I stumbled across this book in my garage the week after Tony passed away. It seemed fitting to reread my former client’s book so I brought it in.
It put me in a pretty deep funk for a few days.
Tony had a great story and rich ideas about company culture, and it was depressing to remind myself of what we lost after he was cursed with unimaginable wealth.
It is clear that Tony thought he had a core belief system at the time he wrote the book. The words he wrote still resonate. They evolution of his ideas are insightful and his suggestions still worth exploring for shaping an organization.
However, the removal of all limitations must be one of the most destabilizing things in one’s life. From his story, it seems that he barely survived (financially) from his first big success. Tony seemed to be a guy who enjoy pushing things to the edge, and the continued growth of Zappos and making more cash were paltry goals for his next phase in life. My guess is that he had hoped revitalizing the East Fremont district would be his next big challenge, but city building is an agonizingly slow process.
As the benefactor of all those around him, he cursed himself with the company of yes-men, and he lost one of the most valuable gifts of this world, “No.” Without limitations, how can one even start to make a decision? And so he thrashed around looking for self actualization, finding tragedy instead.
But his book remains. The story of Zappos will remain a company of legend, and his thoughts are well worth contemplating for someone who is building an organization. The story is now tinged with the sadness of the future, but maybe it’s truer that way.