Two company stories whose heart & soul drive innovation

How Great Culture Drives Brand Success

Great Culture=Happy Employees

Happy Employees=Great Customer Service

Great Customer Service=Passionate Customers

Passionate Customers=Great Long Term Brand

Zappos generates over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales every year.

Better yet…It’s on a

mission to deliver

happiness to the world.

…One wacky, weird step at a time.

Every year, Zappos has a family tradition called “Bald and Blue”.

…where shaving your head is just part of the fun.

To raise money for

the PROJECT

WE charity.

It’s part of what Zappos CEO Tony Hseih (pronounced Shay) sees as the real competitive advantage for the company.

Its CULTURE

It’s true that Zappos has the world’s largest selection of shoes.

And that 75% of Zappos business are repeat customers.

Yes…it will take an

order as late as midnight

and deliver it to the

customer’s doorstep before

breakfast.

And, if it doesn’t have the shoe in stock, it will go to three

competitors to find the shoe for you.

But, if you ask Tony what drives Zappos’ success…

He’s pretty clear…

It’s the company culture.

He has defined ten committable core values upon which the company is

based.

Deliver WOW through service.

Embrace and drive change.

Create fun and a little weirdness.

Pursue growth and learning.

*Zappos Marathon

Build open and honest relationships with communication.

Build a positive team and family spirit.

Do more with less.

Be passionate

and determined.

Be humble.

But, this idea of creating a strong community corporate culture is not new to the business world.

In fact, the very first high technology company, and the founders of “Silicon Valley”, Bill Hewlett and David Packard, were the original innovators of recognizing culture as a critical piece of profits.

On March 8, 1960, Bill Hewlett and David Packard stunned business leaders by rejecting the idea that a company exists merely to maximize profits.

“A company has a responsibility beyond making a profit for stockholders; it has a responsibility to

recognize the dignity of its employees as human beings, to the

well-being of its customers,

and to the community at large”.-

David Packard

They laid down the cornerstone concept of the

“HP Way”which came to

stand for Contribution.

“The essence of the idea, radical at the time, was that EMPLOYEES'

BRAINPOWER was the company's most IMPORTANT RESOURCE”.

– Peter Burrows, BusinessWeek

“The Way” offered one of the first all-company profit-sharing plans:

• gave shares to all employees• offered tuition assistance • flex time• job sharing• and more.

These were revolutionary in concept for that era.

Their business began in a garage, but many of the same original ideas continued.

“The Way” outlined

five guiding

principles

The Hewlett-Packard company exists to make a technical contribution, and should only pursue opportunities consistent with this purpose.

The Hewlett-Packard company demands of itself and its people superior performance.

Get the right people, trust them, give them freedom to find the best path to achieve

objectives, and let them share in the rewards.

The Hewlett-Packard company has a responsibility to contribute directly to the well-being of the communities in

which its operates. 

#4

#5

Period.

“Lose your core values, and you lose your soul.”

*Jim Collins, Forward to The Way

The “HP Way”, was once Silicon Valley's innovation model, creating the foundation for the likes of Zappos and others.

“In a thriving company, the

culture not only echoes the mission, the culture executes the mission”.

-James Greco, CEO Sbarro

If you would like to learn more about how to create a strong and vibrant culture to help build your brand, contact me at cfrei@vizolution.tv.