Really, how else do you describe a start-up business that went from zero to 1 billion dollars in merchandise sales in less than 10 years.
Delivering Happiness , by Zappos CEO and biggest investor Tony Hsieh, is a great business book.
Tony takes us through his upper middle class upbringing to his Harvard graduation in 1995, to his co-founding of Link Exchange in 1996 and its subsequent sale to Mircrosoft for $265 billion in 1998, to his joining Zappos in 1999 and selling Zappos in a stock deal to Amazon in 2009.
Talk about a career on steroids.
But more than a book about Tony's personal success, this book is a guide to building a better business by having a succinct corporate culture and committed core values.
Here are the Zappos core values:
1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative and Open Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More with Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble At Beladora.com we know all about doing more with less, being humble, being passionate and determined and most importantly delivering WOW service. Maybe we need to create some fun and a little weirdness too.
Even if you don't have any specific interest in business, I recommend that you read this book. It is a great American story of how ideas, capital, expertise, hard work and a sense of humor come together to make something great.
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6 comments:
I had a reader tell me, the other day, that she bought Beladora pearls from my post on punked out pearls. One of the biggest search terms for my blog now is "brutal pearls." I think there's a natural route to a little fun and weird, no?
I am a very loyal Zappos customer. I love that they ship for free (and provide easy and free return shipping). Their selection is usually the best anywhere.
And I'm a loyal Beladora customer too! :-D Excellent customer service!
I wrote them down ....excellent core values....really helps to see it all laid out like that. I will read this book! thanks for that!
LPC, brutal pearls... who knew? Yep, that is definitely something fun and weird.
Pseu, I love the Zappos emphasis on service and their huge selection. I've got my eyes on a particular pair of boots for this winter...as soon as I can afford them!
And THANK YOU for being a loyal Beladora customer. We appreciate you and all of our loyal clients.
One of these days I'm going to publish the thank you letters that we receive from our customers. You would be amazed at the wonderful things that they say about our jewelry and our customer service!
Susan, yes are they amazing core values. But it is one thing to have them and another to put them into action as Zappos has done. What an amazing company.
Zappos also made the world's 100 most ethical companies for 2010 - http://ethisphere.com/wme2010/
Dear Belle, I think that's great advice xx
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