For customers, they get the red carpet at Zappos. And when they’re done with their visit, they are encouraged to leave t

All of this should point to the fact that the culture of ‘innovation’ is well and truly alive within the organization, as the ‘iPhone manufacturer’ is quietly shifting its focus on building a more service-oriented revenue platform as opposed to simply relying on their smartphones and MacBooks.,Now that we’re done talking about numbers and math, let me get into how this strengthens my prior stance about the game. The most common outcry I’ve heard in response to criticism is that Genshin Impact is free. Fans of the game don’t use it to excuse every critique, but the most frequent arguments I’ve seen look something like this.,The nostalgic argument that terrible times produce great art is insulting and ignorant of the experience of vulnerable communities. It is true, however, that New York’s terrible times have produced great civic initiatives. The Landmarks Commission is the result of the 1963 demolition of Penn Station. The Central Park Conservancy, which oversees the well-being of the park, was created in the 1980s to rescue the park from the deep disrepair it had fallen into during the previous decade. When New Yorkers are asked how much they want to keep New York alive the answer is always: very, very much. And as we head into a fraught election with an alarmingly uncertain aftermath, there is once again the unshakeable sense the city, despite its weak leadership, is facing forward, fists up, elbows in, ready for what comes.,The best answer for this was answered by Tony Hsieh: You create an engaging culture for loyal people to thrive. When most of your employees are happy, your customers are happy. When everyone’s happy, you can scale.,A 2008 article from the Harvard Business Review talks about an odd, but effective way Hsieh hired people. Firstly, Zappos has a world-class hiring and onboarding program. Employees are enthusiastic and helpful to new hires. They really spend time getting to know teammates. Once fully immersed in the culture, new employees get what is called “The Offer”. It goes a little like this:,Over the course of the last fiscal year, Apple’s service revenue amounted to $53.8 billion, up from $46.3 billion in 2019, all while its number of paid accounts reached new highs clocking in double-digit growth.,You see, if you took the bonus (yes, it’s an actual cash offer that has since doubled), you would have told the company something very important. It’s that you lack some of the company’s core values, which is a lose-lose situation.,To choose to live in a city is, at the end of the day, to choose human nature over Mother Nature. It’s to choose to live in connection with other people, accepting in equal measure all the risks this brings as well as the rewards. It’s the choice to be part of the collective. It’s impossible to say right now where the city, not to mention the country, will be in a year, let alone five years. The budget shortfall is real. With garbage collection down, the only residents who can be guaranteed a joyful life in New York are seemingly the rats. There is a notable edge to life here. I walked up Eighth Avenue in Manhattan the other night after 10 p.m., and while it did not feel dangerous, it felt electric in ways I have not experienced the city in a long time. Where that energy will go is not yet clear. What is clear, however, is that those who have chosen to stay, and choose to come, are choosing life. The life of a Great American City.,The challenges New York is currently facing are immense. The city currently sits at the center of a Venn diagram in which its historic challenges overlap: a perfect storm of the fiscal crisis of the seventies, the failure of the federal government to step in, and the aftermath of 9/11. Ford’s “drop dead” has been rendered a laughably tame retort in the face of Trump’s relentless dismissals and insults. The city feels simultaneously attacked, abandoned, and bereft of competent leadership. It also feels very, very alive.,Zappos is known for its legendary customer service and overall user experience. They get there through teamwork, which every one of these core values exemplifies. “The Offer” seems extreme, but I always thought it was an innovative HR solution to find the right people. So did Amazon. They use this same technique with their hires.,Startups are odd beasts and there is no perfect formula. Of course, value creation is very important. We also love billion-dollar markets and low saturation. Dozens of things can make or break a startup.,Recent reports also mentioned that Apple hired Google’s head of search, John Giannandrea, two years ago in an attempt to enhance its virtual personal assistant, Siri, something that has been an integral part of the iPhone since its inception.,To choose to live in a city is, at the end of the day, to choose human nature over Mother Nature. It’s to choose to live in connection with other people, accepting in equal measure all the risks this brings as well as the rewards. It’s the choice to be part of the collective. It’s impossible to say right now where the city, not to mention the country, will be in a year, let alone five years. The budget shortfall is real. With garbage collection down, the only residents who can be guaranteed a joyful life in New York are seemingly the rats. There is a notable edge to life here. I walked up Eighth Avenue in Manhattan the other night after 10 p.m., and while it did not feel dangerous, it felt electric in ways I have not experienced the city in a long time. Where that energy will go is not yet clear. What is clear, however, is that those who have chosen to stay, and choose to come, are choosing life. The life of a Great American City.,Most people I know have never heard of these books. However, the students and clients that worked with me knew these books well. It was mandatory that we covered their brilliance. They are the perfect example of what creates a good company culture. I believe they’ll be an enduring legacy for Tony Hsieh.,But it’s a good test. Knowing the costs of training new employees and how much loyalty matters to Zappos, this is a bargain. They get to cut their losses and find the right people for the company.