Delivering Happiness is largely a series of stories from Hsiegh’s experience.
Happiness is both an art and a science, and the science part can be learned
Tony Hsieh
What are your Goals in Life
Ask yourself Why?
Dig a little deeper and ask Why again?
Happiness Right?
Example 1. Grow a Company – Retire Early – Spend time with Family – Why? Happiness
Example 2. Get a Great Job – Make Money – Buy a Home – Why? Happiness
Example 3. Find a Girlfriend/Boyfriend – Find a Soulmate – Get Married – Why? Happiness
Example 4. Be Healthy – Run Faster – Run a Marathon – Why? Happiness
- At the end of the day the goal of everyone is to be Happy.
Money
- Money isn’t the source of happiness. But having a larger amount of money makes it much easier and likely to actually work on things you are passionate about. This can make you happy, too
- Money and achievement to prove something to others are both tempting distractions from pursuing more fulfilling activities
Community
- Friends are vital to creating a successful business and living a successful life.
- Including others in your success makes your success and happiness that much greater and more rewarding
Company Culture/Values
- Good culture is critical for organizational success because it creates a company’s brand.
- Culture is not an immediate byproduct of the people working at a company but rather the product of conscious work and effort
- Zappos’ success is a clear illustration of the importance of not only strictly adhering to core values but also having them be complementary to each other.
Don’t follow the Norm
- Treating vendors well pays off in the long run.
- Sometimes you have to believe in yourself and your passion, and take a leap of faith, even when no one else does
- Businesses built on loyalty usually end up driving greater penetration than focusing on penetration alone
- Choosing where to play is the most important decision in business.
- Many of the services Tony was religious about at Zappos (e.g. free shipping, upgraded overnight service, culture book, customer service) were expensive and had hard-to-quantify ROI’s , yet ultimately drove long-term success for the company.
Happiness framework 1
- Perceived Control
- Perceived Progress
- Connectedness
- Vision/Meaning
Happiness Framework 2
Customers: Meet expectations – Meets Desire – Meets unrecognized needs
Employee: Money – Recognition – Meaning
Investors: Transaction – Alignment Relationship – Alignment Legacy
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
Happiness Framework 3
Three types of happiness:
Pleasure: Shortest lasting.
Chasing the high, Rockstar Lifestyle.
Passion: Medium lasting.
Flow, Engagement.
Higher Purpose: Longest lasting.
Being part of something bigger than yourself.
- Higher purpose matters a lot more than immediate pleasure.
- Happiness isn’t always immediate
- Happiness is not driven by achieving a goal. It’s driven by figuring out what circumstances make you happy and then creating those circumstances.
- That which makes us happy is always evolving and requires constant attention
- Happiness comes from experiences and perspective, not from things
- The risk/reward payoff in pursuing happiness is better than one thinks