Each year, Zappos’s employees are invited to write a short essay describing their company. Their entries are published, unedited, in the annual Zappos Culture Book and distributed companywide. Although the essays are as different as the people who write them, each profiles the personal connection that the employee feels to Zappos. The essays also reflect the company’s core values. Created by CEO Tony Hsieh early in Zappos’s history, the core values guide all of the company’s decisions. They include such principles as “Deliver WOW through service,” “Create fun and a little weirdness,” and “Build a positive team and family spirit.” While many employees yearn for greater balance between their home and work lives and work to keep them separate, Zappos creates employee job satisfaction by blending home and work life. Managers are encouraged to spend 10 to 20 percent of their time with their team away from the job. The objective is to ensure that people get to know each other outside the workplace. The end result is greater trust, better communication, and enhanced productivity for the workforce as a whole. Hsieh believed that building a community was essential to the growth of his online business. He reasoned that by creating satisfied customers, he would not only create customer loyalty but also generate positive word-of-mouth communication for the business. In this way, Zappos grew by creating a community of satisfied customers and avoided big expenditures on advertising and marketing. Currently Zappos has 7.7 million customers in its database; about three of every four orders come from repeat customers. Fortune recently named Zappos to its “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Its dedicated workers would stand behind that award wholeheartedly.

• Zappos’s CEO Tony Hsieh says he sees his customers as human beings, not just consumers. How do you suppose that viewpoint affects the way he deals with his workforce? 

• Zappos encourages employees to use their best judgment and to be themselves. Having fun at work every day is a priority for the firm. How does this motivate people?