Late Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's regional cost-of-living bonus strategy resurfaces in discussions about his management legacy

You're absolutely right, Jason. Man, the world misses him.

His company, Zappos, was the most joyful company I've ever visited, before or since. His parties in a bus at South by Southwest were glorious, and he took me and some friends to barbecue in Lockhart, Texas—it's one of my favorite memories of my life.

It's ironic that he wrote a book on discovering happiness, and it's tragic that he didn't find it at the end of his life. But he did so much good for the world and so much good for Las Vegas. I certainly do miss him.

He was my first interview at Rackspace when I joined the company, and his approach to building businesses is something I will always remember with reverence.

Thanks for reminding me of him and bringing out the good he did for the world.

One other memory that comes to mind is when we talked about company culture. I asked him, "Why do you spend so much time thinking about culture at Zappos?"

He told me that at his previous company, he hired the people he was told to hire: people with credentials and industry status. But he ended up hating coming to work every morning because he had hired so many assholes. He actually sold that company to Bill Gates, who later told me it was one of the worst purchases he had ever made.

When he started Zappos, he was determined not to hire any assholes. He developed a whole bunch of ways to figure out a person's character during the process. He even offered to pay new hires $5,000 to leave after their orientation, just in case they were an asshole.

A lot of people should study Zappos and Tony Hsieh more. Billionaires especially should study him as a lesson in how things can go bad if you surround yourself with sycophants and go down the route of partying and addiction. I have been on that route myself, and I think about him often.