Zappos' Secret: It's An Open Book

摘要

Since Tony Hsieh be-came CEO of Zappos. com in 2000,rnthe e-tailer has sold shoes, lots and lots of shoes. More recently he added clothes, accessories, and electronics. And Zappos continues to grow in a recession. Ask Hsieh to describe his secret sauce, and he'll tell you that much of Zappos' success comes down to the company's culture and the unusual amount of openness he encourages among employees, vendors, and other businesses.rnHsieh, a major early investor in Zappos who takes home a $36,000 annual salary, describes his philosophy this way: "If we get the culture right, most of the other stuff, like the brand and the customer service,rnwill just happen. With most companies, as they grow the culture goes downhill. We want the culture to grow stronger and stronger as we grow."rnPotential employees at Zappos' Henderson (Nev.) headquarters get a sense of that right away. The jobrnapplication for callrncenter reps includes such questions as: How lucky in life do you consider yourself to be on a scale from 1 to 10? Hsieh is so confident about Zappos' appeal that he offers $2,000 to anyone who completes the week-long training program and doesn't want to stay. So far, few have taken it.