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A Motivating Place to Work - Zappos

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A Motivating Place to Work - Zappos
Introduction
“Brick and mortar stores are limited in how much inventory they can carry; therefore, they are limited in the number of brands, number of styles per brand, and number of sizes and widths they can carry” (Zappos.com: The Zappos Family Story).

In 1999 Nick Swinmurn started Zappos with the vision: one day, thirty – percent of all retail transactions in the United States will be online, people will buy from a company with the best service and best selection, and Zappos will be that online store (Zappos.com: The Zappos Family Story).

In 2009 Zappos announced its plans to join the Amazon.com family. This acquisition came about as a result of their strong shared passion for customer service (Zappos.com: The Zappos Family Story). One year later Zappos restructured into ten separate companies under the Zappos Family umbrella.

“We believe that the most important key to our success will be our service – oriented culture, and we spend a lot of time and effort on ways to constantly improve our culture” (Zappos.com: The Zappos Family Story). Zappos views shoes as simply their base. With their customer service, they believe expanding into almost any category is possible.

Challenges & Benefits
Zappos is a unique organization. Tony Hsieh, the CEO, believes in and has studied happiness and motivation and uses these as the backbone to the company’s philosophy. Hsieh has core beliefs that have built the company into the empire it is, going from zero to $1 billion in sales in only ten years. Hsieh’s ideas can be summed up as seven principles (WordofMouth.org).

1. Culture is what makes a great brand
2. It doesn’t matter which core values you choose
3. Chase the vision, not the money
4. There’s a difference between motivation and inspiration
5. Measure what matters
6. Who do you want to be when you grow up?
7. Watch Tony’s video

Motivating employees is good, but keeping them happy is the real secret. Hsieh’s motivation starts


Cited: 6 tips from Tony Hsieh on how Zappos delivers happiness | WordofMouth.org. (2012, March 27). Retrieved from http://wordofmouth.org/blog/6-tips-from-tony-hsieh-on-how-zappos-delivers-happiness Bauer, Talya & Erdogan, Berrin CNN Money: 100 Best Companies to Work For. (2012). Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012/benefits/unusual.html Hsieh, T. (2009, Juy 22). CEO LETTER. Retrieved from Zappos.com: http://blogs.zappos.com/ceoletter Parr, B Zappos.com: The Zappos Family Story. (2013). Retrieved from http://about.zappos.com/zappos-story/looking-ahead-let-there-be-anything-and-everything Zappos.com: Our Unique Culture. (2013). Retrieved from http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-core-values Zappos.com: Jobs in the Zappos Family. (2013). Retrieved from http://about.zappos.com/jobs/why-work-zappos/our-benefits.
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