Sorry, investing was pretty boring and I really missed being part of building something. I felt like I was always standing on the sidelines, so Zappos... really liked the people there and got involved full-time and I've been full-time ever since.

The brand is just a lagging indicator of a company's culture.

For individuals, character is destiny. For organizations, culture is destiny.

Customer service shouldn't just be A department, it should be the entire company.

I view my role more as trying to set up an environment where the personalities, creativity and individuality of all the different employees come out and can shine.

At Zappos, one of our core values is to Pursue Growth and Learning. In the lobby of our headquarters, we have a giving library where we give away books to employees and visitors that we think will help with their growth, both personally and professionally. I can't wait to add The Compound Effect to our library.

Things are never as bad or as good as they seem.