Delivering Happiness (Tony Hsieh): 8 Biggest Takeaways

hey guys welcome back to the investors  podcast new YouTube series where we   review the greatest books for business and  life that have shipped our learning over   the years hi I'm Sean and this channel is  all about the principles of investing from   stock tips to iconic billionaires the  best strategies and our favorite tools   the investors podcast has everything  you need to know so let's get started I'm going to be sharing my biggest takeaways with  you from delivering Happiness by Tony Shea while   Tony passed away tragically in 2020 his teachings  envisioned for a unique company that delivers   happiness to all that stakeholders remains deeply  relevant today as investors there's much to learn   here about both business and life this was an  inspiring fun and refreshingly honest book to   read which is broken down into three sections so  let's go through my key insights from each and   be sure to check out our other book reviews in  the links below after this video alright let's   get started Tony is an icon in the tech world  for founding link exchange and Zappos though   his business ambition started much simpler as  a small boy Tony demonstrated an enthusiasm for   business and making money that would carry him  for the rest of his life though his start was   a bit unconventional he envisioned operating a  large-scale worm breeding farm so that he could   sell these worms to interested buyers and with  a little seed funding from the his parents Tony   began his farm with 100 worms and a dirt pit in  their backyard to feed the worms and keep them   healthy he gave them egg yolks daily this would  backfire though when the yolks attracted Birds   who soon ate all of his worms in just a few days  Tony's first business had failed though it would   certainly not be his last from running mail order  catalogs for custom buttons and DIY magic kits and   magazines to managing a popular pizza parlor while  at Harvard Tony came up with numerous Innovative   money making ideas with varying degrees of  success this leads to my first takeaway from   this section keep learning every day one of Tony's  superpowers was become deeply interested in Niche   topics such as magic tricks testing video games  and self-taught computer programming this stems   primarily from his commitment to curiosity  and willingness to learn just a little bit   every single day so that his knowledge could  compound over time by relentlessly questioning   the Dynamics underpinning much of his daily  life is described that he had an interest in   the world like a toddler seeing something for the  first time for me this is a great reminder to ask   questions about presupposed assumptions even the  most basic ones with a persistent curiosity we are   driven to further our learning and with even  just 30 minutes of deep learning a day we can   profoundly change our Knowledge and Skills over  time this quote from Gandhi captures section one   of the book well and Tony's life story leading  up to his launch of a popular online retailer   Zappos first they ignore you then they laugh  at you then they fight you then you win many   of Tony's decisions were dismissed or mocked by  others whether in the businesses he started or the   ones he left like his cushy job as an engineer at  Oracle right after graduating college so much to   his parents she Grant Tony left this high-paying  job to essentially spend his time as a freelance   software developer with his roommate as they spent  late nights and weekends looking for what they   call the next big thing while you could say Tony  is lucky and stumbling across his multi-million   dollar idea for link exchange my second takeaway  is that you should put yourself in a position to   be lucky because of the successful businesses  Tony ran in college as well as the years of   curiosity driven learning he did daily he had  both the money and Technical skill set to quit   his day job and assess the opportunities available  during the internet revolution of the late 1990s   he later provides in reference to his companies  a quote I really love by having the freedom to   be creative in our Solutions we end up creating  our own luck like the old outage goes that luck   is when preparation meets opportunity Tony had  no Grand Vision of his million dollar idea still   he positioned himself as best as possible to  capitalize on that idea when it became apparent   for him and his roommate Sanjay this was with  link exchange an online advertising Cooperative   small businesses with limited advertising budgets  could download linkage software and run banner   ads on their site the more customers that solid  banner ads the more credits the companies would   receive which enabled them to purchase credits  directly to advertise on the link exchange site after tremendous success and quickly scaling link  exchange and receiving funding from outside firms   like Sequoia Tony's company soon no longer  resembled the one he'd love starting he no   longer recognized employees he saw around  the headquarters and as a prospect of an   acquisition by Microsoft loomed he saw just  how selfish and greedy many of the new hires   were he describes his transition from a fun and  vibrant startup where it was Quote us against   the world and we are going to make sure we  would win to a more established but toxic   workplace as gradual he says it was like death  by a thousand paper cuts regardless Tony began   dreading work and wondering if he felt this way  how did his employees feel about working there   so he gladly sold the company to Microsoft and  eventually bailed on his agreement to stay on   for another 12 months after the purchase which  cost him Millions rather than wasting Precious   Years of his life in a place that he no longer  felt committed to Tony opted to prioritize his   own happiness for me this was an inspiring third  takeaway do not compromise your integrity time and   happiness in exchange for temporary Pleasures  or money so from Soren Kierkegaard to DARE is   to lose one's footing temporarily not to DARE  is to lose one's self making himself along the   lines of it'll never be another 1999. what  will you do about it in my life this is a   reminder that life is too short for lengthy  commitments that don't contribute positively   to our happiness there are no sun costs when  it comes to your quality of living on the line so after leaving link exchange Tony got more into  poker and falling extensive studying he learned   how to play the odds and discovered that good  poker thinking spilled over into good business   as he had to balance short-term probabilities  with long-term goals which in poker is well   winning at the start of a poker game or a business  the strategizing actually starts before any first   moves are made and in poker you must pick the  right table to play at by scouting the talent and   habits of your competition whereas in business you  must consider the available Market opportunities   so as an example he uses Southwest Airlines  where most Airlines would focus on targeting   say frequent flyers Southwest picked a different  table to play at by seeking to convert train and   Greyhound bus riders customers and offering  shorter flights with no fees for cancellations   he makes another interesting point here on the  similarities between bluffing and marketing and   both you must learn how to create the narratives  that will Define your brand if you can Bluff well   you can mark it well for financials like poker  businesses must always be cautious and able to   survive worst case scenarios however the guy who  wins the most hands doesn't make the most money   because they take no risk most importantly poker  taught Tony how to balance the odds of success   with risk measured by Financial loss and with that  said don't play the game if you don't know it and   learn to play When the stakes are low the players  with the most stamina and focus win but hope is   not a good plan learn by doing so my last takeaway  for this section is that you've got to love the   game live it and sleep it to be successful in  poker business or life you must know the odds   at hand and play your cards accordingly if you  don't love what you're seeking to do someone   else will win who knows the odds better and if you  want to improve your odds focus on self-education   for this book I actually used audible to  quickly listen to it and expand my knowledge   so check out our sign up link below to start  listening to any of your favorite books today   moving into section two which is called profits  and passion Tony begins detailing how the culture   at Zappos was built though what stood out to me  were the Great personal sacrifices he made to   keep the business afloat in the early years in  light of the.com bubble in 2000 financing from   Venture Capital firms for unprofitable tech  companies quickly dried up Tony continued to   stake his entire personal Fortune into keeping the  company operational while he collected a salary   of just one dollar per pay period so inspired  by the name of chapter four my fifth takeaway   is on the value of taking concentrated bets the  saying for investors often goes along the lines   that concentration is how you build wealth and  diversification is how you protect it and this   is true for Tony while his investments in  27 different companies after link exchange   led him to do just better than breaking even he  built generational wealth by betting on himself   he did the work believed in the idea knew the  opportunity and executed it in this sense sure   betting the farm on Zappos was too much from many  to stomach but perhaps it wasn't as risky as we   might think my other takeaway for section two of  the book is the importance of quality service to   others and building relationships rooted in  trust and respect this also connects directly   with the Seven Habits of Highly Effective  People which is another great book we read   recently quality service and strong relationships  are themes throughout every aspect of Zappos and   not by accident the right culture in place the  company's brand identity would become a clear   lagging indicator as they sought to continue  maximizing productive customer relationships   so from free shipping and returns to 24 7  customer service Zappos became famous for its   customer experience while treating its employees  behind that experience with respect autonomy and   freedom with their support phone number at the  top of every page on the zapposite Tony says   this is because we actually want to talk to our  customers you have five to ten minutes to say   whatever you want on these calls so make it good  and it'll last in their memory for a long time and   and perpetuate Word of Mouth marketing the Zappos  culture and its values and service Focus inspired   employees to be creative unique and Innovative  by staying true to themselves which boosted their   passion for work and happiness and correspondingly  the effectiveness of their customer and vendor   relationships with this focus on the right  culture Tony explains that every employee   can impact your company's brand as anytime your  employees interact with the external World they   leave Impressions on others about your company if  you get the culture right the rest will fall into   place since Zappos wants the entire company  to Value customer service they do two sets   of interviews one with the manager and one with  the HR department to confirm if they're a culture   fit you must have both the technical skills and  the cultural fit to be hired all new employees   also receive customer service training over four  weeks regardless of whether you're an accountant   or lawyer with two weeks of taking calls so with  this commitment to Quality Service and creating   the right culture where co-workers feel like a  family and deeply connected to their work it's   no surprise then that even in the face of the  2008 financial crisis Tony ensured that laid off   employees were treated with respect and dignity  rather than the typical two-week Severance Zappos   offered to provide two months pay and six months  Health Care to ex-employees while learning to do   more with less clearly from the top down Zappos  embraced its values quite seriously for the third   and final section of the book called prophets  passion and purpose I have two last takeaways   to touch on the first of these is sharing your  wisdom skills and values of the world if you   can as Tony so sagely highlights life and business  are about more than just making money when Zappos   began consistently ranking as one of the best  companies to work for and was so successful   that Amazon wanted to acquire them Tony realized  that they had an obligation to show the world how   we can all live and work more effectively as he  says we didn't invent any of our ideas or values   but we found ourselves in a unique position  to highlight these lessons to the world some   board members though didn't understand why Zappos  should be sharing these insights and thought they   ought to just focus on the financials which is  why Tony ultimately agreed to an acquisition   with Amazon so that he could replace his nagging  Board of Executives but unlike with link exchange   this wasn't just a chance to exit the company but  rather an opportunity to enter what he deemed a   strategic marriage between the two companies  where Zappos would sort of function more like   an independent partner than say a subsidiary Tony  could have chosen to allow Zappos to become only   about the money or business growth at any point  along the way instead he continued to Anchor the   company's values and improving the lives of its  stakeholders and making the world a better place this all leads into my eighth and last takeaway  and the book's name delivering happiness Tony   showed the world with Zappos that by holding our  businesses to a higher standard we can find both   happiness and profit in our passions for work  he proposes a really neat idea which I love   by asking the reader to consider whether  they contribute positively or negatively   to the total sum of Happiness globally if the  answer is no ask why Tony explains that people   are really bad at Discerning what will deliver  them happiness many people think they'll find   happiness when they get X but often when this  is achieved happiness is fleeting how should we   feel when we spend our lives pursuing something  that we think will make us happy but it doesn't   happiness often defies what we think will make us  happy whereas things we expect to make us happy   fail to do this sustainably with this in mind  Tony decides that delivering happiness should   be zappos's new mission for Tony the best moments  in his life came from delivering happiness to his   employees whether and announcing that they'd all  be receiving 10 of their annual salary in cash   bonuses to telling them they had been acquired by  Amazon and were giving every employee a new Kindle   so I'll leave you with one last quote that  captures this takeaway well when you walk   with purpose you Collide With Destiny that's  it for this week guys please like subscribe   and share your comments below if you enjoyed  it we love hearing your thoughts so tell us   what are your biggest takeaways from this book  and which book should we review next for more   on delivering happiness listen to Preston and  stig's classic we study billionaires podcast in   the book and check out our video on The  Seven Habits of Highly Effective People   where we teach you the habits to succeed  in business and finance if you haven't yet

Channel: The Investor's Podcast Network

Views: 2,031

Keywords: Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh, Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, Quality service and relationships, delivering happiness by tony hsieh, delivering happiness book, delivering happiness summary, tony hsieh delivering happiness, delivering happiness book summary, delivering happiness tony hsieh, delivering happiness book review, delivering happiness tony hsieh summary, zappos delivering happiness, tony hsieh zappos, the investor's podcast network, zappos success story

Id: t71xTauGlrY

Length: 14min 27sec (867 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 15 2022