Whoever thought that a shoe store would be a source of great business insight? Well, Zappos is not your typical neighborhood shoe retailer. Zappos is a wildly successful on-line shoe retailer, with anticipated sales of $1 billion in 2008. That’s billion, with a “B” if you missed it.
“How is this possible?” you may ask yourself. How can a shoe store succeed on the internet? Don’t people need to try them on? Don’t they want to see them up close, feel them, and walk around the store in them before they part with their hard-earned money? Zappos has overcome all of these challenges and there’s no end in sight to its growth.
With growth comes the need for more people to join the team. Moreover, Zappos doesn’t just want warm bodies, but people who share their vision and fit their culture. Anyone who has worked for a fast-growing business knows how difficult it is to hire a lot of people in a short amount of time and not lose cultural identity or sacrifice great customer service. Again, Zappos has overcome this challenge.
After an initial period of training, Zappos actually offers its new hires $1000 to quit. The logic is simple: if they take the bribe, they weren’t the right people, they didn’t see a future with Zappos, and Zappos is better off without them. What a great business insight!
What about us? What would happen if we dangled $100, or $500, or $1000 in front of our people to get them to quit? How many would take the cash? How many would refuse it? What does this say about us and our businesses? How important is it for us to have the right people on the team versus just having warm bodies?
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Posted by philharwood 
