Delivering Happiness

A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

By: Tony Hsieh

Narrated by: Tony Hsieh

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

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

I really liked the first half

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The beginning of the books takes you through an exciting journey of a young entrepreneur and the ups and downs of business. But towards the end goes a bit too in depth about company culture

Great book !!

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

Culture is everything

Every entrepreneur should read this book. Take care of your culture and you will see long term results.

Tony Walked the Talk.

Would you consider the audio edition of Delivering Happiness to be better than the print version?

I did not read the Print Version; however I did reference some quotes, which required printed excerpts.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tony of course!

He built that which did not exist, he drove it to success, and he risked all that he had to make Zappos a success. I like the fact that he was humble enough to outline some of the mistakes along the way too. Some CEOs will not admit to the mistakes they make, because they are looking for the next Golden Parachute (Public Perception), Tony has found an inner peace and confidence in the independence and freedom he has built for himself.

Which scene was your favorite?

The move of the distribution facility to KY, which led to the logistics nightmare, but ultimately led to the eureka-moment. If they had not suffered the logistics nightmare, and realized that they were trying to outsource their core competency, would they have ever developed customer centric culture. I say yes, because the culture was the vision and goal if it’s leader, it might have just taken longer. Would they have survived? Have you done your random act of WOWness today?

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when Tony dismissed the money grubbing board and external investors. I do not believe they would have allowed him to pursue the cultural development, and Zappos would not be what it is today.

Any additional comments?

I like how Tony framed the joining of Amazon and Zappos as a marriage, this instilled to me, and possibly the world, there was a meaningful and optimistic future in the joining. It made me reflect on when I got married; and on how the future looked bright and shiny. Every day the partnership grows stronger.

This is a real “guide by example” for entrepreneurs

I am noticing more and more the importance of mathematics in life... nearly all top entrepreneurs I know are excellent at math and the author of this book, Tony Hsieh, was no exception... although the most important aspect of running Zappos is the actual culture of the company and serving employees and customers well, nothing happened miraculously... it took a lifetime of practice and understanding/ predicting human behavior using mathematical thinking (not typical sales scripts). I dare say this because the company collected data daily to evaluate everyone involved. Tony also loved the subject and was an avid poker player.

I have read this book multiple times and took notes on it. It has influenced my thinking like very few books have. I can relate to his story in so many levels, and for that, I am deeply grateful.🙏🏼.

Rest In Peace Tony. You will live in our hearts forever.

Remarkable wisdom from a former CEO

Tony Shieh has a distinctive voice. The audio version was excellent because it gave the short stories and insights real emotional clarity. Good and bad decisions were handled dispassionately. No grandstanding and no blaming, just discovering deeper insights ("Never outsource a core competency..." is a great example). The poker observations were spot on. I've played for decades and most of the big lessons are described perfectly by the author. The big questions about the meaning of life are addressed in a beautiful and modern way. I'd recommend several parts of the book to high schoolers and college students who are starting the search for their true calling. Some of the process discussion was boring to me - a nice feature of an audio book is that it makes it easier to skip these parts. Of course the recent tragic news saddened me as I'm sure it deeply saddened his friends and family.

Excellent book. Thank you Tony for being you!!!

Thank you, great book and easy read. Funny and great lessons that are digestible and inspiring.

Best book I've ever read

I love stories of good customer service and Tony and his team really exemplify that around his story of Zappos and his personal relationships

good book

the boon tells an interesting story about zappos and Tony with the focus on the purpose of delivering happiness

Muy buen libro, mucha inspiración

No pude parar de leer desde que comencé, lo terminé en menos de dos semanas. Una historia que debe ser conocida y muchos elementos para aplicar en la vida personal y empresarial