Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/55957
Albers Leads, Connects, Serves At Seattle University's Albers School of Business and Economics, students are inspired by the Jesuit traditions of academic excellence, education for justice, and service to others to develop into ethical leaders for the global community. An Albers education extends beyond the classroom. Through involvement in the Mentor Program, the Business Plan Competition, and the Albers Executive Speaker Series, students are able to learn from the knowledge and guidance of experienced business leaders. Service learning courses and consulting projects provide opportunities for them to engage with the community to strengthen their networks and practice their business skills in a real world environment. #25 BusinessWeek part-time MBA #22 U.S. News & World Report Executive MBA as a robot in our lobby. As you passed through differ- ent departments, you might find an aisle of cowbells, a makeshift bowling alley built by our software develop- ers, employees dressed as pirates, employees karaoke- ing, a nap room, a petting zoo, or a hot dog social. You might see a parade pass by because one of our departments decided that it was the perfect day to celebrate Oktoberfest. … Or you might happen to show up during our annual 'Bald & Blue' day, where employees volunteer to get their heads shaved by other employees." Other anecdotes are equally entertaining—or sur- prising. The company offers new hires $2,000 to quit, figuring those who stay will be well-suited to the Zappos lifestyle. To help the 1,800 workers get to know each other, the company's com- puter log-in ritual includes a photo of a randomly selected employee that the user tries to identify via a multiple-choice quiz; a short bio of the selected employee follows shortly. When Zap- pos was expanding rapidly and needed to hire a lot of people who would fit in quickly, it experimented with a "speed-dating" hiring process in which candidates had five-minute interviews with six current employees. In 2004, Zappos began putting together an annual "culture book," a collection of unedited essays written by employees to explain what the company means to them. Writes Hsieh, "Every year, a new edition of the Zappos Culture Book is produced, which we give out to prospective employ- ees, vendors, even custom- ers." It's also available for free through the Web site. Most famously, the company has codified a list of ten tenets that express the culture in concrete terms. In his book, Hsieh lists the 37 items that were whittled down to these ten: 1. Deliver WOW Through Service 2. Embrace and Drive Change 3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness 4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open- Minded 5. Pursue Growth and Learning 6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication 7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit 8. Do More with Less 9. Be Passionate and Determined 10. Be Humble As an employee writes in one of the many side- bar sections in Delivering Happiness, "I'm always amused by people who say, 'Zappos must be a cult!' In some ways, it is. But if a cult revolves around making people happy, I'll sign up any time." ■ z BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010 25 Albers MBA student Heidi Han Yu explains her business plan to a student voter during the tradeshow segment of Seattle University's 2010 Business Plan Competition.