(Photo: Karen Almond, The Dallas Opera)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Evolving Vision of Zappos<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Zappos, the online retail company, is\nwell-known for its obsession with providing the best customer service. The\nrecord for the longest customer service call is currently at 10 hours and 43\nminutes.[1]<\/sup><\/a>\nOf course, that employee’s goal was not to beat the previous record (because he\nwould’ve stopped at 9 hours 38 minutes\u2014one minute beyond the previous record).\nInstead, he was living out one of Zappos’ core values of “delivering WOW\nthrough service.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s interesting to track the evolution of\nZappos’ vision, because it didn’t start out (nor stop) with customer service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh first started in 1999\nwith a vision of “having the largest selection of shoes.” In 2003, it\nbecame “providing the best customer service” and in 2005, “to\nuse culture and core values as their platform” because that was where the\ngreat customer service really came from. Then in 2007, they decided to focus on\n“developing a personal emotional connection” as a way to define their\nunique customer service. And finally in 2009, they took a step back and said\nthis is all about “delivering happiness to people” – customers,\nemployees, and partners alike.[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a lot to take away from this vision\ntransformation, and I want to share two aspects that are worth exploring for\nmusicians: <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) Using culture and core values as a platform\nfor an organization’s vision<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) Tony Hsieh’s three types of happiness<\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using Culture and Core Values as a Platform<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Work culture is generated through people and\ntheir collective shared values and behaviors. We can usually identify our\norganization’s core values by asking “what do we stand for?” or\n“what are we like?” or “what does the company mean to you?”\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of Zappos’ core values include: deliver\nWOW through service, create fun and a little weirdness, pursue growth and\nlearning, and be humble.[3]<\/sup><\/a>\nWhen its employees live out these core values, amazing customer service simply\nwas a natural byproduct\u2014a result rather than being the vision or goal itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When Zappos realized this and graduated their\nvision from “best customer service” to focus on “culture and\ncore values”, it not only reaped the benefit of continued top-notch\ncustomer service, but it also strengthened its responsibility to employees by\nnurturing them as people (foreshadowing its later vision shift to something\nbigger\u2014delivering happiness). <\/p>\n\n\n\n This shifts their vision away from the customer<\/em> and onto the people who serve<\/em> the customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It also\nallowed Zappos to get the “right people on the bus,”<\/strong> a crucial notion for creating high-performing teams from Jim Collins’\nbook Good to Great<\/em>.[4]<\/sup><\/a>\nHere are some ways Zappos found the right employees and nurtured its culture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is clear that Zappos emphasizes committable\nvalues for their people\u2014ones that they’re willing to hire or fire over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jim Senegal, former CEO of Costco (another\nemployee-centric company), said, “Of every dollar that we spend on our\nbusiness, $0.70 is on people. It doesn’t do much good to have a quality image,\nwhether it’s with the facility or whether it’s with the merchandise, if you\ndon’t have real quality people taking care of your customers.”[9]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n How\nmany times have you heard<\/strong> that an orchestra is\nresponsible for serving its audiences<\/em>\n(or customers)? Probably a lot. How often do you hear that an orchestra is\nresponsible for serving its musicians<\/em>?\nProbably never.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can learn a lot from companies like Zappos\nthat serve their customers by<\/em> taking\ncare of their employees\u2014who are the ones really serving the customers. When we\nneglect the well-being of employees, we actually sabotage how effective we\ncould be at serving our customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we hire musicians, we focus on mostly\nobservable, measurable skills. While artistic skills are crucial, it doesn’t\nhave to be 100% of the evaluation process. We don’t officially consider if the\nmusician would be a good culture fit. We don’t ask if the musician would\nsubscribe to and live the values of the organization. We don’t know if the musician\nwould find meaning in the organization’s purpose. What would they bring to the\norganization and the customers besides the artistic skills?<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we don’t have the “right people on\nthe bus,” the culture suffers. Levels of purpose, trust, happiness, belonging\nall decline – ultimately jeopardizing the artistic product for the customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the\nsame time, we can’t blame ourselves<\/strong> for hiring through\nan entirely skills-based approach, because we can clearly justify our\ndecisions. We find comfort and safety in knowing that we relied on hard rules,\nmetrics, and boundaries to hire those with the best artistic abilities, to hit\nrevenue targets, and to top the charts. And when problems with culture arise,\nwe can safely fall back on our vetting criteria: “they were<\/em> the best players” or\n“they did<\/em> graduate at the top of\ntheir class” or “they did<\/em>\nwin this competition.” We don’t realize some criteria are missing, like\ncore values. So we are used to building culture and solving culture problems\nusing these tangible metrics – thinking that better skills, better pay, and\nbeing number one will automatically equal better culture.[10]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n But things like belonging, trust, and\nhappiness are feelings. And at the center of feelings are human beings, not<\/em> numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, metrics offer a false sense of\nsecurity that limits us. It’s where we go to hide when things go wrong. It\nblinds us to our problems and potential solutions. Sure, we want the outcomes\nof artistic excellence, appropriate compensation, wide audience engagement, and\nhigh standing in the industry. But they don’t exist in a vacuum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n What we\nare really dealing with<\/strong> are people<\/em> who hold these values and people<\/em> who are driven by these goals. We can reframe our focus to\nserving these people by cultivating a meaningful connection between their\nskills and their values and goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some thoughts for us to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notice these thoughts are not either-or, but\nboth-and. We don’t have to give up the metrics. The problem is that metrics\nshould not be arbitrary, lofty directives, nor externally implemented. When we\ncan motivate people from within to live a set of shared values and work toward\nshared goals, the metrics become merely the byproducts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And\nwhat if we thought like Zappos? <\/strong>What if our interviews\nand performance reviews included criteria that measured how we would live\/are\nliving the core values? What if we incentivize people to leave if they know\nit’s not a right fit? What would happen if one of our core values was\n“delivering WOW through service” and we lived by it every day? <\/p>\n\n\n\n How would our behaviors and attitudes change?\nHow would our product change? How would our interactions with our audiences\nchange? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thinking about all this will eventually serve\nthe audience more. But first it will help us realize that 1) the musicians are\nthe ones who are serving the customers and 2) their well-being is paramount to\ncustomer service and to quality of product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe we’ll even be able to inspire the\nmusical equivalent of the 10-hour, above-and-beyond Zappos customer service\ncall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting to “Delivering Happiness”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that “to use culture and core\nvalues as their platform” eventually evolved to a vision of\n“delivering happiness to people” for Zappos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tony Hsieh was interested in three types of\nhappiness[11]<\/sup><\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As professionals in any industry, we primarily\nfocus on chasing the first type of happiness, but the research Hsieh explored\nshows that it pays off to focus on chasing the third, more sustainable, and\nlong-lasting type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering these types of happiness, I was\nparticularly intrigued about how arriving at “delivering happiness”\nperhaps was not<\/em> accidental for\nZappos. It seems like the company’s vision journey itself maps perfectly onto a\nprogression from the first toward the third type of happiness: <\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially\nin the arts, we think that achieving metrics or recognition will make us happy,\n<\/strong>but it ends up being short-lived or we feel empty\ninside because it doesn’t have much meaning beyond ourselves. We are always\nsearching for that next hit of pleasure. Hsieh insightfully shares that,\n“People are bad at predicting what will make them happy.”[12]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rock\nstar” happiness: <\/em>An organization may rank as\nnumber one in something, but then what? Will the people be happy about it\nbeyond this year, this moment? You win the job, but then what? Will you be\nhappy in it or will you be looking immediately for the next job? If we as\nindividuals or as organizations seek this type of happiness, we sacrifice\nfilling our lives with meaning for chasing the metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Flow”\nhappiness: <\/em>We may play a great concert and we feel\nfantastic, but then what? The feeling wears off after a few hours or days, and\nwe yearn for the next time we get to feel that way again. We’d be lucky if you\nfeel that way on a daily basis as a musician. Even if we perform every day, we\nmay not achieve a “flow-state” performance every day. What happens\nwhen we don’t? What keeps us going? What gives us happiness then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\ndoes the third type of happiness mean for musicians?<\/em>\nWhat is a purpose that is both larger than ourselves and that is specific\nenough to be actionable and serve as a compass? <\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is\na very hard question, simply because as artists we are fortunate to have an\nintrinsic love for our work<\/strong>. We often don’t think (or\nperhaps don’t feel like we need to think) about why we love it or why we do it.\nWithout a bigger-than-us purpose driving and unifying our actions and\ndecisions, however, we fall into the trap of chasing external metrics as a purpose.\nAnd we end up feeling unfulfilled or unhappy as individuals, or messy and\ndirectionless as organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We are also victims of education systems and workplaces run traditionally by extrinsic motivation. For an activity that is intrinsically motivating (like playing music), there is actually a negative effect to the enjoyment of that work when we introduce extrinsic rewards that turn “play into work.” Daniel Pink calls these if-then rewards in his book Drive [13]<\/sup><\/strong><\/sup><\/a>: if<\/em> you do this, then<\/em> you get that. He shares that social science reveals that if-then rewards work well for simple, algorithmic, short-term tasks, but are not as effective for more complex, creative tasks – such as music performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pink further adds that this is due to the fact\nthat if-then rewards require people to forfeit some of their autonomy. This is\nbuilt into our schools via grades and our workplaces via pay incentives. An\nauthority figure decides the nature and conditions of that if-then\nrelationship, so we lose some autonomy to make decisions for ourselves. We\nbecome more risk-averse in fear of not doing the right thing to get the reward.\nAnd this prescribed relationship of action to reward has the potential to erode\nour intrinsic motivation over time. We may even get to the point where we are\nnot motivated to act unless we expect the reward. This is especially tricky\nwith compensation as it is often a well-intended incentive, but yielding a\nnegative effect. Pink advises that the “best use of money is to take it\noff the table. Get it right, and then get it out of sight.”[14]<\/sup><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, happiness in our intrinsically-driven\nfield can be threatened by both 1) striving toward the short-lived happiness of\npleasure via achieving metrics, and 2) if-then rewards that decrease intrinsic\nmotivation as well as stifle creativity and risk-taking. Simply our willingness\nto see these as factors in play can help us to begin changing things around for\na more fulfilling workplace for musicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inspiring Change for our People <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Companies like Zappos can inspire artistic\norganizations to change for the sake of\nits people<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can define the culture of our workplaces\nvia articulated and shared values. We can use our values to drive how we hire,\nevaluate, and reward employees. This clarity positions an organization to stand\nout from the rest of the market. More importantly, it broadcasts a clear signal\nthat attracts like-minded people who want to join the same cause. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It helps align values that determine every\nemployee’s motivations, mindset, and actions from the top down. There is a deep\ncommitment to work for the cause, and beyond the paycheck. It creates a\nworkplace where everyone feels camaraderie, personal accountability, belonging,\nand pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply aiming for the metrics will not lead to\nlong-lasting happiness for our people. And like Zappos, we can strive to\ndiscover and evolve our selfless purpose as individuals and as organizations\nover our lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, caring for the well-being of the people who serve the customers<\/em> will\nresult in higher achievement of metrics and surpassing set goals, naturally\nleading to a meaningful product for the customer and more happiness all around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy,\nbeautifully states in a shareholder letter, “…we will do well by doing\ngood. Simply put, purposeful leadership recognizes that all companies are human\norganizations composed of individuals working together for a collective\npurpose. And the magic happens if you connect what drives individual employees\nto the purpose of the company in an authentic fashion.”[15]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Clear purpose helps articulate “people\nlike us do things like this,” \u00e0 la Seth Godin.[16]<\/sup><\/a>\nSimon Sinek calls it “just cause.”[17]<\/sup><\/a>\nDavid Burkus calls it “Pick a Fight.”[18]<\/sup><\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever we call it, it can lead to the type of happiness that will last a lifetime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n To visit Tiffany’s blog on leadership click here<\/a>. [1]<\/sup><\/a>\nhttps:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/zappos-employee-sets-record-for-longest-customer-service-call-2016-7<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/sup><\/a> Talks at Google with Tony Hsieh:\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jJ5k_Byd9Fs<\/p>\n\n\n\n [3]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [4]<\/sup><\/a> More information on Collins’ Good to Great<\/em>:\nhttps:\/\/www.jimcollins.com\/books.html<\/p>\n\n\n\n [5]<\/sup><\/a> Talks at Google with Tony Hsieh:\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jJ5k_Byd9Fs<\/p>\n\n\n\n [6]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/zappos-tony-hsieh-paid-new-workers-to-quit-the-offer-2020-11<\/p>\n\n\n\n [7]<\/sup><\/a> Talks at Google with Tony Hsieh:\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jJ5k_Byd9Fs<\/p>\n\n\n\n [8]<\/sup><\/a>\nhttps:\/\/www.zapposinsights.com\/blog\/item\/four-peertopeer-ways-zappos-employees-reward-each-other<\/p>\n\n\n\n [9]<\/sup><\/a> Quote taken from Jim Collins’ Good to Great<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [10]<\/sup><\/a> Here’s a portion of an interview with Simon\nSinek with Big Change that inspired this paragraph:\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/Ze-pXbrWLkc?t=1435<\/p>\n\n\n\n [11]<\/sup><\/a> Talks at Google with Tony Hsieh:\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jJ5k_Byd9Fs<\/p>\n\n\n\n [12]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [13]<\/sup><\/a> More information on Pink’s Drive<\/em>:\nhttps:\/\/www.danpink.com\/books\/drive\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n [14]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [15]<\/sup><\/a> Quote taken from Ron Carruci’s interview with\nHubert Joly: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bYJO_ijQveo&t=374s<\/p>\n\n\n\n [16]<\/sup><\/a> Read more about this here, and via the link\nin this blog post:\nhttps:\/\/seths.blog\/2013\/07\/people-like-us-do-stuff-like-this\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n