Delivering Happiness

1. The Culture Book is not about the book… it’s about the culture.

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If someone asked you to recite your corporate values or mission
statement without looking it up, could you? People wonder how
Zappos employees somehow remember all 10 Core Values by heart.
To me, it’s simple… it’s easy when your company’s core values are
ones that apply not just to work, but to life.
In the section about Core Values that follows (
here
), you’ll read
stories of how Zappos employees apply the same values outside the
office. Without a separation of work and life, it’s remarkable how
values can be exactly the same.
Before you create a culture book of your own, ask yourself:
Would you be comfortable printing everything your employees,
customers, and partners have to say about your culture?
If not, what would it take for you to get there?
No culture book is worth much unless it reflects culture and
values that are already in place.
2. It’s a short-term expense, long-term investment.
Once you have a culture—invest in it. To some companies, thinking
long-term may be completely irrational. Spending money on printing
and shipping a physical book in this technological age may sound
wasteful and foolish. It’s true, it’s hard to calculate the ROI of each
culture book printed. But when you’re trying to build a sustainable
brand and create customer loyalty, sometimes saving money is not
the point. The return you get from passionate people vouching for
your company and culture, and the word of mouth that generates, is
going to be intangible at the beginning. But over time, as it did for
Zappos, the investment will pay off manyfold.
3. Make it available to everyone.
We began by giving a copy to all the employees and partners who
contributed to the book. Now the Culture Book is available to the
general public (see the Appendix for more information). That always
blows my mind—people are asking to read the Culture Book of
someone else’s company. When’s the last time you’ve heard of

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anyone requesting to read a company’s annual report or employee
handbook (outside of an investor or someone in HR)? It’s incredible
to think people might not even know what Zappos sells, but they still
want to know what’s behind the idea of the Culture Book.
Somewhere down the line, that person just might think of Zappos
next time she or he needs a new pair of jeans or shoes. (And it’s
worth a mention that book production costs are much more
reasonable than you’d think.)