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  • Delivering Happiness

  • A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
  • By: Tony Hsieh
  • Narrated by: Tony Hsieh
  • Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (378 ratings)

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Delivering Happiness

By: Tony Hsieh
Narrated by: Tony Hsieh
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Editorial reviews

Tony Hsieh is a really nice guy. This is what makes him a very unusual CEO, which is what makes his company so interesting. It also makes him a writer who doesn't use much corporate lingo, and a terrifically casual reader of his own book on the growth and development of Zappos, his unique company. One part memoir, one part philosophy, one part corporate handbook, and all silly optimism, Delivering Happiness will appeal to a surprisingly wide audience.

Hsieh begins with his business history, which adequately conveys his wackiness. First, there was the worm farm in elementary school. All the worms escaped, and he lost money. Then there was the mail order button business in middle school, so successful that he passed it along to his younger brothers in succession. In high school, he learned a bunch about programming, thereby combining his instincts with an appropriate knowledge base. He laughs out loud at his own computer club lunchtime antics, and so will you. Then there was the pizza business in his dorm at Harvard, where Hsieh found innovative ways not to attend any classes, and a high-paying corporate gig after graduation where he once again did as little as possible.

This is a man who likes to take business risks, and as he explains how he made decisions that caused him to grow from slacker into a Red Bull-pounding, 24-hour working machine, you'll be amazed that it sounds like he's smiling the entire time. From his first major start-up, which was subsequently sold to Microsoft, to his repeated close calls where Zappos almost went under before it was eventually bought out by Amazon, this true story of one man's corporate odyssey will leave you believing that anything really is possible. It will also at least make you want to shop at Zappos, if it doesn't make you want to move to as Vegas to work there.

Shot through with brief guest-narrations using the actual participants relevant to Hsieh's fast-paced world of entrepreneurship, there are a wealth of memos, emails, and testimonials that all serve as evidence to his weird intellect. And if you played a drinking game where you drank a shot every time Hsieh mentions having a drink, you'd be drunk before the book is half finished. From the tone of his voice to the story he tells, this is clearly a guy who needs his work to be fun and challenging. Just as Zappos has done, Hsieh's book casually fires the opening volley in a new era of corporate culture and management.

This eye-opening treatise on how to be happy at work has the added bonus of an hour-long conversation between Tony Hsieh and Warren Bennis, who has been universally considered one of the most significant leadership gurus for the past 40 years. Much of what Hsieh says is a more concise version of what he says in the book, though insights from the aging but still hilariously astute Bennis do offer something extra exciting. They discuss happiness in a way that is useful to all people, not just corporations. Megan Volpert

Publisher's Summary

In this, his first audiobook, Tony Hsieh - the widely admired CEO of Zappos, the online shoe retailer - explains how he created a unique culture and commitment to service that aims to improve the lives of employees, customers, vendors, and backers. Using anecdotes and stories from his own life experiences, and from other companies, Hsieh provides concrete ways that companies can achieve unprecedented success. Even better, he shows how creating happiness and record results go hand-in-hand.

He starts with the "Why" in a section where he narrates his quest to understand the science of happiness. Then he runs through the ten Zappos "Core Values" - such as "Deliver WOW through Service", "Create Fun and A Little Weirdness", and "Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit" - and explains how you and your colleagues should come up with your own.

Hsieh then details many of the unique practices at Zappos that have made it the success it is today, such as their philosphy of allocating marketing money into the customer experience, thereby allowing repeat customers and word-of-mouth be their true form of marketing. He also explains why Zappos's number-one priority is company culture and his belief that once you get the culture right, everything else - great customer service, long-term branding - will happen on its own.

Finally, Delivering Happiness explains how Zappos employees actually apply the Core Values to improving their lives outside of work - and to making a difference in their communities and the world.

©2010 Tony Hsieh (P)2010 Hachette

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Fun, but a lacks insight and detail

Was expecting something a little more business focused, but the detail is fairly light when it comes to Zappos.. It is interesting to listen to and some good insight into who Tony Hsieh is, but is a bit like, I was bored, I started an online advertising company and sold it for $200m+ and then got bored again.. my advice is listen to this once and enjoy it for what it is, the second time you find a lot of holes..

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!! Great story and so many gums of wisdom.

I’ll keep it short.. it’s an easy lesson with so many gems of wisdom that if you are a part of a workplace or own a business this is one book you need to read!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This drives me to run my business in a similar way

This book and Tony inspired me to think about the culture of the business I want to build and how it can make a massive difference. Loved it and highly recommended for any business owner / entreprenuer who wants to achieve greatness and have a following to support them.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wish I listened to this year's ago

So much to take away from this. culture and community building and using those as the foundation for a long lasting brand.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Rod
  • 11-10-2020

Overrated

This book is totally overrated, it’s about Zappos history and not about delivering Hapinness, there is a awful sponsor chapter by Redbull that completely pissed me off. It’s long and hard to read

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

WOW

i had not heard of zappos or tony hsieh one week ago . now tony and zappos have changed my life and give me so much inspiration/knowledge at the perfect time .🙏🏽

and I’m not even a customer WOW.

thank you universe for sending this book,thank you tony, thank you zappos .

im so grateful 🤸🏽‍♂️🌈


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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Happiness

Definitely worth listening to and thinking about. Challenges you to question what really makes you happy

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

REAL, well narrated, human

i really liked this book, it gives a down to earth example of how people can work together and shape an organisation.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyment

Hi enjoyed listening to Tony Hsieh will be trying to implement a few things .Thanks Paul Roberts

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Inspiring and Uplifting

What did you like best about this story?

It was equally thought provoking and informative.

What does Tony Hsieh bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I really enjoyed the authenticity of this story.

Any additional comments?

Well worth reading and in my case a must read that I would highly recommend.

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