Tony Hsieh

Certainly you've heard the news by now ... maybe not from the trade industry, but if you are on Twitter the outpouring of support was unavoidable for the founder of Zappos (click here).

Mr. Hsieh was an early reader of this blog. When you are getting started in this business, it's helpful to have a somebody read what a nobody has to say.

Mr. Hsieh was one of four people (Don Libey, Ben Chestnut of MailChimp, Robert Kestnbaum are the other three) who thought differently in a way that shaped how I viewed things. Three of the four are gone now. Make sure you appreciate those you think highly of. Say something to them while they are still here.

Do you have examples of individuals in our industry that have shaped how you view the world? Share those individuals with our audience ... pass me a note and I'll publish credible responses.

P.S.:  If you are a cataloger, read up on the stuff that Robert/Kate Kestnbaum wrote about in the 1990s. They used math 25-30 years ago that was smarter than the math you are using today. Hint - their math forms the basis of the catalog optimization work I perform today.

P.P.S.:  If you love email marketing, read what Ben Chestnut has to say. Also notice that he didn't choose to dominate email marketing ... he helped small businesses be excellent at email marketing, and that difficult choice made all the difference.

P.P.P.S:  Don Libey taught me how to run a consulting business as an independent consultant. He gave away his knowledge, for free. He's largely the reason that the work I perform is mostly shared ... for free ... via this blog.