Making a Difference

It is so easy to think that we don’t matter in the bigger scheme of things, until I’m reminded by people who do make a difference. These reminders come from a variety of places, situations, and people.

One of those reminders came when the e-commerce entrepreneur, Tony Hsieh, died on November 27, 2020, at the age of 46. I’ve been fascinated by Tony’s approach to customer service and his innovative and perhaps misunderstood management tactics. No matter what you think of some of his decisions, it is hard not to be impressed with his success as the founder of the on-line shoe and clothing giant Zappos.

Tony was a recent Harvard grad when, at age 24, he and a colleague founded an online advertising business that they sold three years later to Microsoft for $265 million. He then launched a venture capital firm with his business partner and, in 1999, invested in a shoe retailer that they transformed into Zappos.

There are a lot of retailers that sell shoes but none that had the philosophy that they wanted to be a company where, as Tony told the New York Times, “… we create such a great environment, where employees get so much out of it that they would do it for free.”

His big idea was to build a corporate culture that put people first which is certainly not unique but one of their core values was to “create fun and a little weirdness.” There was one of the business practices that set Zappos apart. After an extensive training period, new employees were offered money to leave the organization. The thinking was that if someone turned down the financial incentive, they’d stick with the company and commit to the strong commitment to customer service. In fact, Hsieh used to describe Zappos as “a customer service company that sold shoes.”

Zappos was sold to Amazon in 2009, and Tony became a popular author and speaker challenging us with the question: “What would you be passionate about doing, even if you never made a dime?” Tony made people think, and he certainly approached business in a new way. He impacted the retail world and the many lives of people who either worked with him, heard him speak, or read his book, Delivering Happiness.

So back to the question, can one person make a difference? My response is yes, and Tony is such an example. He will be missed.

Barbara Mitchell