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Class Leadership Opportunity

Mike Johnson

Delivering Happiness

Delivering Happiness is a book written by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh.

The book provides an overview of his life and the leadership principles he utilized to create one of the most successful online retailers of our time.

Zappos

Zappos is an online shoe and clothing retailer based out of Las Vegas Nevada.

The company was founded in 1999 and was bought out by Amazon ten years later for $1.2 billion.

The company’s key driver of competitive advantage is derived from the strong focus they place on customer service and company culture.

Business Model

Zappos uses a loyalty business model and relationship marketing

Their primary source of growth are repeat customers. 75% of their sales are derived from repeat buyers.

Customer Service

Zappos employees answer over 5000 calls per month, they do not use scripts, and have no limits on call times

Employees are encouraged to go above and beyond traditional customer service.

Company Culture: The Number One Priority of the Business

Zappos’s success is derived from their constant pursuit of a strong company culture.

The company goes to great lengths to ensure they hire employees that fit within their culture. Following the completion of company

training, new hires are offered $3000 to leave the company. This processe is designed to encourage employees who are not a good fit to leave the company.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQLTQAv5JQA

Raises and promotions are based exclusively on skill development and cultural fit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfp9LHFIXfI

Core Values

Tony Hsieh believes that much of the companies success can be attributed to their core values.

All strategic decision making and day to day operations are a reflection of the core values created by Hsieh and the employees of Zappos

Hsieh provides strong leadership by consistently living by the values of Zappos

The core values are intended to create a fun and interactive work environment for employees with the aim of translating this into consistently positive customer experiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6WHAfWqX3s

Core Value 1: Deliver WOW Through Service

Employees are encouraged to differentiate themselves by being innovative and unconventional.

Employees are encouraged to go above and beyond in all interactions to have a strong impact on the emotions of the receiver.

At Zappos it is believed that delivering WOW when interacting with customers and co-worker leads to a positive work environment and customer experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td-nVat6cLY

Core Value 2: Embrace and Drive Change

Employees are encouraged to not fear and avoid change, but embrace it and drive it.

Change is driven from the bottom up. The opinions of employees are valued, shared, and used to drive positive change within the organization.

By embracing change, Hsieh believes that Zappos will be able to evolve faster than its competition and remain highly differentiated.

Core Value 3: Create Fun and a Little Weirdness

At all cost, Hsieh looks to avoid creating a culture that is corporate and boring.

Hsieh believes that the expression of an individuals personality is essential to the success of the company.

The encouragement of the expression of employee individuality has led to enhanced levels of creativity and a fun work environment.

Core Value 4: Pursue Growth and Learning

Employees are encouraged and supported as they learn and develop new skills

Zappos provides its employees with ongoing training courses with the aim of building their skills and preparing them for more challenging roles.

By providing comprehensive training to all employees, Zappos has the ability to fill all management positions by recruiting from within

Zappos Library

Core Value 5: Build Open and Honest Relationships with

Communication

Zappos values strong relationships with all stakeholders

Hsieh believes that strong relationships allow his people to accomplish much more

He believes that the key ingredient to strong relationships is to build emotional connections centered around honesty, loyalty, compassion and friendliness

Core Value 6: Build a Positive Team and Family

Spirit Zappos has created an environment that

is friendly, warm, and exciting.

Tony believes that the best leaders are those that are both team leaders as well as team followers. Regardless of ones title within the organization, all employees are encouraged to act as leaders.

Employees are encouraged to have a positive impact on others during all interactions they have with customers and coworkers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gHlEBU_NSg

Core Value 7: Be Passionate and

Determined The success of Zappos would not

be possible without the strong determination from the company’s CEO. Hsieh expects the same level of determination from employees and knows that if it is non existent it will have a negative impact on company performance.

Determination exists amongst all employees because they believe in what they are doing and are working toward the achievement of a higher purpose.

Core Value 8: Be Humble

This value represents Hsieh’s belief that employees should always be respectful towards everyone.

Hsieh places a strong focus on celebrating individual and team successes while encouraging employees to conduct themselves with a level of quiet confidence.

Employee Loyalty

Employees are extremely loyal to the Zappos brand and all that it represents

The company’s CEO lives by the Zappos core values, always does what he says he will do, and expects the same from all members of the Zappos team.

Key Driver of Success: People

At Zappos it is believed that the companies key success drive is good people.

The company’s core values connect to what is meaningful to both employees and customers and empower employees to go above and beyond what is expected of them.

By creating a strong culture, a symbolic language, and a clear image of the future, Zappos employees feel as though they are working towards something much larger than the sale of shoes and apparel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axlWBn7YQA4