A love letter to the deceased

I’ve been sad since Saturday. 

On Saturday morning I was in the office early. Charlotte phoned me at just before 9am. She’d just read that Tony Hsieh had died and phoned me immediately. 

She knew how much I liked him. Probably because when I listened to his book ‘Delivering Happiness’ on Audible several years ago, I didn’t stop telling her story after story as I read it in amazement! 

Ever since I first heard about Tony and his book, which was years ago now, I’ve followed his work and been fascinated by his achievements, especially in relation to creating a positive culture in a business. 

In case you don’t know, Tony Hsieh died at age 46 on Friday 27th November 2020. He was best known for his role as CEO of Zappos, an online shoe company which Amazon bought in 2009 for around $1.2Billion. 

I’d read a short time ago that he’d recently retired from Zappos, back in August. This was already a disappointment as I really wanted to get to Las Vegas and do the Zappos Tour, since learning this was a thing a few years ago. Not that I would have met him, but learning that he was no longer CEO already put a dampener on having not made it to tour the Zappos campus whilst Tony Hsieh was still at the helm. 

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so sad about someone dying who I don’t actually know in person. 

And I’m not sure why. 

Perhaps because 46 years old is just too young to die? Perhaps because my Dad died at 52 yrs old and at the time, when I was 24, I thought 52 was quite old. I now know that 52 is not old at all and 46 is very close to 52. Why do people die so young? 

When I heard that Tony Hsieh had retired from Zappos earlier this year, I wondered what he’d do next. I was sure he’d start something new or takeover another company and make it better. 

He surely had so much more to give. 

He had a big impact on me. I’m realising just how big with the strength of feelings I’ve experienced since Saturday. 

I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because he achieved - with seemingly effortless ease (although surely not) - to set up a culture within his business that all employees signed up to and lived by. I’ve spent so much time referring back to this page on the Zappos website (https://www.zappos.com/about/what-we-live-by) to remind myself what the Zappos Company Values are and how they developed them. I’ve followed the Zappos Culture Book (https://www.zapposinsights.com/culture-book) to learn about how he did what he did, because on the face of it, it sounds easy, but in practise, it’s really not. 

There are two main reasons I feel compelled to write something about my memory of Tony Hsieh and the impact he had on my life, and they are as follows…

Reason #1

So that I might introduce someone new to his work, so that they too might benefit from his wisdom. 

He was a true visionary and he changed the world for many people. I truly believe he’s changed the focus of many, many businesses, to become customer centric. To forget about the product that you sell or the service that you offer, and instead recognise that the people you’re serving are the most important thing and there are multiple ways you can help them. 

I remember reading a post on LinkedIn from Zappos during the first lockdown, that said they were taking calls from people just to talk. You didn’t have to be buying anything from them, but if you wanted to talk to someone, during this time of solitude and isolation, you could call any of their customer service lines and just talk to them. Person to person. Because, just like the story in Tony’s book ‘Delivering Happiness’ where he’s at a party late at night and they want a pizza, he tells his friend to call their Zappos rep to see what they can do, they organise a pizza for them because they care and they’re there to help! (And before you think it - if you haven’t read the book - the rep doesn’t know that Tony is at the party!), they just get them a pizza because they can and because they’re helping a customer, regardless of whether that customer is buying something from them in the moment. 

And 

Reason #2

To remind anyone reading this, that life is short. That you must not wait for things. That you never know what’s around the corner. 

Tony Hsieh lived a very fast and effective life from what I can tell. He crammed a lot in! He had a massive impact on other people, in what turned out to be a very short 46 years on the planet. Just like my Dad packed a lot into his short 52 years, it’s important to realise that you shouldn’t wait for anything. Stop using the phrase “we’ll see”. Stop waiting for things to happen if they’re important to you. 

Patience is incredibly important, but don’t wait without action. Recognise that if something’s important to you, then you must go after it. Be driven. Be proactive. Live on purpose. Learn from those who have left a legacy, people just like Tony Hsieh, and make your life better because of it. Be inspired. Be encouraged. Believe that anything is possible and act accordingly. 

Tony falls into the category of people who simply amaze me, who achieve incredible things. People like Sam Walton & Jeff Bezos, who do more than most of us believe is possible. To sell his first company Link Exchange, to Microsoft for $265million when he was just 22 years old, and then go on to sell Zappos to Amazon for $1.2Billion. That takes a special person. That takes a visionary. 

We really have lost a truly remarkable person in the last week and if you’re not aware of him and his work then I encourage you to read and learn. Read his book, ‘Delivering Happiness’, if you listen on Audible he’ll read it to you, which I feel brought me closer to knowing him. To be told his story, directly from his own lips, will make you feel close to him, just like it did me. Perhaps it will inspire you to do what you’re destined to do. To be influential. To help others. To change people’s lives for the better. 

I’m so proud that we decided and agreed upon our Company Values here at Graf UK this time last year, which was massively inspired by Tony Hsieh, and which are now plastered all over our Company walls. This is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt from him, but I’ve much more to read and continue to learn, and we’re lucky he’s left such a legacy that we can still learn from him even though he’s moved on. 

I believe it was Martin Luther King Jr that said, “It doesn’t matter how long you live, but how well you do it” which seems appropriate for Tony Hsieh, but sad none-the-less. And perhaps we should all take this on board, not knowing what’s around the corner? Live in the moment. Don’t delay. Do what you’re here to do, now, not later. 

It’s too late for my Dad and Tony, but if you’re reading this then it’s not too late for you. Your opportunity is still here, right in front of you. Make the most of it. 

PS. I also couldn’t write about Tony Hsieh without recommending his email strategy, which he called ‘Yesterbox’. If you ever feel overwhelmed by the non-stop chain of emails coming at you, check out https://yesterbox.com and give it a go. It worked for Tony, it’s slowly working for me (I just need a bit more discipline!), and it could help you too. 

PPS. If you were also a fan on Tony’s work, let me know what had the biggest impact on you - I’d love to read about it.