A compass for sailing toward excellence
Yesterday I read Ellen Florian’s interview with Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com in the April 30, 2012 edition of Fortune magazine. The piece was for The Best Advice I Ever Got column.
So what was Tony’s best advice given to him? “To build relationships for the sake of the relationship.” Tony shared a story of a friendship that his business partner, Fred Mossler, maintained with a representative of a small brand, which did not contribute much to Zappos’ sales. In the short term, the relationship didn’t seem to make much economic or business sense. It was ‘just’ a friendship. And yet, the friendship ultimately resulted in Zappos landing a major client when Fred’s friend became president of a major brand Zappos was trying to sign up.
“If you’re focused on the friendships as its own reward, serendipitous stuff just happens. I know that sounds weird, but I can tell you for our 12 years of existence, it’s actually how a lot of stuff happens.” —Tony Hsieh
My 2¢:
The most effective actions in the world are those within the reach of everyone. It’s easy to forget that.
May 1, 2012