Knowledge Advocate

Today’s Sunday New York Times (January 10, 2010) prints part of an interview with Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos. Zappos sells shoes over the internet; Amazon purchased it recently. Zappos grew into a billion dollar a year sales company in the last nine years. Here is part of its formula:

Formula for fast growth with happy employees:

1) emphasize culture, smart;

2) do so with clear, definable and simple concepts that align most of the employees, smarter still;

3) hire and motivate employees based on those concepts, really smart;

4) do so with smart questions, simply brilliant.

Smart companies know the power of smart questions.

The reporter asked Tony what question he would use to get a better sense of a person. His response:

“If you have to name something, what would you say is the biggest misperception that people have of you?” Tough question. And wait for Tony’s follow up: “What’s the difference between misperception and perception?”

Getting to the bottom of things requires more than one question.

Here, Tony’s follow up is more important than his starter question. That’s because the topic of perception unveals a person’s self-awareness and honesty. Clarifying that perception is what the questions are all about and makes sure that the candidate deals with the topic head on. How the candidate deals with it offers a glimpse at how he or she might work out in a culture that values honest awareness. Good work!

Smart companies ask smart questions.