Sample
  • Delivering Happiness

  • A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
  • By: Tony Hsieh
  • Narrated by: Tony Hsieh
  • Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (8,113 ratings)

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Delivering Happiness

By: Tony Hsieh
Narrated by: Tony Hsieh
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Editorial reviews

Tony Hsieh is a really nice guy. This is what makes him a very unusual CEO, which is what makes his company so interesting. It also makes him a writer who doesn't use much corporate lingo, and a terrifically casual reader of his own book on the growth and development of Zappos, his unique company. One part memoir, one part philosophy, one part corporate handbook, and all silly optimism, Delivering Happiness will appeal to a surprisingly wide audience.

Hsieh begins with his business history, which adequately conveys his wackiness. First, there was the worm farm in elementary school. All the worms escaped, and he lost money. Then there was the mail order button business in middle school, so successful that he passed it along to his younger brothers in succession. In high school, he learned a bunch about programming, thereby combining his instincts with an appropriate knowledge base. He laughs out loud at his own computer club lunchtime antics, and so will you. Then there was the pizza business in his dorm at Harvard, where Hsieh found innovative ways not to attend any classes, and a high-paying corporate gig after graduation where he once again did as little as possible.

This is a man who likes to take business risks, and as he explains how he made decisions that caused him to grow from slacker into a Red Bull-pounding, 24-hour working machine, you'll be amazed that it sounds like he's smiling the entire time. From his first major start-up, which was subsequently sold to Microsoft, to his repeated close calls where Zappos almost went under before it was eventually bought out by Amazon, this true story of one man's corporate odyssey will leave you believing that anything really is possible. It will also at least make you want to shop at Zappos, if it doesn't make you want to move to as Vegas to work there.

Shot through with brief guest-narrations using the actual participants relevant to Hsieh's fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, there are a wealth of memos, emails, and testimonials that all serve as evidence to his weird intellect. And if you played a drinking game where you drank a shot every time Hsieh mentions having a drink, you'd be drunk before the book is half finished. From the tone of his voice to the story he tells, this is clearly a guy who needs his work to be fun and challenging. Just as Zappos has done, Hsieh's book casually fires the opening volley in a new era of corporate culture and management.

This eye-opening treatise on how to be happy at work has the added bonus of an hour-long conversation between Tony Hsieh and Warren Bennis, who has been universally considered one of the most significant leadership gurus for the past 40 years. Much of what Hsieh says is a more concise version of what he says in the book, though insights from the aging but still hilariously astute Bennis do offer something extra exciting. They discuss happiness in a way that is useful to all people, not just corporations. Megan Volpert

Publisher's summary

In this, his first audiobook, Tony Hsieh - the widely admired CEO of Zappos, the online shoe retailer - explains how he created a unique culture and commitment to service that aims to improve the lives of employees, customers, vendors, and backers. Using anecdotes and stories from his own life experiences, and from other companies, Hsieh provides concrete ways that companies can achieve unprecedented success. Even better, he shows how creating happiness and record results go hand-in-hand.

He starts with the "Why" in a section where he narrates his quest to understand the science of happiness. Then he runs through the ten Zappos "Core Values" - such as "Deliver WOW through Service", "Create Fun and A Little Weirdness", and "Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit" - and explains how you and your colleagues should come up with your own.

Hsieh then details many of the unique practices at Zappos that have made it the success it is today, such as their philosphy of allocating marketing money into the customer experience, thereby allowing repeat customers and word-of-mouth be their true form of marketing. He also explains why Zappos's number-one priority is company culture and his belief that once you get the culture right, everything else - great customer service, long-term branding - will happen on its own.

Finally, Delivering Happiness explains how Zappos employees actually apply the Core Values to improving their lives outside of work - and to making a difference in their communities and the world.

©2010 Tony Hsieh (P)2010 Hachette

Featured Article: Big Ideas in Business and Tech


Even the most successful entrepreneurs had to start somewhere. When it comes to groundbreaking technology, the people who became leading business executives often began as lone visionaries with nothing but an idea. Now that they’re global industry leaders, many of them have shared their amazing stories in memoirs. These tales of heartbreak and triumph will bring you along on the roller-coaster of success, all the while showing you the secrets of how business greats transformed their dreams into reality. Read on to find your next great inspiration!

What listeners say about Delivering Happiness

Average customer ratings
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Why do i need headlines?

Great book, i already recommended it to the CEO and will recommend to my colleagues at HR as well

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Really good to listen to.

full of fun stories that cone together to paint a picture of replicateable success

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Great book about inspiring leadership

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because it is a book that explains leadership in business and development (in life) from a stategic and

Who was your favorite character and why?

The writer (Tony), of course!

Have you listened to any of Tony Hsieh’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No... he is good! He has a light and breeze style, dynamic.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it is better to hear it in small parts so you can remember the main ideas (values, motivation, mision, etc.)

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Great Story, Learned A Lot

What was one of the most memorable moments of Delivering Happiness?

Overall this is a great book to learn Tony's story, how he grew up, what drove him, and what he did to create his company. There is so much good information to learn and model that I find myself re-reading this book every six months or so.

Which character – as performed by Tony Hsieh – was your favorite?

Uh, himself?

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Wonderful story!

When I heard Tony had died suddenly, I got this book. I had heard his story on "How I Built This" and wanted to hear more. This was fabulous. it shows you can actually build a large company without the soul-killing drudgery that lives in so many big companies. RIP Tony!

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Great story!

Excelente story by Tony. Incredible lessons to learn and apply to life. The bonus of the interview at the end is awesome

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Enchanting

Would you listen to Delivering Happiness again? Why?

Yes. Very inspiring and real.

What did you like best about this story?

Persistence. Storytelling is captivating.

Have you listened to any of Tony Hsieh’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Does not apply.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Service.

Any additional comments?

Overall awesome. Excitement and hard work with passion.

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Impressive

I am a psychologist interested in the science of happiness. I totally enjoyed Tony’s book and find it fascinating to hear about his life and his business evolution. It is genius how he took his own values and replicated them in his business culture. Whatever we focus on-we get more of—why not happiness? Great job. Tony!

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I loved this book!

Had a great time listening to this book :)
I later found that Tony was actually the one to narrate it, and that is amazing to me. Thank you!

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Great book!

Loved the passion, in this book. Great eye opener, for entrepreneurs and for those who strive to improve.

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