Where is the ROI of "happy"?

Happy is a squishy term.

Don't think so? Which is easier to answer:

Am I hungry?

Am I happy?

Maybe it's where Hungry and Happy rest on Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Am I hungry?

YES! I'm hungry for dessert! A chocolate almond torte, fresh whipped creme and a cup of coffee, all served as an appetizer.

Am I happy?

Yeah, for the most part. Compared to others...I mean I have these things going on and you know I have no real reason to complain...

What company even talks about ...happy?

Zappos does. Well, their CEO, Tony Hsieh does. Zappos is that shoe and now apparel company out in ...Las Vegas. Mr. Hsieh talks about it in his new book and its purpose: DELIVERING HAPPINESS: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

The goal of the book is to inspire other companies to think about how to they can use happiness as a guiding principle to make customers happier (by focusing more on customer service) and employees happier (by focusing more on company culture), which ultimately can lead to sustainable profits and long-term financial performance. Tony Hsieh's Update

Zappos is 11 years old. At the end of 2008 they reached $1 billion in sales. At the end of 2009, they reached....$1.2 Billion in sales. 2009 was the darkest year in the Great Recession.

20% annual revenue growth during the peak of a recession, the greatest recession in the last 60+ years? That's a ROI on happy that can make anyone happy.

How else do you measure the ROI of happy, Zappos-style? You own your culture.

Zappos was acquired by Amazon.  Zappos has an unique culture so many, including myself, predicted Tony and his company would lose the power to maintain their culture.

Word of advice: never bet against a guy who's grown a company to $1 billion in 11 years and through 2 recessions and 2 wars.

Here's what Mr. Hsieh wrote about Zappos' culture one year after Amazon bought them:

We've retained our independence and our culture is as strong as before the acquisition. We've been learning a lot from each other and the new partnership has enabled us to move even faster towards the Zappos vision of delivering happiness to the world.

That's power. The power to maintain your corporate culture after being acquired is...power, huge power.

My point(s)?

The ROI of happy come in two forms: intangible and tangible.

• You want power?

• Create happy employees and customers.

• You want results... measured in metrics understood by all of your stakeholders, including your CFO?

• Create happy employees and customers

How do you do happy?

• You could start with understanding what Mr. Hsieh has done with Zappos.

In the meantime, be happy. Whatever definition you use, be happy. It is impossible to make others happy until we're happy

Now, where's that chocolate almond torte? I'm hungry.