Biglaw

The Lessons Of Loss

Holding on to those we lose in the workplace.

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James Goodnow (left), Marc Lamber (middle), and Andy Clawson (right), learning about company culture at Zappos in Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy James Goodnow.)

Tony Hsieh’s death came as a shock last week. Hsieh, only 46, was best known for his 21-year term as CEO of Zappos. He’d retired quietly from that position in August and turned his attention full-time toward rebuilding and revitalizing the downtown of his adopted home, Las Vegas. Hsieh had started working back in 2013 to invest in the community and rebuild it into something vital and thriving. He’d pledged $350 million of his own money toward the goal. Hsieh had grand new adventures and achievements seemingly ahead of him. Now, we can only wonder what more he might have done.

I’ve written previously in this column, and with great admiration, about the unique “holacracy” Hsieh instituted during his time at Zappos. After it ran for years as a more-or-less conventional startup business, Hsieh radically experimented by doing away with org charts, job titles, and management relationships within the company to make it more directly align with the core values he set out to build Zappos around. Many left over the experiment, but with those who stayed behind Hsieh carefully crafted a newer, better, more intentional culture of risk, camaraderie, and open communication. Rather than crater the company, Zappos’ holacracy saw it continue to grow and thrive to the point where Amazon acquired it in 2009.

A Culture King

Hsieh’s obsession with culture was arguably his defining trait as a leader. Hsieh cared so passionately about cultivating a culture to align with his company’s core values that Zappos began hosting “Culture Camps” for other interested business leaders to learn how to incorporate Zappos’ dynamic experiences into their own day-to-days.

Hsieh understood that employees can make money almost anywhere, but they’re at their most happy, fulfilled, and productive when they feel like a part of something greater — a place where everyone is capable of effecting change in the workplace. When someone dedicates themselves completely to building a home where people from all walks of life can come together, bonded like family in pursuit of a common cause, their sudden absence leaves behind a gaping chasm in the communities they built. Las Vegas is in mourning this week as it begins to process the loss of one of its favorite sons.

Though I didn’t know him, I’ve long admired Hsieh. Back in 2017, two of my close work colleagues, Marc Lamber and Andy Clawson, and I visited Zappos’ headquarters in Las Vegas to learn more about how Hsieh had grown and developed his company’s culture. Marc, Andy, and I had been working side-by-side every day for years, building out our practice with a small core team. We’d built a sense of trust and camaraderie that we wanted to cultivate in our practice group and throughout the firm. That trip, and brainstorming ways to bring those lessons home, are some of my most cherished memories.

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On March 18, 2019, Andy died.

A Hole In The World

Andy’s death was sudden and unexpected, at just 37, leaving behind his beloved wife, Amber. One day, the beating heart of our team was punching ideas into his laptop, cracking jokes, keeping the practice’s plates spinning, exuding kindness and warmth, and making my life better just for being in it. And then he wasn’t.

On the worst days, it feels like there’s a hole in the world somewhere just out of sight. I still find myself thinking what Andy would say about a situation, or how the world would be a bit brighter if he were still around. On the better days, it feels like his spirit is still with us. Andy was a glue person, one of those personalities that brings people together and makes them want to be more compassionate, harder working, and overall better people. I know I’m better for having spent time with him. I know our firm is a better place to this day for the kindness he shared here. But, as I learned through his passing, countless others in Andy’s orbit I’d never met were better because of his kindness, warmth, and friendship.

Getting Ready For A New Year

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December is traditionally the beginning of a season of reunion and renewal. This year, for far too many of us, it will be a season of reflection on those we have lost. As COVID-19 numbers spike, we continue to see sickness and loss tearing through firms, our neighborhoods, the country, and the world. A vaccine may be on the horizon, but that’s not helping today. No business, team or person is off limits. We’re connected by our common vulnerability.

I write often in this column about building team culture as a means to an end. It makes workers happier and law firms more successful. And although that’s true, it’s only part of the equation. The rest of it lies outside of our immediate teams and firm. In addition to being legal professionals, we’re members of bigger communities. We need to care about our friends, coworkers, neighbors, first responders, fellow PTA members, corner grocery store clerks — and even lawyers on the other side of those knock-down, drag-out deals. We need to cultivate strong work and community cultures.

Because in the end, that’s all we leave behind: what we did for each other.

James Goodnow is the CEO and managing partner of NLJ 250 firm Fennemore Craig. At age 36, he became the youngest known chief executive of a large law firm in the U.S. He holds his JD from Harvard Law School and dual business management certificates from MIT. He’s currently attending the Cambridge University Judge Business School (U.K.), where he’s working toward a master’s degree in entrepreneurship. James is the co-author of Motivating Millennials, which hit number one on Amazon in the business management new release category. You can connect with James on Twitter (@JamesGoodnow) or by emailing him at [email protected].

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