Career happiness: for some, this may sound like an oxymoron. For others, it’s a reality. What does it take to achieve this? Well, for Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh, it’s all about culture and at his company, the culture is one-of-a-kind. Tony has a book launching today (June 7th, 2010) called Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose. As a blogger, I had the opportunity to receive an advance copy of it so that I may review it here for you.

My review will be simple and to the point, not a comprehensive Cliff’s Notes version that I’ve seen floating around from others. The whole point is to get you to read the book. As professional in HR & Recruiting who has truly found my passion in helping others help themselves in the job search, this book hits the perfect mark. It’s about innovative thinking, not being afraid to fail, and having fun in your career.

It’s about culture, people, and ultimately customer service. We all have customers. Are we WOW’ing them every time with our service? While this seems like a simple concept, it’s one that a lot of companies and individuals still struggle with. Zappos.com gets customer service. They have culture. They also have happy employees thanks to programs that help them with professional development, a healthy dose of weirdness, and really a LOT of fun. Innovative thinking like creating a culture book where all employees are asked to give an honest review of the company, which is compiled, printed and distributed to employees every year (the good and the bad – there is no censorship outside of correcting typos) is just one of the reasons why Zappos.com is #23 on FORTUNE’s Top 100 Best Companies to Work For (2009). They weren’t even listed the previous year.

Zappos has created a culture of their own, taking customer service to the next level. I would highly recommend Delivering Happiness for students, job seekers, and simply anyone in business! It’s an excellent read and one that you can go back to again and again for resources.

Link to the book’s website: http://www.deliveringhappiness.com

Purchase the book: http://www.amazon.com/deliveringhappiness

On Twitter: @dhbook (Tony is @zappos)

Here’s a really great example of just how FUN (and a little weird) the company is:

Zappos Commercial: 5 Ways to Add Elegance to Dresses

 FTC Disclaimer: This is my review of Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose by Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.  In return for recieiving the book in advance, I have been asked to give an honest review.  The book can be purchased at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/deliveringhappiness.  I do not receive any proceeds from the sale of the book or any other compensation.