Read, Watch, Hear: Delivering Happiness

October 21, 2023

Introducing a new series here on Behind the Brand… Read, Watch, Hear: a series on the books, TED talks, podcasts, etc. that are influencing us (or have influenced us).

We love learning about social entrepreneurship, design, leadership, finding purpose in life, and innovation (next up: Steve Jobs biography!) and it constantly impacts the way we shape Cultivate as a company and a culture.

In this series, we’ll share those things with you, and we invite you to share what books you’re loving with us! You can either comment on these posts on the blog, or get involved on this Book Club page on the forums.

First up, Delivering Happinessby Zappos CEO and founder, Tony Hsieh. This has been a favorite for our whole group- we all read this one in the early months of founding Cultivate.

Delivering Happiness delves into how Hsieh focused heavily on building Zappos’ internal culture, starting with core values, believing that if the employees loved coming to work, felt like a part of a community, and believed their role was a part of a greater purpose, then hard work and great customer service would naturally follow.

Here’s what Ali loved from the book:
“Together, we had built a business that combined profits, passion, and purpose. And we knew that is wasn’t just about building a business. It was about building a lifestyle that was about delivering happiness to everyone, including employees.”

This is exactly what we aim to do at Cultivate! Tony’s book was a great source of inspiration for me that doing what you love with the goal of improving the lives of others is a viable and powerful business plan. We hope to be another company that successfully executes that model and can also eventually inspire others to take the same path.

Tags: books, inspiration