Making News in the Digital Era

Core Values and Clear Vision Every day, people in all walks of life, from movie stars and CEOs to members of the media and ordinary people, are using blogs, Twitter and other forms of online social media to discuss, share, announce something new or just to listen. It is the ultimate level playing field and is fair to all. Tony Hsieh is quite a success story in the online world. While attending Harvard in the early 1990s, Hsieh earned money by selling pizzas. Then he got an idea for an online advertising company, and he eventually sold the company to Microsoft for $265 million. In 1999, Hsieh became involved in a concept that would revolutionize how shoes are sold, using the Internet. The company is called Zappos, a derivation of the word zapatos, which is Spanish for shoes. Part of the reason for Zappos' meteoric success is that it got the economics and operations right. The company offers customers a huge selection of inventory — four million pairs of shoes (and other items, such as handbags and apparel) — which is housed in a warehouse in Kentucky next to a UPS shipping hub. Furthermore, Zappos offers free delivery … and free return if you don’t like the shoes. Zappos has grown to more than 1,400 employees, roughly half at corporate headquarters near Las Vegas, Nevada, and the other half in Kentucky; has been recognized as one of the best companies in America to work for; and, with more than ten million customers, sells more shoes than any other company on the planet. Zappos has become a billion dollar business, and much of it has been done online, from taking orders and customer service to Hsieh having daily conversations with his customers through his CEO blog and on Twitter. Hsieh has used the Internet not only to connect with his public and customers, but also to drive broad awareness. Sure, there has been tons of mainstream and online media coverage about Hsieh and Zappos — from Oprah and 60 Minutes to BusinessWeek — yet the catalyst that caught everyone’s attention was how Hsieh communicated his authentic, sincere and open style online. Early on, Hsieh recognized the importance of investing time personally to establish and build relationships with everyone from customers and employees to reporters and people who are just curious and in the process. He is respected as a business entrepreneur and thought leader who is accessible through his blog, personal e-mail and online social media sites, such as Twitter. I caught up with him via a series of e-mails for an online interview. When I asked Hsieh to name the three most important elements of business in the digital age, he responded, “I would boil it down to just one thing: Embrace transparency. With the digital revolution,” Hsieh e-scribbled, “all companies are becoming more transparent, whether they like it or not. The ones that choose to embrace transparency will be the ones that gain more trust with their employees and customers, and those are the ones that are much more likely to be successful in the long term.” Aside from his being a smart visionary with a keen sense for the online environment, I asked what made him see the importance of connecting with audiences through social media. “At Zappos, our number one priority is our company culture,” says Hsieh. “Our belief is that if we get the culture right, most of the other stuff, like delivery, great customer service and building a long-term enduring brand, will happen naturally, on its own.” “Could the Zappos business model be transplanted to revitalize such old institutions as General Motors or Amtrak?” I asked. “In other words, could the Zappos magic be cloned successfully?” “I don’t think the Zappos culture can be or should be cloned, but I do think the idea of being transparent and running a business based on core values and a meaningful vision that’s not just about money and profits can work for any organization,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter what the core values are, as long as the entire organization commits to those core values. The most important thing in any large organization is alignment [around values and vision].” His company’s 10 core values are short, direct and posted online, naturally, for everyone to see. The core values deliver power through simplicity and clarity: 1. Deliver “WOW” through service. 2. Embrace and drive change. 3. Create fun and a little weirdness. 4. Be adventurous, creative and open-minded. 5. Pursue growth and learning. 6. Build open and honest relationships with communication. 7. Build a positive team and family spirit. 8. Do more with less. 9. Be passionate and determined. 10. Be humble. These are not core values that a management committee, badgered by someone in human resources, labored for days to develop, as is often the case at most organizations. There’s consensus among the people at Zappos about these ten values. They believe in the meaning of these values, and they live them at work. Continuing with our interview, I asked Hsieh why most companies and organizations are slow to embrace the new online world as a way to connect with and engage audiences, preferring instead to continue using Web sites to sell, market and promote in a one-way manner. “I think it’s because there’s a disconnect between the internal culture of the organization, and the core values and image that the organization wants to project. It used to be that it was okay, and perhaps even expected, that a company’s culture and brand were not in sync. I think we’re entering an era where a company’s culture and a company’s brand are really just two sides of the same coin,” Hsieh responded. Then the CEO of the world’s largest online shoe store turned the reality of the entire concept of public relations upside down: PR used to be about who you say you are. I think today it’s much more important to focus on who you are rather than who you say you are, and that really just comes down to whether every employee is committing to and living the core values of the organization. When you think about it in the reality of today’s digital era, Hsieh’s insight is almost like holding a mirror up to the traditional public relations business as it’s been known for decades, and seeing nothing but a vanishing ghost of things past. Times have changed. The world has changed. Styles have changed. The Internet came along and matured as the world’s most powerful of communications. As the Internet’s influence has grown, so too has a need for enhanced clarity, openness, credibility and collaboration. The whole manner by which we communicate, share and exchange news, ideas and information has been altered. We build trust when we connect in terms that are timely and relevant. But we must earn trust too. We must listen, join conversations and be mindful of protocols.