“Over time, as we focused more and more on our culture, we ultimately came to the realization that a company’s culture and a company’s brand are really just two sides of the same coin. The brand is just a lagging indicator of a company’s culture.” – Tony Hsieh, Zappos Founder
If anyone got employee culture right it’s Tony Hsieh. In the second half of his book Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose you will find tons of valuable examples and doable as well as applicable ideas of how Zappos created an invigorating employee culture that led to a powerful brand and a wildly successful company. The first half of the book is a wonderful insight into Tony as a person and entrepreneur.
He shares in detail the LIVE core values of Zappos. And probably one of the most powerful aspects of their values is that they are meant to be applied outside of the office as well – “without a separation of work and life.” As one of their employees (Christa F.) stated, “I think when people say they dread going into work on Monday morning, it’s because they know they are leaving a piece of themselves at home.” At Zappos employees were strongly encouraged to bring their whole selves to work.
He shares and outlines the unique Zappos culture book, the face game, and “ask anything.”
Their orientation process is impressive too. Do you let new employees know the reasons they might get fired? (And how do you convey that in an upbeat way?) Ever considered paying someone $2000 within the first four weeks to quit?
Perhaps my favorite quote in the entire book is by another Zappos employee, Jenn, who when describing how to create a company culture book said “Make it a true voice of what your culture represents and it’ll sing like it’s in the shower.”
A true voice. Imagine if your culture was one where everyone’s true voice – their voice of truth – was spoken, honored, and animated. Your brand would simply be genuine, authentic, and transparent. Honest and trustworthy as well.
We really celebrate this as a shining example of what workplace culture can be and that we should all aspire to.
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