Delivering Happiness

Pursue Growth and Learning
by Maura S.
When I began working at Zappos six years ago, I had no plans to
make it a career. I happened to live in San Francisco, trying to get a
full-time job in the museum world. It wasn’t working out too well, so
I applied to answer phones so I could pay rent.
Looking back, it was simply a job. Now that job has turned into
something so much more meaningful.

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I knew Zappos was a great place to work right away because of
two things: the great people I got to spend my day with, and their
fantastic philosophy on customer service. But I don’t really think I
understood how special this company was until I made a huge leap of
faith and moved with them to Las Vegas in April 2004.
The Zappos Core Values were sent out to us in 2006. We knew
we had a unique culture and now we had something to reference,
something that we all contributed to, something to which we said,
“Yes! This is what we believe in.”
The Core Values weren’t just for the office; they were a way of
life. I loved and identified with them all, but I immediately honed in
on Core Value 5: Pursue Growth and Learning.
By that time I had been with the company two and a half years.
In that short time I had been pushed into management positions,
when I had no experience and wasn’t looking for that in a job. In
hindsight, I’m thankful they pushed me there.
I knew that Zappos trusted me, maybe even before I could trust
myself in certain roles. Because of that, I was able to learn and grow
by leaps and bounds, both personally and professionally.
After the core values came out, I really started to “pursue” all of
the growth and learning around me. I realized how lucky I was to
work in such a supportive environment, where I could come up with
ideas and know I’ve been already given the go-ahead to “just do.”
I became more confident and sure of my role as a leader in the
company. I pushed myself to start speaking on behalf of Zappos at
conferences, something that I would’ve been horrified to do five
years ago. Now I love it.
I was learning and growing not only within the Zappos walls, but
also in my personal life. I was able to set goals and buy a house on
my own. As a kid I was an avid reader, but in college I lost my zest
for reading. Now I can’t keep up with all the wonderful books out
there.
I’ve also pushed myself to get back into a healthy lifestyle. I’ve
run five half marathons and am currently training for my first full in
December (sponsored by Zappos!). I’ve traveled to Asia to go scuba

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diving, Central America to climb a volcano, and camped on one to
watch the neighboring one erupt. Happiness!
It’s amazing to look back on the last six years and imagine the
twenty-five-year-old I was, and see how much I’ve grown and
changed. Zappos has been a huge part of that growth and every day I
walk in to work, I can’t wait to learn more.