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Greetings!
Jeff Bezos has built an empire that spans the entire globe, and touches virtually every industry. Conventional wisdom would suggest that Bezos works around the clock, and carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. Surprisingly, he's very well-rested, and doesn't perceive his responsibilities to be stressful. How does he continue to move Amazon forward without burning out? I share his 4 core company principles for growth.
Enjoy!
~Marissa
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The 4 Pillars of Amazon's Success, According to CEO Jeff Bezos
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In a recent interview at the Internet Association Gala, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was asked what worries keep him up at night.
He shared that there aren't really any
. In fact, he claims to sleep really well.
Bezos shared he's able to sleep soundly because he has complete confidence in the core principles of his company--the common approach that spans everything they do.
While Amazon's wide array of services range from producing original content to overnight delivery, there is a common thread--a unique approach. "We have a very distinctive approach that we have been honing and refining and thinking about for 22 years. It's really just a few principles that we use as we go about these activities,"
says Bezos
.
Amazon's 4 Principles
1. Customer Obsession.
The most important principle, according to Bezos, is the way Amazon centers its business on customer obsession.
While some companies are competitor-obsessed, product-obsessed, technology- obsessed, or business-model obsessed, Amazon and Bezos believe that customer obsession is the best and healthiest way to achieve success.
For Bezos,
customer obsession
involves enhancing and personalizing the customer experience by listening to customers, exceeding their expectations, and aligning business interests with customer interests. In essence, Amazon strives to start with the customer's needs and work backwards.
However, "Customer obsession is not just listening to customers. Customer obsession is also inventing on their behalf,"
says Bezos
--leading to the second principle.
2. Eagerness to Invent to Please the Customer.
Amazon is a trailblazer for innovation. They've experienced a wide range of outcomes, from spectacular failure with the Amazon Fire phone and Amazon Destinations, to the overwhelming successes of Amazon Prime and Amazon Web services.
"Customers are always dissatisfied, even when they don't know it. Even when they think they're happy, they actually do want a better way, and they just don't know yet what that should be,"
says Bezos
.
Bezos explains the drive behind Amazon's such dynamic innovation: "Our customers are loyal to us right up until the second somebody offers them a better service. And I love that. It's super-motivating for us."
3. Long-term Orientation.
Bezos recently shared that
he doesn't care about quarterly earnings
. He explains that the quarterly results are solidified through efforts years ago. He's always thinking about the direction of Amazon 5-7 years out, rather than what's happening today.
"I ask everybody not to think in 2-3 year time frames, but to think in 5-7 year time frames," explains Bezos.
He explains that this is not human nature, but something you have to teach yourself. Thinking long term impacts how you plan, and where you allot energy, time, money, and resources.
4. Acceptance of Failure as a Path to Success.
Failure is mentioned in every letter that Bezos writes to Amazon shareholders. In his interviews, Bezos repeatedly emphasizes that innovation and failure cannot be separated.
When experimenting, it is impossible for every idea to be successful; however, if you have successfully done something five times, such as establish an Amazon Warehouse, but fail on the sixth time, there is no excuse for this failure in execution.
Therefore, failure is only a path to success if the failure is due to experimentation.
Amazon's Principles Drive Everything
"What is Amazon? I would say really, it's a collection of principles and an approach that we deploy, and it's fine.
"I dance into work,"
says Bezos playfully
. Overall, Bezos can enjoy himself and sleep well at night knowing that these principles remain central to Amazon and therefore, the company will continue to thrive.
Not only that, but he's ahead of the game--thinking about his next moves years in advance. We may just see him surpass Bill Gates as the world's wealthiest man again... for good.
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Seeking a Powerful Message That Inspires Your Attendees to Take Action?
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I'm grateful for the opportunities I've received to inform and inspire thousands of employees and conference attendees through almost 25 years of entrepreneurship and leadership.
My experiences of bootstrapping two companies, pivoting through tremendous adversity, facing 2 cancer scares, moving through situational episodes of depression and anxiety, and other challenges while raising 2 sons have created within me an unbreakable inner strength that now enables me to move through my greatest difficulties with courage and grace.
I transparently share my journeys and the lessons I've learned to build extraordinary organizations, cultivate the mindsets we need to embrace our challenges as learning opportunities, choose faith over fear, choose abundance over scarcity, and reach our greatest personal & organizational potential by taking full responsibility for our outcomes.
These are lessons that employees and leaders at all levels can embrace to become more engaged, purposeful, and connected to an organizational mission.
If you are looking for a speaker that is an expert in leadership, strategy, and mindset - someone who has walked the walk, and can masterfully blend 2 decades of experience with clear calls to action for your attendees, contact me at [email protected] to discuss your needs.
I am currently booking engagements for 2018.
"Your intention creates Your reality."
~Dr. Wayne Dyer
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The CEO's Trusted Advisor,
Culture Expert, & Growth Strategist
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SUCCESSFUL CULTURE CEO MARISSA LEVIN
A 20-year entrepreneur, speaker, best-selling author, & growth strategist, Marissa leads the Successful Culture team which helps CEOs master the 3
most
critical aspects of business growth:
- Leadership development
- Strategy formulation & execution
- Organizational culture assessment & improvement
She also helps CEOs select and implement highly effective advisory boards which is an essential strategy for any business looking to grow exponentially.
Marissa’s lifetime legacy mission is to educate, equip, & empower 100 million leaders with the skill-sets and mindsets they need to reach their greatest potential.
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