Tony Hsieh, the billionaire CEO of Zappos, is passionate about community. He pours his time, energy and fortune into building a network of like-minded people – first in Las Vegas, then Park City, Utah. But Tony’s quest to build connection soon spirals into isolation, addiction and mistrust of those closest to him, revealing a contradictory truth about the pursuit of one of our most fundamental human needs.
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Further reading
Tony Hsieh’s life story is told in Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley, by Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans; Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, by Kirsten Grind and Katherine Sayre; and Tony’s own autobiographical business book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose.
Phil Prentiss’s account of Jody Sherman’s story is reported in Business Insider. This script also drew on Aimee Groth’s book The Kingdom of Happiness: Inside Tony Hsieh’s Zapponian Utopia, and reporting in QZ, Vox [1], [2], The Atlantic, New Republic, Las Vegas Review Journal, and an interview with Tyler Williams on Burner Podcast.
John Kay’s book is Obliquity: Why our goals are best achieved indirectly. Can Seeking Happiness Make People Happy? Paradoxical Effects of Valuing Happiness is a study by Iris B Mauss, Maya Tamir, Craig L Anderson, and Nicole S Savino.