Christina Hartikainen: Hi everyone, and welcome! I’m Christina Hartikainen, the Director of Agile Learning at ICAgile. I’m here with Holly Delaney, Chief People’s Strategist from Zappos.com, to talk about how Zappos navigates times of crisis by leaning into their culture and core values. Welcome, Holly!
Holly Delaney: Hi Christina, nice to be here.
Christina: It’s so nice to see you! Can you tell us a little about Zappos and what gives it such a strong and collaborative culture?
Holly: Sure! Zappos has been around since 1999. It all started when our founder was looking for a pair of shoes, couldn’t find them in stores, and didn’t like shopping. So, he decided to sell shoes online, and that’s how the website was born. People thought he was crazy!
When our CEO, Tony Hsieh, took over, he had just sold a company called LinkExchange to Microsoft. He noticed that when his company reached around 100 employees, it started to feel too corporate, and he didn’t necessarily enjoy working with the people around him. When he became CEO of Zappos, he wanted to create a culture where people genuinely liked being at work and enjoyed their coworkers. That’s how our core values were born—by asking employees to email their thoughts on the behaviors they wanted to see in the people they worked with every day.
Adapting to the Pandemic
Christina: How has the current pandemic affected Zappos and its culture?
Holly: One of the biggest challenges was transitioning our strong in-person culture to remote work. Before the pandemic, we had very few remote employees—most of our interactions were face-to-face. Moving our entire workforce to remote work was a major shift, but because of our strong culture and relationships, we managed to do it in just one week.
We embraced change, tested different ways to stay connected, and experimented with various communication tools like Chime, Zoom, and FaceTime. FaceTime was especially fun because it allowed us to use emojis and cartoon filters, bringing an element of playfulness to meetings. We also made sure employees had what they needed by delivering office equipment and providing "surprise and delight" packages. We kept up team-building activities and online engagement to maintain connections despite the distance.
Maintaining Connection and Collaboration
Christina: That’s great! What do you think was the most impactful thing you did to maintain that connection?
Holly: The most impactful thing was the way our employees came together to make it happen. During times of crisis, Zappos employees rally together to solve problems, and this situation was no different. Everyone collaborated to get our workforce home safely and operational as quickly as possible.
Beyond that, people weren’t afraid to try new things. They logged in, experimented, provided feedback, and embraced change. That openness and willingness to adapt made all the difference.
Lessons from Past Crises
Christina: This isn’t the first crisis Zappos has navigated. In 2007, before the global financial crisis, your revenue was about $840 million. By the end of the crisis, you had nearly doubled that. What about your people strategy enabled that growth during tough times?
Holly: Transparency. We are a very transparent company with our employees. We communicate honestly about what’s happening, even when the news is difficult. In 2007, we had to go through layoffs—the only time in my 14 years at Zappos that we’ve had to do that. It was incredibly hard because we see each other as family.
During that time, we gave employees space to express their feelings, were transparent with our community, and built from that honesty. That openness and trust helped us navigate the crisis and come out stronger.
Adapting and Innovating for the Future
Christina: What lessons from that experience have you brought into the current pandemic?
Holly: The same principle—transparency. We acknowledge that transitioning from an in-office culture to remote work is difficult, but we also focus on moving forward. It’s about figuring out what’s next and adapting our foundation to fit this new reality.
We’ve also embraced a process called Market-Based Dynamics. Over the years, we transitioned from a traditional top-down hierarchy to a Holacracy, where authority was distributed across employees. Now, we’re evolving into a market-driven structure where employees take an entrepreneurial approach to their work.
When the pandemic hit, we created two circles: New World Pioneers and New Truth Hunters. Their goal is to identify emerging customer needs, research ideas, and experiment with new business opportunities. Employees in these circles earn "bounties" (payments) for completing tasks and developing ideas into viable businesses.
Balancing Entrepreneurship and Culture
Christina: How do you balance this entrepreneurial spirit with maintaining your strong, people-first culture?
Holly: It’s about shifting from competition to collaboration. The analogy I use is this: If I own an ice cream shop and a stranger opens another one next door, I’ll do whatever it takes to get more customers. But if my brother owns that ice cream shop, I want both of us to succeed. We’ll work together to make our businesses stronger.
At Zappos, we ensure that employees working on similar ideas collaborate rather than compete. If two teams seem to be working on the same thing, we dig deeper—are they really competing, or are their goals different? If true competition exists, we encourage healthy rivalry until a winning idea emerges, at which point we merge efforts to strengthen the business.
Keeping Traditions Alive Remotely
Christina: How have you adapted your in-person traditions to remote work?
Holly: One great example is our annual Peeps Show, a competition where employees create dioramas using Peeps marshmallow candies. Typically, teams build them together in the office, but this year we had employees do it with their families at home. We mailed them supplies, asked them to record videos of their creations, and compiled them into a montage to share company-wide. It kept the tradition alive while adding a personal touch.
Scaling Culture as the Company Grows
Christina: As Zappos has grown, how have you maintained your close-knit culture?
Holly: It’s been a challenge. When we moved to a new campus years ago, I thought being in one big building would bring us closer. Instead, people became more separated. Ironically, now that we’re remote, I’m meeting more people than ever!
The key to maintaining our culture has been our 10 Core Values. These guide our behavior and decision-making, ensuring we stay true to who we are.
Advice for Other Organizations
Christina: What advice do you have for companies emerging from this crisis?
Holly: Be open to change. Just because something worked before doesn’t mean it’s the best approach now. Listen to your employees—they’re on the front lines, interacting with customers, and have valuable insights.
Final Thoughts
Christina: Which core values are you leaning into the most right now?
Holly: Embrace and Drive Change and Be Passionate and Determined. The pandemic has been a challenge, but it’s also been the most exciting time in my career. I’m working on new businesses that bring happiness to people, and I can’t wait to see where it leads!
Christina: Thank you, Holly! It’s been a pleasure hearing your insights.
Holly: Thank you for having me!