Robert Richman, author of The Culture Blueprint: A Guide to Building the High-Performance Workplace

Bill Ringle and Robert Richman discuss the critical insights revealed by launching Zappos Insights, and how small business leaders can apply those leverage points in their business to excel.

>>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 300 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today’s top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle’s mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations.

Interview Insights

Top 3 Takeaways from this Interview

• Organizational culture is fundamental for the strategy, effectiveness, growth, and transformation of a business.
• A happy workplace makes happy customers.
• Culture is the pinnacle of an organization. It is important to keep those who share the same values, drive, and goals because changing those is not easy.

#culture #insights #culturestrategist #Zappos #TonyHseih

Read the Show Notes from this Episode

• His uncle Steve, an electrician, taught Robert how to build things and these experiences inspired him in his life and in his work. [01:18]
• Robert recalls first meeting Zappos owner Tony Hsieh. [03:24]
• The secret that the customers who paid $5,000 each told Robert’s team about what they valued from the Zappos Insights experience. [7:14]
• Why culture is a feeling. [10:45]
• Tony Hsieh would ask, “Do you want to be right or happy?” 
• Donovan Robertson, Robert’s partner at Zappos Insights, suggested letting the Insight participants learn from the customer service calls. [9:15]
• Case study with the amusement park company that went through the values process. [15:36]
• How to use the NPS (net promoter score) responses to diagnose your culture. [18:12]
• My Quest for the Best Lightning Round begins [21:31]
• Tony Hsieh would remind the team, “Most businesses don’t die of starvation. They die of indigestion from trying to do too much.” [23:22]
• The importance of gamifying culture. [26:10]

Expert Bio

Robert Richman is a culture strategist and was the co-creator of Zappos Insights, an innovative program focused on educating companies on the secrets behind Zappos’ amazing employee culture. Robert built Zappos Insights from a small website to a thriving multi-million dollar business teaching over 25,000 students per year. Through his work, Robert has been helpful in improving the employee culture at hundreds of companies.

As an authority on employee culture, Robert is a sought-after keynote speaker at conferences around the world and has been hired to teach culture in person at companies like Google, Toyota, and Eli Lilly. He has pioneered a number of innovative techniques to build culture, such as bringing improv comedy to the workplace.

Robert graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in film, as well as from Georgetown University’s Leadership Coaching Program. He is a member of the Transformational Leadership Council and is based out of San Diego.

Contact Info and Social Media for Robert Richman

• Primary Website
• Travels from: San Diego, CA
• Connect on Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

Resources Mentioned During the Interview

Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed so you can explore further.

• Tony Hsieh – former CEO of the online shoe and clothing company Zappos.
• Dave Logan – author of Tribal Leadership and guest on My Quest for the Best, Episode 111
• Eben Pagan, also known as David DeAngelo – author and dating coach expert
• The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth  by Fred Reichheld 
• Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal

Published by Robert Richman