Jeff Bezos is worth 131.9 billion dollars. He shared how he did it for 18 years in the Amazon Letters. I read all 40,000 words, so you don't need to. Here are 11 lessons everyone should know:
• Make the right decisions Type 1 decisions are irreversible. A one-way door. Make them slow, careful, deliberate, and consult others. Type 2 decisions are reversible. A two-way door. Make them quick by individuals or small groups with high judgment.
• Think long term Your success will be measured over the long term. The longer your horizon, the better the decision you will make. Reflect on this focus. Always.
• Plant seeds and wait Plant seeds that will grow into meaningful new businesses. It takes discipline, a bit of patience, and a nurturing culture. Invest in new businesses you expect can generate specific returns on capital and scale to a meaningful size.
• Think exponentially In 2001, Amazon saw: • processing power 2x every 18 months • price performance of disk space 2x every 12 • price performance of bandwidth 2x every 9 They predicted it would allow 60x bandwidth per customer in 5 years at the SAME COST per customer.
• Focus on customers Focus on your customers, and obsess over them. Focus on offering value and efficiency. The more customers you have, the more you can offer value. Make all decisions with customers in mind.
• Be afraid Wake up terrified. Not of your competition, of your customers. Without customers, you have no business. Without evolution, you have no business. There's no rest for the weary.
• Work long, hard, and smart You can work long, hard or smart, but at Amazon, you can't choose two of three. Your colleagues determine your future. Set the bar high and hire the best.
• Hire the best To hire the best people, ask: • Will I admire this person • Will they raise our average • Where can they be a superstar Your colleagues make or break the business. Hire colleagues who will raise the bar. Work Hard, Have Fun, and Make History.
• Pay to Quit You want people on the team who want to be on the team. If they don't want to be on the team, get them off. Amazon, borrowed from Zappos, offers $2,000 to colleagues to quit. The offer increases $1,000 per year until $5,000.
• Dream Businesses A dream business has four characteristics: • customers love it • it can grow to a large size • it has strong returns on capital • it can endure long-term - decades When you find these, go all-in.
• Always Day 1 Day 1 at Amazon is growth, always moving forward. Day 2 is stasis, followed by irrelevance, excruciating, painful decline, and ultimately death. To always be on Day 1, follow all of the points above. It's always Day 1. Every. Single. Day.
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@dickiebush @Nicolascole77 TL;DR: If you want to succeed like Jeff Bezos: • Be afraid • Pay to quit • Plant seeds • Cash is king • Hire the best • Customers 1st • Think long-term • Think exponentially • Process over results • Make the right decisions Remember, It is always Day 1
