How to Get Rich: 10 Principles from Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and World's Richest Man
Jeff Bezos is the richest man on the planet and leads one of the most successful companies of all time, Amazon.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that perhaps had it not been for Bezos' efforts, Amazon would not have completed its astonishing evolutionary journey from a manzil-based library into a multinational technology company.
"Transforming from a store that sells everything to a company that sells everything" requires a mindset characterized by planning, risk-taking, ambition, innovation and that transcends boundaries, says journalist David Baker in the documentary "Inside Jeff Bezos's Mind" on BBC Radio 4.
Jeff Bezos' ambitions are not bound by gravity, as building a "space road" is one of his current interests.
But how did Bezos get Amazon to achieve such success? Here are ten principles that sum up Jeff Bezos' success.
1. Every problem has a solution through thinking and innovation - among the ten principles of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
Bezos believed at a young age in the power of innovation. He used to spend the summer with his grandfather on his small ranch in Texas, and they themselves repaired everything that needed to be repaired, including mega projects like rebuilding an old tractor. His grandfather once paid the high price for innovation when he lost his thumb in a car accident, and then underwent surgery to implant a replacement thumb using skin from the buttocks. It is a story that Bezos still tells to this day.
2. The customer is always right - one of the ten principles of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
With his experience banking and then hand-wrapping books, the customer remains the prime focus for Bezos.
Tom Alberg describes the former director of Amazon Bezos as "born of the customer's gene", adding that "he wants to make a difference in the world, and that in his mind translates into customer satisfaction. And if you make money, you can do more."
Retail Analyst Natalie Berg describes how this obsession acts as a "wheel" in actual practice, with "a diligent focus on customers that attract more customers to the site, which leads to attracting more vendors, which in turn attracts more customers and enhances the customer experience." And so the wheel continues to spin. "
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3. Back to Back and Scaling Forward - Ten Principles of Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos
Sunil Gupta, professor of economics at Harvard Business School, describes Amazon's creation of new products and services as a process of "going back and expanding forward," referring to going back to the beginnings to research the causes of any problem facing the company and then move forward.
This means that Amazon thinks about what customers want and works from there to determine how it can deliver it. If the company does not have the necessary capabilities for this, it builds it. At the same time, expanding forward means "knowing how to take advantage of these possibilities to enter a completely new business."
4. It's always day one - out of the Ten Principles of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
Each annual Amazon report includes a copy of Bezos' original letter to shareholders. This speech emphasizes the importance of thinking of the day as the "first day" of the company, meaning, for example, maintaining the thirst for innovation and success.
As for second-day thinking, Bezos is not an option. "The second day is a recession followed by a lack of interest, followed by a painful regression, followed by death. That is why today is always the first day," he says.
5. Adventure - Ten Principles of Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos
When websites spiraled out of control in 2000 after their bubble burst, Bezos took a risk and opened up Amazon to outside sellers. It was an unexpected move, but it paid off.
His less successful adventures included his entry into the mobile phone business. However, Bezos' belief in risk was strong, and he did not mind giving up the project and adding it to his experience repertoire.
John Rosman, a former Amazon executive and author of The Amazon Way, notes that Bezos does not mind making a decision "without knowing where to lead it," and Alexa technology is an example.
6. Failure is the way to success - one of the ten principles of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
Projects that do not perform well reveal not only Bezos' stance on risk but his position on failure as well.
"We have failed so many times," says Bezos. "I always think we're a good place to fail, because we're so good at it, we have a lot of practice" in this area.
7. You will never regret something you have tried - from the Ten Principles of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
A lack of fear of failure goes hand in hand with a healthy outlook of regret. Bezos made his position on this matter in his conversation with Matthias Dobfner, CEO of publishing company Axel Springer.
"When you think about the things that you will regret when you reach the age of 80, they will always be the things that we did not do. We rarely regret something we did that did not work."
8. Express your opinion - from the ten principles of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
While Bezos biographer Brad Stone thinks the Amazon boss may not be a democrat when it comes to the last word on the board, Bezos expects there to be a frank debate.
John Rosman believes that Amazon differs from other companies in this respect.
"Most of the other companies do not discuss effectively, and people retreat from their real positions. They don't act out of obsession with customers and data, they do not respect the decision maker. And when a decision is made, they are usually passive, aggressive if they disagree with it, and therefore are not genuinely careful," he says. Make it a success. "
9. Compete - one of the ten principles of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
Bezos brings a "strong competitive" trend to his business. Brad Stone gives Alexa Technology an example. It appeared at a time when Apple already had Siri technology and Google could distinguish voices.
He explains: "Amazon was not worthy of being a leader in this field, but Jeff Bezos was the director of the Alexa project, and in the blink of an eye more than 10,000 people or more were working in it, because he did not want to give up this arena in favor of Amazon's competitors."
10. Look to the long term - from the Ten Principles of Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos
Long-term planning is central to many of the successes of Bezos and Amazon. John Rosman notes that Bezos is "very willing to wait 10 years to make money in a new field" and to remain committed to something if progress is made.
And Bezos is certainly ready for the heavy lifting when it comes to building an infrastructure to invade space. Speaking during one of the events of his space company Blue Origin, Bezos insisted that "the Earth is limited, and if the world's economy and population continues to expand, space is the only way."
BBC
