The Experience Revolution
The experience revolution is already here. It transforms businesses. It transforms human interactions. It transforms us.
An interview with Tony Hsieh - CEO of Zappos.com
There is a huge buzz around Zappos recently. I had some questions on my mind regarding the great culture of that company (which is clearly it’s competitive advantage). The main thing was whether this culture was born in lengthy strategy meetings or was it more of an evolution of the company. Tony Hsieh, the CEO behind this great culture tipped me about this in a short interview:
US: Have you ever held a strategy meeting, deciding on this great service culture you have as a competitive advantage, or was it a natural evolution of the company?
TH: We decided pretty early on that we wanted culture to be the #1 priority of the company. We believe that if we get the culture right, most of the other stuff (like great customer service) will fall into place on its own. It’s evolved more through a series of discussions over lunch (or drinks!), not through any formal strategy meeting.
US: A lot of managers are trying to create a unique company culture without success. What is your secret sauce? What are the best 3 tips you can give managers for creating such a culture?
TH:
- Decide on a vision that’s meaningful to employees that goes beyond just making money or being the #1 company in a certain industry.
- Decide on core values that you are willing to hire and fire based on. For example, if you get a really skilled applicant that can make a big difference, but they don’t embody your company’s core values, are you willing to not hire that person even though it comes at the expense of short term profits? Zappos core values are here: http://www.zappos.com/core-values.zhtml
- Be as transparent as possible, don’t be secretive.
US: How do Zappos employees know if they are getting their job done right? Do you have any special evaluation system?
TH: It varies by department, but it’s a combination of metrics for the specific job function and whether they embody the core values.
US: How do you decide on tweaks and improvements for zappos.com. Do you monitor statistics extensively?
TH: We ask ourselves “What would be best for the customer experience?” and make our decisions mostly off of that.
US: Have you ever held a user research to try and analyze their behaviors / expectations in the site, or get some new insights regarding future offerings?
TH: No, although we do receive thousands of phone calls and emails from customers every single day, and many customers offer suggestions on their own.
US: As a CEO, what are the main areas you focus on?
TH: Making sure that as we grow, that our company culture doesn’t go downhill (and in fact improves over time).
US: With so much going on at Zappos all the time, do you ever get to sleep more the 1 hour a night? How many hours do you work every day?
TH: We have a lot of great people at Zappos. With a great team, we can accomplish a lot together! For us, there’s no clear separation between work and life because we all really enjoy what we’re doing. So even if we’re hanging out at a bar, usually the topic of Zappos comes up!
US: What are the companies you personally drive inspiration from?
TH: There’s no one single company. I like meeting with people from different companies… I’ve found there’s always something interesting you can learn from anyone!
