JEFF BEZOS

The analysis of traits, behaviours and attitudes of Jeffrey Bezos based on ‘The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon’ by Brad Stone.

Slawomir StarzecDate: 5th May 2015

The author of The Everything Store is a senior writer in Bloomberg Businessweek who specialises in technology and is known for writing cover stories on leading technology companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo.

“It’s the long-anticipated, honest account of the company of our age, and deeply personal look at the iconic entrepreneur who founded it.”

“Brad Stone captures Jeff’s passion and brilliance in this well-reported and compelling narrative.”

Published in 2013 and chosen as a Best Book of 2013 by The Washington Post.

The gathered material of 300 interviews combined with Stone’s fifteen years of writing on Amazon resulted in 361 pages of a comprehensive biography of Amazon and its founder enriched by unknown stories and facts.

CHILDHOOD

Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a teenage mother, Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen, and his biological father, Ted Jorgensen. Bezos's parents divorced within a year, and when Bezos was four years old his mother married his step-father Mike Bezos, a Cuban immigrant. Brad Stone argues, that the fact of being adopted gave Bezos a powerful motivation to succeed like other technology icons, Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison. Interested in how things work – at the age of three, disassembled his crib with a screwdriver because he insisted on sleeping in an ordinary bed.Bezos had an early love of computers and studied computer science and electrical engineering at Princeton University.

Started from the Bezos family garage in 1995.(First sold book - Douglas Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies: Computer Models Of The Fundamental Mechanisms Of Thought).

Within 30 days his site Amazon could sell books in 50 states and 45 foreign countries.

Employs 154.000 people.

145 fulfilment centres across the world.

270 million active users (Statista.com, 2014).

Amazon US store sells 323 million of products.

Worth $38 billion (Forbes, 2015).

FACTS

VISIONARYRELENTLESS

STRATEGY

CREATIVE

RUTHLESS

LEADERSHIP

VISIONARY

Bezos believed that technology offered limitless possibilities i.e. limitless selection, exceptional customer experience.

He had a vision that technology could change the way people shop.

The venture of building e-commerce shop in the 1990’s was seen as inviable.

He had a vision to transform Amazon from just a retailer to a technology company which would be difficult to compete with.

He pursues his childish dreams which tend to become reality as Blue Origin - a privately founded aerospace program which develops technologies to enable private human access to space.

“Physically I’m a chicken. Mentally, I’m bold.” Jeff Bezos

CREATIVE Exceedingly creative in achieving high goals. He once introduced the idea of the effects of a zero-gravity environment on the housefly (High school friends).

He has a rare ability to envision new trends (i.e. diversification into digital books when very few e-books were available).

He’s involved in visionary projects (i.e. Amazon Prime Air allowing 30 min delivery through drones).Amazon Prime Air

Described by friends as unnaturally gifted and ambitious in inventing new things.

RELENTLESS

Bezos holds to the motto “Step by step. Ferociously” which captures Amazon’s philosophy.

Friends and workers say that Bezos extremely focused on achieving results.

If you're not stubborn, you'll give up on experiments too soon.

Relentless.com – one of the first names of Amazon Bezos liked the most.

“Are you lazy or just incompetent?”

Jeff Bezos

RUTHLESS Stone argues that Bezos , like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Larry Ellison, lacks a certain degree of empathy which allows him to treat workers as expendable resources.

He can coldly allocate capital and manpower without considering human factor.

Bezos has a volcanic temper and during his emotional outbursts he would not hesitate to call people ‘complete idiots’.

He devised a ruthless ‘Gazelle Project’ to approach publishers in an aggressive way as a cheetah approach gazelle (lower prices, longer bill payment periods).

When focused on some project, he would work people to exhaustion and expect complete commitment.

Many CEOs left Amazon (e.g. Erick Goss) as they couldn’t reconcile ruthless Amazon’s tactics with their personal values .

“Our vision is to be the world’s most consumer-centric company, where consumers can come to find anything they want to buy online. ”

Jeff Bezos

STRATEGY Stone argues that particular passions of Bezos (books) guided the Amazons strategy.

Aggressive strategy of Amazon (acquisitions) is a manifestation of personal traits of Bezos.

Always focused on a long-term strategy even if it means to obtain ‘0 margin profit’ (as through its formative years).

No matter what you sell - offer wider selection, lower prices and fast, reliable deliver.

“Everyone has to be able to work in a call center” (every A. employee has to work in call-center for 2 days every year).

“Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.” Jeff Bezos

LEADERSHIP

Amazon’s 14 leadership principles

Customer obsession (empty chair at meetings)

Ownership (Never say ‘that’s not my job’)

Invent and simplify Leaders are Right, a Lot Hire and Develop the Best Insist on the Highest Standards Think Big (Get big fast) Bias for Action Frugality Vocally Self Critical Earn Trust of Others Dive Deep Have Backbone; Disagree and

Commit Deliver Results (Bezos is an

aggressive manager who expects immediate results)

“Work hard, have fun and make history.”

Jeff Bezos

THANK YOU