One of my favorite examples of a massively successful company that really “gets” this new paradigm shift from the CEO – CORE VALUES – CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE is http://www.zappos.com .

Tony Hsieh has guided this company to create a set of Core Values that celebrate the power and potential of social media and they are demonstrating, at all levels of the company, how to leverage its power to enhance the customer experience which is ultimately the top priority of every employee they attract. This starts with the employment application, interview process, and initial employee training / orientation which is all about infusing of the company’s unique culture and values. It’s an exciting example of the impactful shift that is possible in big business.

Amy (On twitter @LotusAmy)

Zappos Core Values:

As we grow as a company, it has become more and more important to explicitly define the Zappos core values from which we develop our culture, our brand, and our business strategies. These are the ten core values that we live by:

Deliver WOW Through Service
Embrace and Drive Change
Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
Pursue Growth and Learning
Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
Do More With Less
Be Passionate and Determined
Be Humble
http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-core-values

The employee retention argument is a really important one to make that I haven’t heard many people raise. Shifting internal culture towards encouraging employees to blog, tweet, use facebook etc definitely has positive effects as long as you’ve got happy employees who feel free to express themselves. Zappos is a perfect example. They proudly put everyone in public (twitter.zappos.com). What happens is you get a blast effect – the social grid around zappos lights up with a constant stream of positive messages over the web. The employees are marketing the zappos brand for free AND they’re happier AND they’re more connected to one another.

I see this often in the working world – you’ve got a huge majority of younger more open people that want social media access and a small minority of higher ups that are afraid of it and want control. Unfortunately, just dipping your toes into social media doesn’t work. You’ve got to make huge shifts internally before you start to see the massive benefits materialize. It’s a huge leap of faith that most corporations aren’t willing to take.
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The smart companies have figured out that it’s best for their employees to embrace technology early on, as that approach allows their employees to be better informed about the new habits that society is adopting and to use the technology internally to their benefit.

When the web first arrived the companies who restricted its use fell behind those that not only allowed open access but began building intranets to share information – smart move!
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