Delivering Happiness

Delivering Happiness has become one of my favorite reads of all time. I really enjoyed the last twitter thread I did on a book, so I wanted to do the same to capture some of the most memorable quotes. You can check out the thread full of these quotes and personal notes here (contains spoilers):

Recently finished #DeliveringHappiness by Tony Hsieh- amazing book about @Zappos and their pursuit of “A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose”. Thread with favorite quotes accompanied by personal notes 👇

— Rick Vazza, CFA, CFP® (@DRIVENwm) September 5, 2018

Section one covers Tony’s coming of age. This section is a perfect illustration of the difference between an “idea man” compared to a “business starter”. Tony is a starter. We get a walkthrough of his various business ventures, beginning with his first business in button printing as a middle schooler, to running a restaurant in college. Tony hits all the lessons, good and bad, that he learned along the way.

Are you the type of person (I definitely used to fall into this category) who constantly comes up with ideas, but then never follows through on the action? If not, I am sure you must know someone who is. This section of the book should provide the needed spark to anyone stuck as an “idea man” so they can transform into the business starter they aspire to be.

Tony’s ability to take risks and start businesses made the biggest impression on me. Talk is cheap, in fact, it’s free. You have to commit and go for it if you really want to create something. Tony lost money on a number of his businesses, but each one provided lessons he was able to avoid repeating later which would inevitably serve him on his path to creating Zappos, one of the top places to work in the world.

After section one, we are provided the meat of the book. The lessons on corporate culture, employee engagement, and WOWing customers. I won’t give too much of the book away, because you definitely should read it.

Doing the book an injustice, my attempt at summarizing:

Business is all about delivering WOW experiences to everyone you interact with: your customers, your employees, your partners, EVERYONE.

Delivering Happiness has moved right up to the top of the recommendation list with Extreme Ownership and Never Split the Difference.