PRAISE FOR
THE POWER OF WOW
“A must-read about an extraordinary business endeavor in our everyday world. Tony and company have pioneered how to scale organizational effectiveness with heart, and much of their story is shared here with transparency, humility, and great storytelling. This provides a glimpse of the future of how to get things done on the planet, sustainably, with efficient elegance.”
— David Allen, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first, and Zappos proves it. Lots of CEOs love to write books to tell us how great their companies are; what a treat to hear the stories from the actual employees who work there.
— Simon Sinek, optimist and New York Times bestselling author of Start with Why and Leaders Eat Last
“Zappos is a powerful example of a modern company that has embraced a simple truth: Passionate employees are any organization’s single greatest asset. The Power of WOW is a timely reminder that no business leader can afford to ignore the value of an inspired workforce.”
— Chip Conley, hospitality entrepreneur and author of Wisdom at Work
The Power of WOW offers the wisdom of the collective: a direct glimpse into the thinkers, dreamers, and doers that bring Zappos to life every day. This collection of stories will fuel a passion that you can bring back to your business and take your own culture to the next level.”
— BJ Bueno, founder of The Cult Branding Company
“Over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege of training thousands of Zappos employees. What a remarkable and resilient company. The highly personal stories and lessons in this book should be read by all modern business leaders—and anyone who wants to make customers and employees alike say WOW!”
— Dr. Sean Stephenson, professional speaker and author of Get Off Your “But”
“In today’s world, there is a massive gap between perception and reality, highlighted particularly by social media. So when you look at a prolific and aspirational company like Zappos through this lens, you have to wonder . . . is this distorted hype or reality?
The Power of WOW gives a glimpse into the humanity that drives Zappos—real people navigating the corporate landscape of a visionary company that truly walks the walk. This book showcases the vulnerability, the realities, and the highs and lows of an aspirational human company, building upon its foundation—people first.
The Power of WOW is not a social-hype piece, but a reinforcement that its perception and its reality are in fact, one and the same.”
— Mick Ebeling, founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs
“Zapponians work like great artists, communicate like good family, and laugh like a bunch of people partying their asses off in Vegas. And I love them for that. So go read this book, you won’t regret it.”
— Joseph Gordon-Levitt, actor and founder of HITRECORD
THE POWER OF WOW
Copyright © 2019 by Zappos.com LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
BenBella Books, Inc.
10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 800
Dallas, TX 75231
Send feedback to [email protected]
First E-Book Edition: October 2019
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019015086
ISBN 9781948836579 (trade cloth)
ISBN 9781948836821 (electronic)
Copyediting by Elizabeth Degenhard
Proofreading by Sarah Vostok and Chris Gage
Text design and composition by Kit Sweeney Photography & Design
Cover photo © Design Assets
Cover design and photo editing by Derrin Hawkins and Sarah Avinger
Printed by Lake Book Manufacturing
Employee headshots by Peter Gaunt
Distributed to the trade by Two Rivers Distribution, an Ingram brand www.tworiversdistribution.com
Special discounts for bulk sales are available.
Please contact [email protected].
This book is dedicated to all of our
customers, employees, community members,
vendors, and shareholders that have been a
part of our journey over the past twenty years
(and for many more to come).
Zappos Company Purpose:
To inspire the world by showing it’s possible to simultaneously deliver happiness to customers, employees, community, vendors, and shareholders in a long-term, sustainable way.
tl;dr—To live and deliver WOW
CONTENTS
Introduction: A Higher Purpose
Chapter 1: The Heart of the Service-Minded Culture