Book Review

Reading Delivering Happiness and What it Meant For Me

by Yolanda

In September of 2006, I was about to take on the challenge of hiking up the Half Dome in Yosemite in one day. I knew my cheap run down hiking shoes weren’t going to hack it, so I decided that I needed a new pair of excellent and comfortable hiking shoes as quickly as possible. There was no time for me to make any mistakes because the hike was in a week and I knew I needed to break them in. I found out the Zappos.com was offering free shipping and free returns within 365 days. Even better, I was able to read all the user reviews on how comfortable these particular New Balance hiking boots were. Confident that these were the perfect shoes, purchased 2 sizes, and returned one that didn’t fit. Everything worked out perfectly, and I journeyed the most physically demanding activity I had ever endured with my new cool shoes. Fast forward 4 years, and I’m still wearing the same pair of shoes for any hiking activity. This experience left two strong impressions on me: 1) Zappos’ customer service is unbeatable, and 2) Zappos is a company I need to follow.

At the time, I was managing the newly formed PinkPrincess.com online retail store for children’s formal wear and had transitioned from eBay only to something bigger. I knew I wanted my customer’s experience to be similar to the one I had with Zappos, but didn’t know if a small business like ours would have the capability nor did I know if it was the right business model for us. A few years down the line, we experimented with several ideas, and are now still offering free shipping, free returns, and the best customer service we could possible offer, given our limited resources. I believe we cannot possibly copy Zappos, but at least we can have their mentality of creating a positive company culture.

In May 2010, I found out about signing up for a newsletter to win a signed advance copy of CEO Tony Hsieh’s new book “Delivering Happiness – A Path to Profits, Purpose and Passion“. When I found out I was one of the many lucky winners, I was ecstatic. Not only was I able to finally read about a company that was acquired by Amazon and valued over $1.2 billion in a measly 10 years, but more importantly, it would be the first book I would receive as an adult that would be addressed to my name and signed by someone whom I deeply admire. In the first insert of the book, it reads “Yolanda – Live in the Wow! TH”

I’ll spare the details of the book, since there are a zillion reviews out there once you Google the book name. After the first chapter, I was iffy about whether I would like the rest of the book. It painted a Tony’s background as a typical Asian American in the States who was exceptionally intelligent and determined. It would be 3 months later that I would jump on chapter 2 and finish the rest of the book. What an inspiration! Perhaps being an entrepreneur and having an e-commerce business helped me relate to all the issues that Tony and Zappos needed to resolve and it led me to believe that company culture is not something business owners can neglect. If I can provide something greater than just profits to the company, or just a product to a customer, then I’m on to something much more meaningful. In the end, this spirit is what will keep me going. Reading Delivering Happiness was the perfect booster for me and I finally found direction of where I will moving towards in my business and career in the near future..