The shocking loss of Tony Hsieh, a legendary internet entrepreneur and management thinker, has inspired an outpouring of affection and remembrances. One particularly insightful tribute came from another much-admired innovator. Jason Fried, cofounder and CEO of Basecamp, tweeted out a message that captured what made Tony so special — and, to me, so complicated to explain. “From the first moment I met him, he surprised me,” Fried wrote. “He was an artist with a CEO title. … A model for how to live. He was a wonder.”
The Leadership and Artistry of Tony Hsieh
Remembering the longtime Zappos CEO, who passed away at 46.
November 30, 2020
Summary.
Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of Zappos and a legendary internet entrepreneur and management thinker, has died at age 46. His passing has inspired an outpouring of affection and remembrances, and there is an understandable rush to evaluate the impact of his leadership. But to do so for Tony requires thinking about him as an artist and not just a long-serving CEO, as someone driven by big ideas, experimentation, and grand passions rather than just business plans and stock-price targets. As with so many artists, the things that made Tony so easy to admire were brilliant and messy at the same time, which is what makes his legacy so rich and his lessons so valuable.
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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Leading People. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
What you need to know about being in charge.