• 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 (8,102 ratings)

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Delivering Happiness  By  cover art

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

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One of the best

Probably the best book I’ve ever read, couldn’t recommend more.
A must for anyone wanting to learn more about culture.

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Great book !!

Great book on how to build a company and great culture. A + + +

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Great stories told by a passionate leader!

Easy listen that just flew by while I captured so many insights and growth opportunities.

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Inspiring

A great story with deep meaning and messages for life and business. If you truly listen you will hear something that is applicable to one or more areas of your life and or your company’s journey to success.

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Excellent read

Very detailed and personal journey of Tony Hsieh. I always wanted to know how successful people started and this is it.

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Great book

Love this book! Gives me a lot to think about in my own company! :)

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Slow build, Strong ending.

It was a slow build for me. listening tot he first half I kept thinking 'Why did so and so recommend this to me highly?' The second half really turned it around. There are many moments of inspiration. both little quote nuggets to larger concepts that have really helped me evaluate and focus on my own goals. I would definitely recommend!

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Interesting story but wacky!

I was really excited to read Tony's story! The beging was very interesting about his childhood and his family life. Listening to his enterepreneurial drive at time was exciting. But the sections he spoke about going to raves and building his tribes left me thinking this guy is off his rocker! Maybe at 56 I'm just to old to understand so this might just be me here. When he was talking about his business and the development I thought he was brilliant anything else was way to far to the left for me! From what I read about him in the past this is on point about him. If your a entrepreneur you might get some good nuggets here and still would recamend this book!

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learning

I loved this book. the whole concept on creating culture and having it become their strength is impressive. very well narrated

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So honest and insightful

Tony really does share it all. It has me really thinking about how I’m working and “wowing” my clients. Thank you!

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