University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Work Life Happiness?
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Work Life Happiness?

Zappos.com CEO Says You Bet

Tony Hsieh
Business Innovation Factory, 2010
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Members of older generations may bristle at the notion of fun in the workplace and happiness as a business model. Nevertheless, Tony Hsieh, CEO of online shoe retailer Zappos, contends that “delivering happiness” to your workers as well as your customers is the best way to ensure the success of your business. Hsieh is an engaging, energetic speaker, though the lecture hits a slump when his chief happiness officer joins him on stage to speak about audiences’ enthusiastic receptions of Hsieh’s speeches. If you’re an entrepreneur or executive seeking purpose as well as profits, getAbstract recommends Hsieh’s account of Zappos’s evolution.

Summary

Years ago, executives believed their organizations had to choose among accumulating profits, keeping customers satisfied and making employees feel happy. But these factors are no longer mutually exclusive, as the case of online shoe retailer Zappos proves. To the uninformed observer, Zappos appears to be an overnight success, but the company’s success results from years of hard work, collaboration and a bit of good luck. And don’t underestimate the power of luck. Research shows that people who consider themselves lucky are usually more alert to opportunities than those who don’t. That...

About the Speaker

Tony Hsieh is the CEO of Zappos and author of the New York Times bestseller Delivering Happiness.

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