conversations
This Conversations issue highlights back-to-back interviews with two of the 2011
ISPA Conference & Expo speakers, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and BrainReserve CEO
Faith Popcorn. Both have graced the ISPA Conference stage before, and both will
be back this year by popular demand to share their expert insights, forecasts and
life lessons that made them success stories.
TONY HSIEH
Zappos CEO and
best-selling author of
Delivering Happiness:
A Path to Profits,
Passion and Purpose
BY SHELBY JONES
PULSE: The International SPA Association celebrated
its 20th anniversary last year, which made us reflect
back on how far we’ve come and where we want to go.
Looking ahead to Zappos’ future, where do you want to
take the company next?
Hsieh: Ten years from now, we’re hoping that people don’t
even realize we started out selling shoes online. We just want
the Zappos brand to be about the best service, which includes
free shipping both ways and our 365-day return policy. A lot of
people order multiple pairs of shoes from us, try them all on in
the comfort of their living room, and then just send back the
ones that they don’t like (and we pay for the shipping back to
us). We’ve had customers tell us that it’s the easiest and most
convenient way for them to buy shoes from us, and we want
them to feel that way when buying apparel from us as well.
P: You’ve spoken to the ISPA audience before at the
2009 ISPA Conference & Expo in Austin, Texas. At that
time, we were in the middle of an economic recession,
now as we start to see signs of improvement, what has
changed about the way we treat and train employees?
H: I think the true test of a company’s character (or even a
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August 2011
person’s character) is how they behave when times are tough.
For us, we’ve continued to focus on providing the very best
customer service and developing our company culture. My
advice to businesses of all sizes is to figure out what you want
to stand for (i.e., what your core values are) and continue to
make decisions based on that.
P: Why is creating a company culture so important and
what does it lead to?
H: Our belief is that if we get the culture right, most of the other
stuff, like delivering great customer service or building a long-term
enduring brand, will happen naturally on its own. We’ve formalized the definition of our culture into 10 core values:
1. Deliver WOW through Service.
2. Embrace and Drive Change.
3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness.
4. Be Adventurous, Creative and Open-Minded.
5. Pursue Growth and Learning.
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication.
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit.
8. Do More With Less.
9. Be Passionate and Determined.
10. Be Humble.
Every day, employees are coming up with new ideas of how to
express our core values both internally and externally, whether
it’s an idea on making our offices more fun, or an idea on how
to make customers happier.
P: What are three things spa owners can instantly
implement in their work environments to create “happiness” amongst their employees?
H: 1. Ask employees what they think the values of the
company should be.