Book: Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

Tony Hsieh is the CEO of Zappos, the leading online retailer of what started out as shoes, but now includes clothing and other lifestyle goods.  The company has differentiated itself from the endless mass of online retailers by putting the customers first and delivering excellent service with each transaction.  I heard about Zappos a few years ago, when an Intel colleague forwarded an article about the company... I have kind of followed their progress from afar.  I have seen the website, but since I was simply browsing, I did not experience the kind of customer service the company has been lauded for.

Now on to the book...

This book was one of the giveaways from the Americas Sales and Marketing conference in February.  During one of the general sessions, the case study presented was on Zappos.  What a treat it would have been if Tony was there to speak (which he did in last years Americas Investors' Conference in Las Vegas)!  What we got was a video presentation AND this book.  Ok na rin... =)

I love this book.  I think every business owner/entrepreneur should read this and see how business can be done differently in this very competitive landscape.  Businesses are after all about serving the needs of people and they might as well be given the best customer experience possible...

This book is a history lesson on Tony Hsieh (how he started from growing worms to being CEO of Zappos) and Zappos, from its humble beginnings, including the cash-strapped days to it megastature today.  I appreciate Tony's honesty and openness in this book.  His personality and character are unlike what you would typically conceive of for CEOs.  He shares a LOT about the Zappos culture, it being the driving force behind the service.  This unique culture is the fuel that drives the ultimate goal of Delivering Happiness.  Tony wrote the book in order for individuals and other businesses to be inspired and have a framework towards starting their own happiness journey.  Check out http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com/.

Can you tell I'm a fan?

I encourage everyone to read this!

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