Jeff Bezos is a visionary, innovator, leader; a man of substance and principles. Everyone knows him as the founder and CEO of Amazon. But that’s just about everything most people know about him. I bet you didn’t know Jeff Bezos makes more money per minute than what the average person earns in an entire year.
What makes Jeff Bezos tick? How did he get from a bookworm kid to the multi-billionaire tycoon he is today? This kind of success can only come with the right attitude, mindfulness and wisdom; something you too can achieve. So, without further ado, here are five nuggets of wisdom from Jeff Bezos ‑ the building blocks to his multi-billion-dollar empire.
- Think big, don’t sweat the small stuff
Jeff Bezos had a lucrative career working on Wall Street when he decided to make a huge step towards entrepreneurship. He turned down a gargantuan bonus in order to start building his own empire. It wasn’t all a bed of roses at first. His success was going up and down and there were more times when he was down. Many times he doubted his decision, but he never let little things like regret get in the way success.
He persevered.
“When you are in the thick of things you can get confused by small stuff,” Jeff Bezos said. What about you – are you focusing on the small stuff instead of what’s important to you? The danger of this is that thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you’re stuck in that cycle then you’re forever wallowing in your comfort zone, never achieving greatness.
Every day we see seemingly urgent matters pop up, trying to grab our attention and derail our big plans. Either delegate the task, or deal with them quickly. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Keep your focus on your core activities in order to succeed.
- Aim for better, not best
One of Jeff Bezos’ success philosophies centers on competing with yourself rather than against your business rivals. If there’s a lot to be desired about the way things are at the moment, then try to improve them. Aim to be better today than you were yesterday.
Sure, you may take a peek at what your competitors are doing from time to time and learn something from them. But if you’re obsessed with the idea of trying to compete with them on every front, then you’re just a copycat.
Jeff Bezos is an innovator, a pioneer and a visionary. He got to where he is today because he never got stuck with the mindset that he is the best. His goal is rather humble – to keep improving and do better and better every day. If he didn’t have those qualities in him, Amazon wouldn’t exist. Think about that.
- Stand firm in your vision
Successful entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos remain true to their vision and principles. A small example: early on in the game Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz approached Bezos and offered a display area for Amazon goods at every Starbucks outlet.
What Schultz was proposing to Bezos is a physical presence in exchange for an ownership stake in Amazon.
Bezos declined the offer. He saw the 10 percent ownership stake Schultz has been clamoring for, along with a seat on the company board, as a roadblock to his plan of taking “this thing [Amazon] to the moon.” At first Bezos tried to see whether he and Schultz can work on a deal, but it finally occurred to him that he could never compromise the integrity of his vision, so he backed out.
- Books are a goldmine
Jeff Bezos saw in books a great value like no other entrepreneur before him had. In Bezos’ mind, books occupy a special place in his store because they’re such great commodities. That’s why if you go to Amazon you’ll find books being a prominent category there.
A print of a particular book would be identical as another copy of the same book and author in another outlet. So if a customer specifies a particular book, there would be no confusion as to what they are getting. And with millions of books in print globally, almost you can’t go wrong leveraging a market as vast as this.
- Focus on keeping customers happy
Many entrepreneurs worry about the competition. What your competitor does or accomplishes, you have no control over. So stop worrying about them. Instead, focus on things you have influence and control over – like your customers.
“Don’t be worried about our competitors because they’re never going to send us any money anyway. Let’s be worried about our customers and stay heads-down focused,” says Jeff Bezos, addressing his staff.
Worrying is a reactive response, which is hardly appropriate in today’s cutthroat economy. To get to the top, forget the competition. Focus on what you can do. Think out of the box and look for ways to serve your customers like no other has ever done before.
Bonus tip: grow your own corporate culture
Over the years Amazon has evolved its own culture with a distinct set of values. While many admire this culture; others dislike it. It is nevertheless one that reflects the company’s goals and aspirations; and one that certainly works for them.
Evaluate the kind of people you want to work with. Know their strengths and weaknesses. Know the things they agree on and those areas in which they differ. The fusion and interaction of all these factors create your culture. Culture isn’t something you impose upon everyone. Instead, a corporate culture is something you build together, binding all of you into a collective effort and bringing the best out of each.
“We never claim that our approach is the right one – just that it’s ours,” Jeff Bezos said.
A culture doesn’t develop overnight. It is something that forms gradually and is nurtured by everyone involved. A culture is part of the company’s image. It is important therefore for a business to find people with skills and mindsets that blend well with your culture.
Final Thoughts
What we can gather from all these strategies is that the vision you have for your business has a direct bearing on your success. Amazon isn’t perfect. It has many shortcomings. But yet, it remains as one of the world’s biggest online retailers. Why? Because it has a sound game plan, a clear vision and a working culture.
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