Book Review: Delivering Happiness. Tony Hsieh is awesome. Why? Because both pairs of shoes I bought from Zappos came in one day, for no extra charge. Well, that's true, but the reasons I admire Tony Hsieh stretch much farther. Delivering Happiness is an autobiography of sorts, chronicling his upbringing, educational background and experiences, and business experiences, from Oracle and LinkExchange to Zappos and Amazon. Hsieh breezes through recounting his college experience, but his application process and subsequent acceptance to everywhere he applied to is a testament to his intelligence and work ethic (thanks Asian parents!). What's really impressive is his passion around his work and his extreme willingness to invest himself fully in it. LinkExchange started as a small idea, but as it gained momentum, Hsieh and his business partners invested all their time into it. And when LinkExchange went in directions Hsieh did not like, he sold and reminded himself to apply the lessons he learned to every future venture. Hsieh is thoughtful, able to meld business goals and culture and employee goals. And more than meld, he believe that focusing on the culture and employee goals will enable him to reach business goals. It's likely the correct approach, as it deals with the principal-agent problem up front, ensuring 100% buy-in and providing stability in the form of reduced turnover, corruption and productivity loss. This book is a must read for really anyone in any field. Hsieh sticks to his priorities and passions as we all should.
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