#17 Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

In "The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon," Brad Stone explores the unconventional corporate culture of Amazon, as established by its founder, Jeff Bezos. Bezos' unique approach to meetings, requiring six-page narratives over PowerPoint presentations, reflects his commitment to critical thinking and deep understanding. Amazon's early days, from Bezos crafting a press release-style document for his first meeting with Bezos to the symbolic use of door desks, are recounted, highlighting the company's frugality and customer-centric philosophy. Bezos' belief in customer obsession, long-term thinking, and innovation sets Amazon apart from its competitors. The company's origin in a hedge fund and Bezos' transition from Wall Street to the nascent internet market are detailed, along with Amazon's growth strategies and Bezos' leadership style, which includes embracing truth and rejecting conventional thinking. The book also covers the influence of mentors like Costco founder Jim Senegal on Bezos and the implementation of "two pizza teams" to foster autonomy and innovation. Joy Covey, Amazon's first CFO, reflects on Bezos' clarity, focus, and the alignment of Amazon's trajectory with its founder's vision.

• Amazon has unique internal customs, specifically avoiding PowerPoint presentations.
• Employees write detailed six-page narratives to foster critical thinking.
• Documents are styled as press releases to frame new initiatives from a customer's perspective.
• Meetings start with silent reading of these documents, followed by discussion.

"PowerPoint decks or slide presentations are never used in meetings. Instead, employees are required to write six-page narratives, laying out their points in prose because Bezos believes doing so fosters critical thinking."

This quote explains Amazon's preference for narratives over slides to encourage deeper thinking and clarity of communication.

• Bezos is known for his distinctive laugh and high energy.
• He is customer-centric, long-term oriented, and has a penchant for invention.
• Bezos avoids elevators, preferring stairs, and sticks to abstract talking points known as "Jeff-isms."

"We are genuinely customer-centric, we are genuinely long-term oriented, and we genuinely like to invent. Most companies are not those things."

Bezos emphasizes Amazon's unique approach to business, focusing on customers, long-term planning, and innovation.

• Amazon was conceived in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in New York City.
• The company grew from a small startup to a global corporation with over 300,000 employees.
• The story of Amazon is based on interviews with Bezos and others associated with the company.

"The idea for Amazon was conceived in 1994 on the 40th floor of a midtown New York City skyscraper."

This quote marks the inception of Amazon and its journey to becoming a household name.

• Before Amazon, Bezos worked at D.E. Shaw, a quantitative hedge fund.
• Bezos admired entrepreneurs and scientists like Frank Meeks and Alan Kay.
• He collaborated with Halsey Minor on a startup and learned from various business leaders.

"Bezos also revered pioneering computer scientist Alan Kay and often quoted his observation, that point of view is worth 80 IQ points."

This quote reveals Bezos' respect for innovative thinking and his approach to learning from others.

• D.E. Shaw was secretive and recruited talent from scientific, not financial, backgrounds.
• Bezos impressed colleagues with his intellect and leadership qualities.
• The firm's culture and approach influenced Bezos' future creation of Amazon.

"At Desco, Bezos displayed many of the idiosyncratic qualities his employees would later observe at Amazon."

This quote connects Bezos' work habits and characteristics at D.E. Shaw with his later leadership at Amazon.

• Bezos and D.E. Shaw explored the potential of the Internet for new business ventures.
• They brainstormed ideas like free email services and online financial services.
• The rapid growth of the Internet was a key factor in Bezos' decision to start an online bookstore.

"Things just don't grow that fast, Bezos later said. It's highly unusual. And that started me thinking, what kind of business plan might make sense in the context of that growth?"

Bezos' realization about the explosive growth of the Internet directly led to the concept of Amazon.

• To achieve significant equity, Bezos knew he had to leave his secure job on Wall Street.
• David Shaw understood Bezos' entrepreneurial drive but warned of potential competition.
• Bezos used a "regret minimization framework" to decide on pursuing his online bookstore idea.

"When you are in the thick of things, you can get confused by small stuff. I knew when I was 80 that I would never, for example, think about why I walked away from my 1994 Wall Street bonus right in the middle of the year at the worst possible time."

Bezos' quote reflects his long-term decision-making approach, prioritizing future regret over immediate gains.

• Jeff Bezos felt the Internet was going to be a revolutionizing event.
• He did not want to regret missing out on being part of the Internet boom.
• The decision to start Amazon was easy for him when he viewed it through the lens of potential regret.

"At the same time, I knew that I might sincerely regret not having participated in this thing called the Internet that I thought was going to be a revolutionizing event."

The quote highlights Bezos's foresight and his desire to be part of something he believed would be transformative, leading to his decision to start Amazon.

• Jeff Bezos was 30, and his wife Mackenzie was 24 when they moved from Manhattan to Seattle.
• Amazon was started in Bezos's garage, focusing initially on selling books.

"He's 30 at the time, his wife is 24. They move from Manhattan to Seattle, and they start setting up Amazon in his garage."

This quote provides background on the humble beginnings of Amazon and the personal details of Bezos and his wife during this pivotal move.

• Amazon faced a challenge with book distributors requiring orders of ten books at a time.
• Bezos found a loophole by ordering one desired book and nine copies of an obscure book that was out of stock.

"We found a loophole. He said their systems were programmed in such a way that you didn't have to receive ten books. You only had to order ten books."

The quote demonstrates Bezos's problem-solving skills and his ability to navigate early logistical challenges to meet customer needs.

• Bezos envisioned a more convenient shopping experience than big box stores.
• He foresaw personalized online shopping experiences and the concept of an "everything store" with infinite selection.
• His goal was to establish Amazon as one of the first lasting Internet companies.

"He predicted the company's eventual ability to personalize a version of the website for each shopper based on his or her previous purchases."

This quote reflects Bezos's early vision for customer personalization, which has become a hallmark of Amazon's user experience.

• The "Get Big Fast" model was adopted to lower costs and capture market territory quickly.
• Bezos emphasized urgency and the importance of market leadership.

"The bigger the company got, Bezos explained, the lower prices it could exact from the book wholesalers and the more distribution capacity it could afford."

The explanation for the "Get Big Fast" strategy illustrates Bezos's understanding of economies of scale and market dominance.

• Bezos had a philosophy of constant change and reinvention.
• He challenged traditional marketing practices, leading to high turnover among marketing VPs.

"Bezos wanted to reinvent everything about marketing, suggesting, for example, that they conduct annual reviews of advertising agencies to make them constantly compete for Amazon's business."

This quote shows Bezos's disruptive approach to marketing, always seeking to innovate and improve, even if it meant going against industry norms.

• Amazon's online model allowed for high returns on invested capital.
• The company's fixed costs were lower compared to traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.

"A dollar that was plugged into Amazon's infrastructure could lead to exponentially greater returns than a dollar that went into the infrastructure of any other retailer in the world."

The quote explains the financial advantage of Amazon's business model, emphasizing the efficiency of its centralized online system.

• Bezos encouraged employees to focus on customers rather than competitors.
• He believed that being customer-centric was more important for the company's success.

"Look, you should wake up worried, terrified. Every morning, he told his employees. But don't be worried about our competitors because they're never going to send us any money anyway."

The quote captures Bezos's philosophy of prioritizing customer satisfaction over competitor actions, a principle that has guided Amazon's strategy.

• Harvard Business School students doubted Amazon's ability to survive against established retailers.
• Bezos acknowledged the challenge but believed established businesses might struggle to adapt to the online market.

"You may be right, Amazon's founder told the students. But I think you might be underestimating the degree to which established brick and mortar businesses, or any company that might be used to doing things a certain way, will find it hard to be nimble or to focus attention on a new channel."

This quote reflects Bezos's response to skepticism, highlighting his belief in the agility and innovative potential of Amazon compared to traditional retailers.

• Amazon's first shareholder letter emphasized making bold investment decisions.
• The company focused on long-term market leadership and shareholder value.

"We will make bold rather than timid investment decisions where we see a sufficient probability of gaining market leadership advantages."

The quote from the shareholder letter underscores Amazon's commitment to boldness and long-term thinking in its business strategy.

• Bezos admired and adopted Sam Walton's principles of frugality and a bias for action.
• Amazon's culture incorporated ideas from successful predecessors in retail.

"Bezos had invited Walton's book thoroughly and wove the Walmart's founder's credo about frugality and a bias for action into the cultural fabric of Amazon."

The quote reveals how Bezos was influenced by Sam Walton's philosophy, integrating it into Amazon's own corporate culture.

• Bezos did not believe in work-life balance, but rather in work-life harmony.
• He expected total commitment and dedication from Amazon employees.

"The reason we're here is to get stuff done that is the top priority, he answered bluntly. That is the dna of Amazon."

This quote demonstrates Bezos's expectation of a strong work ethic and his view of Amazon as a place for those willing to fully commit to the company's goals.

• Amazon experienced internal struggles and leadership tensions.
• Bezos was seen as impetuous and controlling, leading to discussions about replacing him with a professional CEO.

"The Amazon board saw Amazon's egregious spending and widening losses, and heard from other executives that Bezos was impetuous and controlling."

The quote reflects the internal challenges and perceptions of Bezos's leadership style during Amazon's growth phase.

• Jeff Bezos had a majority control of Amazon, making it unlikely for the board to replace him.
• Bill Campbell, a board member, recognized Bezos' unique qualities as a founder and his focus on the company over personal compensation.
• Bezos' leadership style was characterized by frugality and a relentless focus on customer experience.
• Employees were notably loyal to Bezos, which contributed to his stable position within the company.

"I visited them early on to see if they needed a CEO, and I was like, why would you ever replace him? He is out of his mind. So brilliant about what he does." "Regardless, Campbell concluded Galley was unnaturally focused on issues of compensation and on perks like private planes. And he saw that employees were loyal to Bezos."

These quotes emphasize Campbell's view of Bezos as an irreplaceable leader and the contrast between Bezos' dedication and a typical CEO's focus on compensation.

• Bezos was known for his temper when his expectations, especially regarding customer focus, were not met.
• Bill Price, VP of customer service, faced Bezos' wrath when suggesting company executives should fly business class.
• Bezos' philosophy was that spending company resources on luxuries did not align with an owner's mindset, especially when prioritizing customer experience.

"Bezos was obsessed with the customer experience, and anyone who didn't have the same single-minded focus or who he felt wasn't demonstrating a capacity for thinking big bore the brunt of his considerable temper." "Jeff slammed his hand on the table and said, 'that is not how an owner thinks. That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard.'"

The quotes illustrate Bezos' intense commitment to customer service and his belief that executives should not indulge in unnecessary luxuries, reflecting his vision for Amazon's culture.

• Bezos' management style involved direct verification of customer service claims, as seen in the incident with Bill Price regarding wait times.
• Price's assurance of short wait times without proof led Bezos to personally test the claim, resulting in a public confrontation when the claim was proven false.

"Bezos began the meeting by asking Price what the customer wait times were." "Bezos took his watch off and made a deliberate show of tracking the time."

This anecdote demonstrates Bezos' hands-on approach to ensuring customer service standards were met and his intolerance for unverified or false assurances from his team.

• Bezos sought advice from experienced retailers like Jim Senegal, founder of Costco.
• Senegal's model of customer loyalty, low prices, and high sales volume influenced Bezos' strategy for Amazon.
• Bezos applied the lessons from Senegal to Amazon, emphasizing low prices and customer convenience.

"Senegal explained that the Costco model to Bezos, it was all about customer loyalty." "Bezos had set up the meeting to ask Senegal about using Costco as a wholesale supplier for products that manufacturers still wouldn't sell to Amazon."

These quotes reveal Bezos' willingness to learn from successful models like Costco and his strategic thinking in adapting those lessons to Amazon's business model.

• After meeting with Senegal, Bezos decided to overhaul Amazon's pricing strategy to ensure consistently low prices.
• Bezos' new strategy was to match or beat the prices of large retailers, focusing on the value provided to customers.
• This change in strategy was a turning point for Amazon, moving away from financial maneuvering and towards building long-term customer trust.

"Bezos said Amazon should have everyday low prices." "There are two kinds of retailers. There are those folks who work to figure out how to charge more, and there are companies that work to figure out how to charge less. And we are going to be the second full stop."

These quotes highlight Bezos' strategic shift to a policy of everyday low prices, positioning Amazon as a value-driven retailer and setting a clear direction for the company's future.

• The Amazon flywheel concept was a strategic framework that described a self-reinforcing cycle of growth and efficiency.
• Lower prices led to more customer visits, which increased sales volume and attracted more sellers, improving Amazon's operational efficiency.
• This efficiency allowed Amazon to further lower prices, creating a virtuous cycle of growth and customer satisfaction.

"Lower prices led to more customer visits, more customers increased the volume of sales, and attracted more commission-paying third-party sellers to the site." "This greater efficiency then enabled it to lower prices further."

The quotes define the Amazon flywheel concept, explaining how various elements of Amazon's business model interact to drive continuous improvement and growth.

• Bezos' grandfather taught him the value of self-reliance and resourcefulness, as well as the importance of being kind over clever.
• Bezos' leadership style was demanding, expecting excellence from his team and pushing them to their limits.
• His personal motto, "Step by step, ferociously," reflects his approach to overcoming challenges through persistent effort.

"Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever." "Slow, steady progress can erode any challenge over time, step by step, ferociously."

These quotes provide personal insights into Bezos' values and leadership philosophy, highlighting the importance of kindness, persistence, and a relentless drive for progress.

• Amazon's approach is characterized by steady progress towards ambitious goals, viewing setbacks as temporary and largely ignoring naysayers.
• The company's philosophy is encapsulated in the phrase "Step by step, ferociously".

"Step by step, ferociously. The phrase accurately captures Amazon's guiding philosophy as well."

This quote summarizes Amazon's approach to business and growth, emphasizing relentless progress and determination.

• Jeff Bezos views excessive communication within a company as a sign of dysfunction, indicating a lack of close, organic collaboration.
• He advocates for reducing inter-team communication to improve efficiency and decision-making.

"Communication is a sign of dysfunction. It means people aren't working together in a close, organic way."

Bezos' statement challenges the conventional wisdom that more communication is inherently good within large organizations, suggesting that it can actually be a symptom of problems.

• Bezos promotes a decentralized structure with autonomous teams to foster quick and independent decision-making.
• He believes hierarchies are not responsive enough and that people closest to problems are best positioned to solve them.

"A hierarchy isn't responsive enough to change. I'm still trying to get people to do occasionally what I ask, and if I was successful, maybe we wouldn't have the right kind of company."

This quote reflects Bezos' preference for a flat organizational structure where employees are empowered to take initiative rather than waiting for instructions from above.

• Bezos and other tech leaders learned from the failures of top-down management approaches in companies like Microsoft.
• They applied principles from lean and agile software development, such as the idea that adding manpower to a project can hinder progress.

"The companies that embraced this philosophy, like Google, Amazon and later Facebook, were in part drawing lessons from theories about lean and agile software development."

This sentence highlights how Amazon and similar companies adopted a management philosophy influenced by software development practices to enhance innovation and efficiency.

• Bezos introduced the concept of "two-pizza teams" at Amazon, creating small, autonomous groups to tackle significant problems.
• These teams operate independently, potentially competing for resources and duplicating efforts, to mimic the competitive nature of survival.

"The entire company, he said, would restructure itself around what he called two pizza teams."

Bezos' strategy for Amazon's organizational structure aimed to increase agility and innovation by keeping teams small and self-sufficient.

• Amazon abandoned PowerPoint presentations in favor of written narratives to ensure deep thinking and clear expression of ideas.
• Meetings began with silent reading of these narratives, a practice that Bezos believed would lead to better understanding and decision-making.

"PowerPoint is a very imprecise communication mechanism. It is fantastically easy to hide between bullet points."

Bezos criticizes PowerPoint for allowing vague and incomplete communication, advocating for written narratives to force clarity and detail.

• Bezos requires that new product proposals be presented as mock press releases to focus on customer perception and communication.
• This method aims to ensure that products are developed with the end-user in mind, starting with the customer experience and working backward.

"Bezos didn't believe anyone could make a good decision about a feature or a product without knowing precisely how it would be communicated to the world and what the hallowed customer would make of it."

The quote explains Bezos' belief in the importance of understanding how a product will be received by customers before making decisions about its development.

• Bezos is known for his intelligence and ability to make correct decisions in areas outside his expertise.
• His leadership style is characterized by embracing the truth and unconventional thinking, not limited by traditional constraints.

"Jeff does a couple things better than anyone I've worked for, Dalzelle says. He embraces the truth... The second thing is that he is not tethered by conventional thinking."

This quote from an Amazon employee, Dalzelle, summarizes Bezos' approach to leadership and problem-solving, highlighting his commitment to truth and innovation.

• Bezos sees traditional gatekeepers as impediments to innovation.
• He believes in a self-service platform where even improbable ideas have the chance to succeed without the approval of experts.

"Even well-meaning gatekeepers slow innovation, Bezos wrote, when a platform is self-service, even the improbable ideas can get tried because there's no expert gatekeeper ready to say that will never work."

Bezos' quote reflects his vision for a more democratized and experimental approach to innovation, where ideas can be tested without needing prior approval from established authorities.

• Joy Covey, Amazon's first CFO, compared Bezos' leadership to Steve Jobs, noting the necessity of intense drive and focus for unconventional success.
• She admired the consistency of Amazon's evolution with Bezos' original vision and values, emphasizing customer trust, bold innovation, and long-term perspective.

"It is almost like he fired an arrow and then followed that arc."

Covey's metaphor encapsulates Bezos' unwavering commitment to his vision, suggesting that Amazon's trajectory has been a direct result of his initial aims and values.