S E R V I C E / L E S S O N S

possess. Rather than emulating the corevalues of other business leaders,Zappos leaders asked their people,“What does it take to be a successhere?” Unlike the aspirational valuesthat typically are on the walls of com-panies, Zappos values sound differentand authentically reflect the qualities ofthose who established the business. Assuch, Zappos values include suchthings as “Deliver WOW ThroughService,” “Be Humble,” and “Create Funand a Little Weirdness.” Do your cultur-al values reflect what it really takes to

be successful in your business or is ittime to re-assess their credibility,uniqueness, and relevance?

2. Select, defend, and account forvalues. Values aren’t words on paper;they are a lens through which all busi-ness decisions must be made. Zapposleaders attract, select, onboard, train,strategize, and measure against theirvalues. Even before applicants canaccess employment offerings, they arebombarded with messages about thecompany’s values. Prospects then en-counter a gauntlet of hurdles includingvideo cover letters designed to assesswhether they’ll fit in the Zappos value-based workplace. Upon selection, new

by Joseph A. Michelli

EXCEPTIONAL LEADERS PRO-duce businesses with

extraordinary engagement,retention, and advocacy from theircustomers and employees. What doesit take to generate customer zealotry (asevidenced by consistent world class per-formance on loyalty metrics) and statusas an employer of choice (reflected inselection as a Best Place to Work)? Howdo you create rapidly climbing salesnumbers, while retaining premiumpricing even during periods of fiscallyconstricted consumer behavior?

The answer—Learn from Zappos, theInternet company that began offeringshoes online and went to $1 billion inannual gross merchandise sales in 10years, with minimal advertising andan expanding scope of offerings.Leaders created an authentic, vibrant,somewhat eccentric culture and soldthe business to Amazon.com for about$1 billion.

While Zappos has achieved solidgrowth and status as a company tobenchmark for customer service excel-lence and social media mastery, youmight wonder what lessons you canlearn from them. Try these five ZapposLeadership Lessons on for size.

1. Culture eats strategy for break-fast (lunch and dinner). If you haven’tdone so already, it’s time to drop thecustomer service initiative and re-direct your efforts to an honest andthorough assessment of your cultureand values. Most businesses fail to dif-ferentiate themselves from the competitionbecause they never take the time to under-stand what they uniquely value or

ExcellenceVolume 12 Number 5 The Magazine of Team Leadership May 2012

Learn from ZapposZ a p y o u r l e a d e r s h i p a p p r o a c h .

S a l e s a n d S e r v i c e

hires begin a month-long orientationanchored to exposure and demonstra-tion of the core values. This onboard-ing process culminates with every newhire spending about a week humblyanswering telephone inquires in thecall center (the customer loyalty teamarea). After onboarding, new employ-ees are given the offer so that they makeone last self-assessment to assure thatthey truly fit with Zappos. Leadershipoffers cash (now $4,000) to leave thecompany if new employees feel they arenot a culture fit or won’t commit toenhancing and defending the culture.Leaders maintain the focus on cultureenhancement through monthly employ-ee performance discussions. What canyou do to more effectively and consis-tently select, defend and account foryour company’s values?

3. Get it right/make it right, easy,and quick. To sustain an advantage, asa leader you must produce excellence inconsistent delivery of service essentials.Leaders at Zappos know that thosebasics include accuracy, customer ease,and speed (both in delivery and recov-ery). I refer to this grouping of opera-tional skills as service velocity. Thisgoes beyond service speed because youcan have service that is so quick that itis inaccurate. In essence, service velocityis a function of delivery urgency in thedirection of other desired customeroutcomes, such as ease of use and get-ting it right the first time. Zappos lead-ers also acknowledge servicebreakdowns, make appropriate apolo-gies, tirelessly seek fair resolution ofservice shortcomings, and passionatelypurse systemic solutions to assure thatservice errors do not recur. Thesebehaviors help staff members turn a

Reprinted with permission of Leadership Excellence: 1-877-250-1983

S A L E S A N D S E R V I C E E X C E L L E N C E

service error into a chance to strengthenrelationships with customers. How do youmodel and lead operational excellence inservice velocity and recovery?

4. Lead PEC. Once you demonstrate andprioritize getting it right and making it rightfor staff and customers, you are likelydemonstrating operational competency andgenerating employee and customer satisfac-tion. But satisfaction leaves your customer acoupon away from trying a competitor andyour employees vulnerable to exploringalternative employment options.

Leaders at Zappos build on their plat-form of operational excellence by living andencouraging Personal Emotional Connections(PEC). By creating a workplace where dis-tinctions between leaders and front-lineemployees are virtually non-existent (corevalue of humility, a CEO who accepts asalary of only $36,000 per year and whoworks in a cubicle) and where managers areexpected to spend time outside of workwith their team members. Supervisorsengage personally with staff who in turn areencouraged to forge personal connections

Volume 12 Issue 5

Sales & Service Excellence is publishedmonthly by Executive Excellence Publishing, LLC (dba Leadership Excellence),1806 North 1120 West, Provo, UT 84604.

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Copyright © 2012 Executive ExcellencePublishing. No part of this publication may bereproduced or transmitted in any form withoutwritten permission from the publisher.Quotations must be credited.

with their customers. Is your leadershipteam treating staff the way you want to seestaff treat one another and treat your cus-tomers?

5. Play to win. Work and play should notbe antithetical. Play without purpose is not asustainable business approach and a work-place devoid of play is also not likely to fuelinnovation and collaboration. Zappos lead-ers often use playful activities and a spirit ofabandon to reward achievement. They do notplay to play but they play to win! How sillywill you be to incent extraordinary effort byyour team?

At Zappos, you might see a leader dressup as garden gnome, sing karaoke, or leadan impromptu parade—all in support ofproductivity, community, and fun. Companiesthat play together do stay and win together!

What concept will you embrace to leadyour team more meaningfully? SSE

Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D., is speaker, consultant, and authorof The Zappos Experience, The New Gold Standard, Prescriptionfor Excellence, The Starbucks Experience, and When Fish Fly.Visit www.josephmichelli.com.

ACTION: Apply lessons from Zappos leaders.