16 things I loved about Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh of Zappos

I loved every page of Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh of Zappos. As I am writing my book about decisions that notable people have made, I’ve been reading lots of books on various topics – typically 2 per week. I loved this book and read it straight through. It may have been the honesty with which Tony told his life story or perhaps I could relate because his childhood, education, work history (the $1.2B sale to Amazon and $265 M sales of LinkExchange aside, sadly) and philosophy really resonated with me.

You will be entertained for 4 hours (I read it within a 24 hour period) and learn a bunch in the process. Here are some of the things that I learned or liked that I found valuable and entertaining.

• Like many kids, Tony had several small entrepreneurial successes and failures before high school.
• Tony worked (I use the term loosely) for Oracle for 5 months but was bored so left to start a web development firm with a buddy.
• Tony ran Venture Frogs I knew of Venture Frogs and almost attended parties in loft 801, but never made the connection that it was Tony Hsieh.
• I like how Tony made his decisions down to first walk away from the first LinkExchange offer from a suitor and then to go on to sell it later. I won’t get into it here but it’s a simple yet detailed view of the thinking behind those decisions. I’ll be posting a video discussion with Tony in a couple of weeks and will dig into this. You might consider subscribing to this blog so that you are notified of the posting.
• Tony invested in Zappos through Venture Frogs and the company nearly folded, a few times. Tony made financial commitments to keep it going as he got more deeply involved.
• Tony loves poker. I’m glad that I didn’t sit down at the table with him at TED – I would have easily dropped $1,000.
• Two huge lessons that Tony learned from poker which he applies to business are 1) sitting at the right table is the most important decision you make and 2)the importance of making the right decisions versus individual outcomes.
• When things were dire at Zappos, tony went with his gut and his heart and sold 801 (the club) because he knew it was the right thing to do. If he hadn’t, Zappos would not exist today.
• Tony learned that outsourcing core competencies is a bad idea.
• Zappos had a minimum of 3 near failure experiences but Tony and his team acted fast and did what they needed to for survival.
• Tribes are important to Tony – college was a tribe, 801 was a tribe and Zappos is a tribe.
• Tony learned that chasing passion and finding happiness are much more important than money.
• It’s important to think bigger than oneself or even the company.
• Zappos benefits from employee, customer and vendor (partner) crowdsourcing and has done so for years.
• Zappos is incredibly open, as you will read through the emails that are shared in the book.
• First customer service, then culture and today, Zappos is about spreading happiness – that’s quite a mission.

This is a book that will provide you with value immediately. Whether you are an employee, investor, job seeker, CEO or searching for your next big thing – you will learn something to apply immediately after reading. I don’t feel that way about all books but I do about this one. Let me know what you thought about the book, or ask questions. If you want to see the 3 minute interview with Tony, that I’ll post in a few weeks, subscribe to the block posts via email or RSS. As always, please leave comments or questions here.
Thanks for reading – cheers.