The CLT training helps you let go of the old ways and align with the Zappos way.” Cognitive psychologists talk about a concept they refer to as “proactive interference,” which refers to the difficulty people have in letting go of information they previously learned in order to acquire new skills. Effective onboarding often helps new hires “unlearn”

In addition to inferring customer wants and needs based on the users’ behavior, Zappos involves customers in the specifics of the website design through a process of user testing. Rafael Mojica notes, “We incorporate what we learn from analytic data into the way we design a new feature or redesign an old one. We then show our customers the new prod

Will you create questions that explore whether your applicants align with your core values? (For example, at Zappos, interviewees might be asked to rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 10 as to how weird they are. This is followed by a more important question: Why did you give yourself the rating you did?

. From the standpoint of being a learning organization, is your business a place where people continually expand their capacity to create results that are truly desired? 2. Would your company be described as nurturing new and expansive patterns of thinking, and is it a place where collective aspirations are set free and where people are continually

For many years, Zappos engaged in a process of annual performance reviews. During the time of those reviews, 50 percent of an employee’s evaluation was based on the Zappos 10 core values. That

a number of businesses (like Zappos) are shifting from a performance approach to a growth and development model.

Zappos has created questions to determine whether those applicants will be able to handle the unique aspects of the Zappos culture.

César Ritz, founder of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, once said, “People like to be served, but invisibly.” Two areas where invisible but important service takes place at Zappos are the load speed of pages on the Zappos website and the urgency with which Customer Loyalty Team (CLT) members answer calls.

From my perspective, the Zappos Experience can best be described as adherence to the following business precepts: 1. Serve a perfect fit. 2. Make it effortlessly swift. 3. Step into the personal. 4. STRETCH. 5. Play to win.