Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
by Tony Hsieh

For those of you who have read more than a few of the more than 200 book reviews I’ve written on our website, you know that I have a personal policy of never reviewing a bad book. I provide reviews to encourage our readers to discover valuable information that may enhance their business or personal lives. I simply don’t believe in wasting my time in writing a negative review or encouraging you to waste your time reading a book which has no value to you.

This book, however, falls into a rather unique category. Readers of this particular book will either love it or hate it. I’ve decided to share it with our readers because it definitely offers a unique insight into a visionary leader and a corporate culture which has led to unprecedented success. Sadly, many will ignore these words of wisdom because they disagree with the philosophy, beliefs and values of the author. Other will feel he may not have earned his success due to the fact that he was born into wealth and greater status than most.

Nonetheless, there is a wealth of information in the 253 pages of Tony Hsieh’s (Shay) best-selling book. A few weeks ago, I discussed this situation in a blog article (Evaluate Your Choices!) which you may want to review for a little more insight into Tony’s background and track record.

Delivering Happiness examines Zappos.com, a shoe retailer, and the creation of a unique corporate culture dedicated to employee empowerment and the promise of delivering happiness though satisfied customers and a valued workforce.

Yes, this is a book about both customer service and corporate culture and how the two go hand in hand.

Tony Hsieh sold LinkExchange, the company he co-founded, to Microsoft for $265 million. He then joined Zappos as an adviser and investor, and eventually became CEO.

In 2009, Zappos was listed as one of Fortune magazine’s top 25 companies to work for, and was acquired by Amazon later that year in a deal valued at more than $1.2 billion on the day of closing.

The author shows how using happiness as a framework can produce profits, passion, and purpose both in business and in life. Zappos.com is doing more than $1 billion in gross merchandise sales every year. Let me share a few of the unusual concepts which pass as standard operating procedure within this unusual culture. Then you decide if you want to learn more by reading the entire book.

• Pay new employees $2,000 to quit.
• Make customer service the entire company, not just a department.
• Focus on company culture as the #1 priority.
• Apply research from the science of happiness to running a business.
• Help employees grow both personally and professionally.
• Learn to live and deliver “WOW.”
• Understand the importance of embracing and driving change.
• Take advantage of creating fun and maybe even a little weirdness.
• Learn to pursue growth and learning.
• Top 10 ways to instill customer service into your company

This book is an uplifting tale of entrepreneurial success, personal growth, and redemption.

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose is available from Amazon. The AchieveMax® company is an affiliate of Amazon.com.

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management.  For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX or fill out our contact form.