Kim Karalekas

One of the neat things about being in the ad. / branding / marketing / communcations / blogging world is that many times you are asked to try out different products, services, attend shows, events, etc. for research, product testing, citizen journalism, etc. Woot! (=

So when Zappos contacted me a few months back, seeing if I would be interested in reviewing its book, Delivering Happiness, prior to it’s launch date (today!), of course I took up the offer. I will say that I am pretty skeptical of many brands out there as they are poorly managed and / or not strategic however with Zappos…I am really super impressed with really everything I know about the company. Since I have much respect for this brand, I was really excited to learn about the masterminds behind the success of Zappos, their creative process, Tony Hsieh’s story, and the ideas behind the amazing internal + external company culture Zappos is so famously known for.

The entire book was a great read; however, the biggest takeaway / “AHA” moment for me came on page 53:

Sooooo…I had total déjà vu reading this part…specifically the part about the list making.

I had somewhat of the same epiphany last year – the first two terms I was so busy, I would say to myself: “I’ll make time to hang out with _____ as soon as I get through fall term” or “I’ll just do ____ spring term”. WELL, I went through fall + winter terms crazy with work, school, aha, paf stuff, violin stuff, + 9 million other things and I thought to myself…ok, now I will try to make time my last term to finally see my friends and have some fun. Well…welcome my rude awakening. My 2 best friends who have gone to school with me from elementary / middle school on, as well as my sister all ended up leaving at the end of winter term. My sister moved to Montana, then London, Nicole (my roommate / best friend / person who kept me going when I was still up working at 4 am) ended up having the opportunity to study abroad kinda last minute spring term, and Tia (my bff going back to middle school – she’s more family and has been there through it all) is bomb.com and was able to actually graduate a term early.

So of course that was a huge bummer. Last term of college and my 3 best friends had left. And I hadn’t made time for them the first two terms like I should. Or my parents for that matter, who only lived an hour away.

Anyway, at that point, I thought: well, I can’t change the past, but I can do something about it this last term. So I cut up a bunch of little papers and listed things that I wanted to do before leaving UO. Spring term whirled by – trying to finish up 2 majors and 2 minors…working on Ecology and preparing for our NYC trip, AHA / bascially spending my life eating, not sleeping, breathing and dreaming about NVC…suddenly spring term was over. As I was packing up my apartment, I found those little pieces of paper I wrote on at the beginning of the term, separating the papers into two categories: things I did and could cross off the list and things I did not.

Curious as to what the two lists look like? This is actually an abbreviated list, but I think the takeaway is pretty clear:

…and now for the list of things I did do spring term:

Pretty wild, right?

Anyway, more water under the bridge and the only way to move is forward. Around this time I was also pretty apathetic to everything as I was just so stressed out from everything and really had no desire to work at an agency or be in the ad. world for awhile. (although our little ad. family we had formed in the j. school was AWESOME! We took care of each other like none other – would bring each other dinner if one / a group of us would have a late night, would step in to help someone if we have a minute or two of “free time” …honestly, it was such a freaking wonderful group of ad. kids to be surrounded by – no egos, just a bunch of passion and talent and drive to make good work happen.)

So, bringing this full circle, I loved what Tony said in his book about taking a moment to think about what he really wanted out of life / a career, both short and long term. Like Tony, I realized that the things I had been told to think I wanted might actually not be what would actually make me the most happy! It seems like a pretty basic concept, but when you get wrapped up in things, it’s easy to lose perspective…or just enjoy things for the moment. Don’t get me wrong – I had an amazing year last year…I’m so thankful for all the opportunites I had and people I met / worked with…I just don’t think that’s a long-term lifestyle.

So, around this time, I was also offered an internship at API. I had hoped to do nothing last summer and just hang out and relax, but after working with API last winter term…and then really thinking about what it’d be like, I actually was getting excited about the opportunity. Why? Because I realized that I would be working for something I BELIEVED in. I’d get to work for a company that runs study abroad programs for students. I know how much my study abroad experience impacted me, so knowing I could be helping other students have the same amazing experience made me feel really confident that it was a good decision.

Not only that, but right off the bat, I was super impressed with how collaborative and supportive API was as a company. I didn’t feel like I would have to compete with co-workers or worry about working for a product / service I didn’t believed in because everyone at API worked together toward the same goals and for the same service. I didn’t feel like there were any silos – the leadership was strong but approachable and willing to help out / meet / answer questions, even if they had 1.7 million other things to do. Right off the bat, I realized how thorough and process driven they are – really just a solid and strategic company. That was my first impression of API and well…a year later, it really still is about the same! (=

In reading this passage, I actually realized how similar API is to that of Zappos. We’re like a little family at API – we are taken care of, we all look out for each other and it’s fun. Everyone had their game faces on, but they take care of us…there really is a great company culture – something I really hugely admire about Zappos and really do believe has a huge affect on the long-term success of a company.

Tony Hsieh really is a brilliant person. Building a company from the inside out…paying attention to the details…taking care of employees (which will then transfer to customer care)…being willing to take risks, and honestly just being real and having street smarts…this is all huge!

Anyway, this turned into a bit of a tangent (don’t all of my posts? (; ) but really – this book was an awesome read. And as for my overall takeaway from the book?

1. Money and / or status does not equal happiness.

2. Happiness = happiness.

3. The quickest way to succeed long-term is to be happy.