Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

A few months ago, Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, offered free copies of his new book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose via his twitter. I hopped on it right away and got myself two copies of it by using two different email addresses. I gave one away to a friend and kept the remaining copy to myself to keep and read.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s inspirational how Tony Hsieh started his company out, taking the big risks he did, despite the economic conditions of the Dot Com bubble burst. It was pretty amazing how he built the culture around his company and the success that followed thereafter.

The reading is pretty light and casual. If anything, it may be a little too casual as Tony Hsieh noted he wanted to keep it very basic and like a conversation. I think it could have used a little help from an editor, with a little bit more formal editing, but maybe at the risk of losing what makes Tony Hsieh a great CEO of the greatest online service store that happen to sell shoes.

Coincidentally, I am at a point in my life where I’m making a lot of changes to my professional and personal life. This book has definitely helped me put things into perspective. It was great timing for me to pick up and finish reading the book when I did. Delivering Happiness is a fantastic book to read if you want to see how a great company was formed and sustained– but also for personal growth to find happiness.