I just read an article the April 23, 2012 issue of Forbes article, George Anders talks about Jeff Bezos’s “Top 10 Leadership Lessons.” The article is well worth reading, but to summarize here they are. Jeff Bezos, the founder, president, chief executive officer (CEO), and chairman of the board of Amazon.com. This is a guy who walks the walk and has created one of the most innovative and game changing companies ever.
1) “Base your strategy on things that won’t change.” In Amazon’s case this means that to sell more things, offer wider selection, lower prices and fast and reliable delivery.
2) “Obsess over customers”. When you have a meeting of the important people in your company who’s missing? At most companies the answer is “the customer”. At Amazon, the customer is always the prime consideration.
3) “We are willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time”. Most companies expect success in short order. Bezos is willing to stick with a plan for a long time if it makes strategic sense and if there is a good long term payoff.
4) “There are two kinds of companies: those that try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second.” Most companies talk about holding down costs, but Amazon lives for frugality.
5) “Determine what your customers need, and work backwards.” At many companies products flow from the engineers and reflect their tastes. At Amazon, the desires of the customer are considered first. If the customer doesn’t like something, then Amazon gets rid of it.
6) “Our culture is friendly and intense, but if push comes to shove we’ll settle for intense.” At Amazon results and data count more than building a friendly culture. I’m not sure I agree 100% with this idea, because I think a friendly, cooperative culture has huge dividends, but it is hard to argue with Amazon’s results.
7) “If you want to be inventive, you have to be willing to fail.” Lots of books and experts say this, but Amazon has lived it. They have had numerous failed initiatives, but they learn from them and move on.
8) “In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts.” In this age of viral videos, social media and consumers who talk about their experiences, the old way of advertising is dropping away. Instead you need to work with your customers and get them involved in your company. Word of mouth (or keyboard) really is key in today’s world.
9) “Everyone has to be able to work in a call center.” Amazon managers, including Bezos, work at least two days a year in the call center handling complaints. Does your company president?
10) “This is Day 1 for the Internet. We still have so much to learn.” Bezos said this in 1997. It is still true today. Just look at the number of companies that have come and gone since 1997. Amazon is still here.
The lessons of Amazon and its success have bearing on us here in Wyoming. After all, JC Penney started in Kemmerer. Who’s to say some Wyoming company won’t be the next Amazon? What do you think? Are these a good set of rules for today’s company?
Having been in business management for many years, I am surprised number 6 was not number one. The culture you provide for employees is critical in regards to productivity AND customer satisfaction. In my mind, employees hold the number one spot in regards to priorities. Thanks for posting this good article.
Posted by: Kim Fedore | April 13, 2012 at 07:44 AM
I think they are good points but agree with the above comment. Number 6 should be number 1, but who am I to argue with Bezo's success. Number 8 is also very relevant - word of mouth is key in an age of online retail. To survive in a space like Amazon where the barrier to entry at the beginning was not that great is amazing. I am also constantly amazed that the big retail book distributors let Amazon essentially start from nothing and crush them when a few changes in their buisness model could have helped them compete.
Posted by: Justin - Five Sprouts Stitching | May 14, 2012 at 09:36 PM