for Retailers and the state of leadership in the retail market today.
    Michael Ruckman Talks about Customer-Centric Business Models
    What is the difference between retention and loyalty, and between customer-centric and relationship-centric business models? How exactly can one monetize customer experience? Michael Ruckman answers these questions and more…
    Voice On Demand Retail Podcast: Part 3 – Leadership in the Retail Market
    Michael Ruckman talks about Customer Experiences & Customer Journeys, The three faces of Digital for Retailers and the state of leadership in the retail market today.
    Build a Tower, Build a Team
    Tom Wujec from Autodesk presents some surprisingly deep research into the “marshmallow problem” — a simple team-building exercise that involves dry spaghetti, one yard of tape and a marshmallow.
    How to Build a Business That Lasts 100 Years
    Join strategist Martin Reeves as he explains how executives can apply six principles from living organisms to build resilient businesses that flourish in the face of change.
    Senteo Rating
    The Relationship Economy: Building Stronger Customer Connections in the Digital Age
    Senteo Rating
    What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful
    Related Book Reviews & Education
    In this book, Jim Collins undertakes the task of clarifying what it takes for a company to transition from simply being good to truly being a great company.
    Dan Pink examines how companies can revamp their approach to motivating employees. This comes down to giving employees autonomy, mastery, and purpose, in lieu of traditional ‘carrot and stick’ approaches.
    Mihaly Csikszentmihaly explores his concept of ‘flow’: a state of consciousness characterised by complete immersion during which the ego, with its vanity and insecurity, is completely absent.
    The authors argue that games will change how all of us work – for anyone convinced that engagement is a key ingredient of the future of work, they believe games are the definitive model.