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Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos
In this collection of Jeff Bezos’s writings—his unique and strikingly original annual shareholder letters, plus numerous speeches and interviews that provide insight into his background, his work, and the evolution of his ideas—you’ll gain an insider’s view of the why and how of his success. Spanning a range of topics across business and public policy, from innovation and customer obsession to climate change and outer space, this book provides a rare glimpse into how Bezos thinks about the world and where the future might take us.
Written in a direct, down-to-earth style, Invent and Wander offers readers a master class in business values, strategy, and execution:
● The importance of a Day 1 mindset
● Why “it’s all about the long term”
● What it really means to be customer obsessed
● How to start new businesses and create significant organic growth in an already successful company
● Why culture is an imperative
● How a willingness to fail is closely connected to innovation
● What the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us
Each insight offers new ways of thinking through today’s challenges—and more importantly, tomorrow’s—and the never-ending urgency of striving ahead, never resting on one’s laurels. Everyone from CEOs to entrepreneurs just setting up shop to the millions who use Amazon’s products and services in their homes or businesses will come to understand the principles that have driven the success of one of the most important innovators of our time.
Written in a direct, down-to-earth style, Invent and Wander offers readers a master class in business values, strategy, and execution:
● The importance of a Day 1 mindset
● Why “it’s all about the long term”
● What it really means to be customer obsessed
● How to start new businesses and create significant organic growth in an already successful company
● Why culture is an imperative
● How a willingness to fail is closely connected to innovation
● What the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us
Each insight offers new ways of thinking through today’s challenges—and more importantly, tomorrow’s—and the never-ending urgency of striving ahead, never resting on one’s laurels. Everyone from CEOs to entrepreneurs just setting up shop to the millions who use Amazon’s products and services in their homes or businesses will come to understand the principles that have driven the success of one of the most important innovators of our time.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 17, 2020
5,171 people are currently reading
16k people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 712 reviews
April 27, 2021
Lo abandoné en la página 40.
1) Es un libro sin autor. La editorial cogió las cartas a los inversionistas y las entrevistas que le habían hecho a Bezos y listo. Muy pero muy aburridor.
2) Puede que Bezos sea un visionario, puede que se le admire por los millones que acumula en sus arcas (hay gente así) PERO no va conmigo, en este momento de mi vida, el estilo de un megalómano, que quiere enriquecerse más todos los días a costa de la explotación de sus empleados y de no fomentar un ambiente laboral HU-MA-NO. No puede ser que esta clase de gente sea la que queremos copiar.
1) Es un libro sin autor. La editorial cogió las cartas a los inversionistas y las entrevistas que le habían hecho a Bezos y listo. Muy pero muy aburridor.
2) Puede que Bezos sea un visionario, puede que se le admire por los millones que acumula en sus arcas (hay gente así) PERO no va conmigo, en este momento de mi vida, el estilo de un megalómano, que quiere enriquecerse más todos los días a costa de la explotación de sus empleados y de no fomentar un ambiente laboral HU-MA-NO. No puede ser que esta clase de gente sea la que queremos copiar.
October 20, 2021
I really enjoyed Walter Isaacson's introduction part. It was concise but very engaging. I wish it was a bit longer.
The rest is the collection of letters from Jeff Bezos. After reading, I wanted to read the full version of Bezos' biography written by Isaacson.
The rest is the collection of letters from Jeff Bezos. After reading, I wanted to read the full version of Bezos' biography written by Isaacson.
December 9, 2020
Do the right thing. With Amazon at 1.6 trillion dollars and Bezos the richest man on earth there is no disputing that Jeff Bezos wins many prizes. He has helped create something that most everyone with an internet account has used to conveniently enjoy the wonders of ecommerce and web services (he even owns Goodreads here, kudos). For pioneering he deserves our thanks and applause, his humility as the son of a high-school mom and immigrant dad shine through. Thank you, Jeff. Winning, however, is not the goal: a better world is.
John D Rockefeller also won and his relative wealth in his day was three times that of Bezos's today. Rockefeller won by a strategy of horizontal domination, selling below cost in many cases to beat competitors and consolidating his winnings in adjacent markets. An interesting game that few have the money or market dominance to execute.
In 1911 it took the US Supreme Court to intervene and ultimately break up Standard Oil into 34 smaller companies. Many of these are companies that have thrived for a century now and ones we still know like Chevron, Exxon, Texaco, Marathon Oil, and BP among others.
At 1.6 trillion in market value and 1.1 million employees Amazon has no equal. Here is where the games can diverge: Jeff Bezos can, and should, decide to again Invent & Wander. Instead of waiting for the US Court, executives or legislators, or the EU, or India, or other world powers to one-day intervene, just do it. Jeff should boldy act to unlock value for customers, shareholders, and employees: split the pie and everybody wins.
Bezos and his teams could choose to break Amazon into 10 (or 34) smaller companies. He could do it on his own terms before regulators one day inevitably force his hand: that would begin day two. And in so splitting and multiplying this would enable more innovation and competition in multiple industry verticals and geographies.
Unlock the captive value of Whole Foods by thinking how to help spawn a focused lower cost healthy grocery options to offer more people more affordable organic foods. Spur on the innovation in green power and alternative vehicles, not just by buying 100,000 Rivian vehicles for Amazon: boldly go further and help the world by spinning out a focused entity to deliver 1,000,000 electric vehicles a year to consumers and other businesses.
In web services, clean energy, and so many other spaces Amazon and Bezos hold the potential to help more by controlling less and empowering others with more competitive multiple points of focus the world needs.
To date, Jeff Bezos you are my hero, you have delivered so much for me and for our world. If you read this, please don't read in criticism where none is intended. Instead this only ask is that you long ponder the thought.
What you now hold most is the chance to help decentralize and distribute the magic of human invention by passing this one baton to create so many more that can take your spark and again Invent and Wander on profound new and multiple dimensions.
Think about it, please. In every other game, you have all but one. And there can be no "one" in truly winning.
John D Rockefeller also won and his relative wealth in his day was three times that of Bezos's today. Rockefeller won by a strategy of horizontal domination, selling below cost in many cases to beat competitors and consolidating his winnings in adjacent markets. An interesting game that few have the money or market dominance to execute.
In 1911 it took the US Supreme Court to intervene and ultimately break up Standard Oil into 34 smaller companies. Many of these are companies that have thrived for a century now and ones we still know like Chevron, Exxon, Texaco, Marathon Oil, and BP among others.
At 1.6 trillion in market value and 1.1 million employees Amazon has no equal. Here is where the games can diverge: Jeff Bezos can, and should, decide to again Invent & Wander. Instead of waiting for the US Court, executives or legislators, or the EU, or India, or other world powers to one-day intervene, just do it. Jeff should boldy act to unlock value for customers, shareholders, and employees: split the pie and everybody wins.
Bezos and his teams could choose to break Amazon into 10 (or 34) smaller companies. He could do it on his own terms before regulators one day inevitably force his hand: that would begin day two. And in so splitting and multiplying this would enable more innovation and competition in multiple industry verticals and geographies.
Unlock the captive value of Whole Foods by thinking how to help spawn a focused lower cost healthy grocery options to offer more people more affordable organic foods. Spur on the innovation in green power and alternative vehicles, not just by buying 100,000 Rivian vehicles for Amazon: boldly go further and help the world by spinning out a focused entity to deliver 1,000,000 electric vehicles a year to consumers and other businesses.
In web services, clean energy, and so many other spaces Amazon and Bezos hold the potential to help more by controlling less and empowering others with more competitive multiple points of focus the world needs.
To date, Jeff Bezos you are my hero, you have delivered so much for me and for our world. If you read this, please don't read in criticism where none is intended. Instead this only ask is that you long ponder the thought.
What you now hold most is the chance to help decentralize and distribute the magic of human invention by passing this one baton to create so many more that can take your spark and again Invent and Wander on profound new and multiple dimensions.
Think about it, please. In every other game, you have all but one. And there can be no "one" in truly winning.
January 3, 2021
80% of the book are yearly letters Jeff Bezos has written to Amazon shareholders & some general chapters. (Lots of repetitions throughout).
The Gold inside:
- When Steve Jobs’s ideas or proposals would seem impossible to implement, he would use a trick he learned from a guru in India - he would stare at his colleagues without blinking and say, "Don't worry, you can do it".
- Taunted on a TV show for his early losses, the host asked Bezos if he could spell PROFIT. “Sure,” Bezos replied, “P-R-O-P-H-E-T.”
- The greatest piece of business luck in the history of business as described by Bezos was that after his invention of AWS, 'no one competed with Amazon for 7 years". (Top inventions get competition within 2 years).
- "EBITDA isn’t cash flow."
- To make sure of aeroplane safety, 150 kindles were turned on simultaneously and used in a test flight :)
- “Jeff, one day you’ll understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever".
- Amazon doesn't do PPT. They write 6-page memos that is then read by those meeting like in a study hall.
- Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1 (D1 is mentioned like 100 times)
The Gold inside:
- When Steve Jobs’s ideas or proposals would seem impossible to implement, he would use a trick he learned from a guru in India - he would stare at his colleagues without blinking and say, "Don't worry, you can do it".
- Taunted on a TV show for his early losses, the host asked Bezos if he could spell PROFIT. “Sure,” Bezos replied, “P-R-O-P-H-E-T.”
- The greatest piece of business luck in the history of business as described by Bezos was that after his invention of AWS, 'no one competed with Amazon for 7 years". (Top inventions get competition within 2 years).
- "EBITDA isn’t cash flow."
- To make sure of aeroplane safety, 150 kindles were turned on simultaneously and used in a test flight :)
- “Jeff, one day you’ll understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever".
- Amazon doesn't do PPT. They write 6-page memos that is then read by those meeting like in a study hall.
- Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1 (D1 is mentioned like 100 times)
December 10, 2020
Anyone who gave this book a 4 or a 5 didn't actually read it.
It's literally just shareholder reports compiled into one. You can get them online for free.
Nothing helpful in the book at all that hasn't already been published in those reports.
It's literally just shareholder reports compiled into one. You can get them online for free.
Nothing helpful in the book at all that hasn't already been published in those reports.
December 30, 2020
I was astounded by the consistency of Jeff Bezos' vision and messaging to shareholders over 25 years. This book was a collection of Bezos' letters to shareholders, as well as speeches that he has given. My main takeaways were:
1. It’s not enough to invent. You must be able to build a vision that a large number of people share, and that gets them to work in a concerted way
2. Have the discipline of writing a detailed plan and understand the key factors that influence an issue. Even though the plan won’t survive the real world, this exercise will help you understand a situation better
3. It's all about the long-term. Focus relentlessly on what is in the best long-term interests of customers and shareholders, not short-term profitability. Relatedly, optimise for long-term cashflows, not GAAP accounting measures
4. In a fixed cost business, market leadership is everything. The stronger one's market leadership, the more powerful the economic model. Market leadership can translate directly to higher revenue, higher profitability, greater capital velocity, and correspondingly stronger returns on invested capital.
5. Make bold rather than timid investment decisions where you see a sufficient probability of gaining market leadership advantages. Some of these investments will pay off, others will not, and you will have learned another valuable lesson in either case.
6. Operational and customer excellence is driven by self reinforcing flywheels: "We want to deliver both the world’s best customer experience and the world’s lowest prices. To some, this may seem quixotic. But it’s not. Traditional stores have a trade off between delivering a high touch customer experience and lowest possible prices. Amazon translates excellent digital customer experience into a fixed cost, and can deliver the best experience at no additional cost to the customer at sufficient volume."
7. Big winners pay for many experiments
8. Some decisions are consequential and nearly irreversible (one-way doors). These must be made with much deliberation. But most decisions are two way doors where you don’t have to live with the consequences. Don’t use the process for one way doors on two way door decisions
9. Decision quality and velocity are both really important. Don’t optimise for one at the expense of the other
10. Intuition, curiosity, and the power of wandering: "Sometimes you know where you’re going, and when you do, you can be efficient. In contrast, wandering is not efficient … but it’s also not random. It’s guided – by hunch, gut, intuition, curiosity. Wandering is an essential counter-balance to efficiency. You need to employ both. The outsized discoveries – the “non-linear” ones – are highly likely to require wandering."
1. It’s not enough to invent. You must be able to build a vision that a large number of people share, and that gets them to work in a concerted way
2. Have the discipline of writing a detailed plan and understand the key factors that influence an issue. Even though the plan won’t survive the real world, this exercise will help you understand a situation better
3. It's all about the long-term. Focus relentlessly on what is in the best long-term interests of customers and shareholders, not short-term profitability. Relatedly, optimise for long-term cashflows, not GAAP accounting measures
4. In a fixed cost business, market leadership is everything. The stronger one's market leadership, the more powerful the economic model. Market leadership can translate directly to higher revenue, higher profitability, greater capital velocity, and correspondingly stronger returns on invested capital.
5. Make bold rather than timid investment decisions where you see a sufficient probability of gaining market leadership advantages. Some of these investments will pay off, others will not, and you will have learned another valuable lesson in either case.
6. Operational and customer excellence is driven by self reinforcing flywheels: "We want to deliver both the world’s best customer experience and the world’s lowest prices. To some, this may seem quixotic. But it’s not. Traditional stores have a trade off between delivering a high touch customer experience and lowest possible prices. Amazon translates excellent digital customer experience into a fixed cost, and can deliver the best experience at no additional cost to the customer at sufficient volume."
7. Big winners pay for many experiments
8. Some decisions are consequential and nearly irreversible (one-way doors). These must be made with much deliberation. But most decisions are two way doors where you don’t have to live with the consequences. Don’t use the process for one way doors on two way door decisions
9. Decision quality and velocity are both really important. Don’t optimise for one at the expense of the other
10. Intuition, curiosity, and the power of wandering: "Sometimes you know where you’re going, and when you do, you can be efficient. In contrast, wandering is not efficient … but it’s also not random. It’s guided – by hunch, gut, intuition, curiosity. Wandering is an essential counter-balance to efficiency. You need to employ both. The outsized discoveries – the “non-linear” ones – are highly likely to require wandering."
January 1, 2021
It is ok. Wouldn't recommend it.Nothing new in the book.
It is a compilation of annual letters to shareholders. And second part of the book is - what feels like - stuff bezos probably spoke into a voice recorder in one afternoon.
It is a compilation of annual letters to shareholders. And second part of the book is - what feels like - stuff bezos probably spoke into a voice recorder in one afternoon.
March 11, 2023
I have so many notes, so many scribbles in the margins of this book. I'm thankful the publishers saw the potential and importance of compiling all the annual letters and speeches. It's an incredible insight into the mind and thought process of a great entrepreneur. There's lots to learn, but I was, honestly, stunned at the conviction and focus on a few mental models from the beginning of his career until he made Amazon into the behemoth it is. These points he focuses on - ideas, models, whatever we may call them - are repeated throughout the Amazon journey. It is these models that he keeps his radar pointed towards, relentlessly, doggedly, and which guide the company he built. Just that focus was, for me, this book's biggest lesson. Highly recommended.
May 11, 2022
The majority of the book is simply composed of Bezos’ various annual shareholder letters. You should skip it if you’ve already been reading it each year.
The second part compiles together various speeches. A lot of the stories here are repetitive. But I did find the portion about space exploration very persuasive and it convinced me to to change my opinion on certain topics.
The second part compiles together various speeches. A lot of the stories here are repetitive. But I did find the portion about space exploration very persuasive and it convinced me to to change my opinion on certain topics.
November 9, 2024
Invent and Wander is a curated collection of Jeff Bezos’ letters, essays, and reflections, introduced by Walter Isaacson, that provides a revealing look into the principles and practices that shaped Amazon, Blue Origin, and Bezos himself as a visionary. Through his collected writings, Bezos emphasizes a series of core ideas that have been remarkably consistent over his three-decade career. This collection brings to light the importance of long-term thinking, customer obsession, innovation through experimentation, and cultivating a company culture driven by purpose and intellectual rigor.
Isaacson's Introduction: Creative Genius?
In the introduction, Walter Isaacson explores the notion of Bezos as a creative genius, alongside icons like Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci. In Isaacson’s view, creative geniuses demonstrate relentless curiosity and the ability to merge disparate fields—in da Vinci’s case, art and science, and in Jobs’ case, technology and design. Isaacson ponders if Bezos shares this quality of inquisitiveness, which he believes is central to the creative process. Though Bezos’s approach is rooted in technology and commerce, he embodies this same “exploratory spirit.” Like Jobs and da Vinci, Bezos doesn't just ask questions; he digs into problems with a curiosity that leads to tangible innovation, seen in the successes of both Amazon and Blue Origin.
As a reader, I appreciated Isaacson’s framing of Bezos’s approach as “tortoise” rather than “hare.” While many companies prioritize short-term gains, Bezos advocates for long-term strategies, with his focus extending well beyond immediate profitability. This is rare in the business world, and Bezos seems to have ingrained this principle so deeply into Amazon’s culture that it now defines the company. The emphasis on thinking long-term is one of Bezos’s distinguishing characteristics, helping him to create value not only for customers but for the company as a whole.
Bezos’s Core Principles: Long-Term Thinking and Customer Obsession
One of the central ideas in Bezos’s writing is his principle of thinking three years ahead. Bezos believes that for any success to look effortless in the present, it must have been planned years in advance. While it may be difficult to predict the future with precision, the key is setting a long-term vision and working consistently toward it. Bezos has famously embodied this mindset, setting Amazon on a path where decisions are made not for today’s benefit but for how they will play out years down the line. This patient strategy is a theme that runs throughout the collection, one that many companies could benefit from embracing.
Another foundational value for Bezos is “customer obsession.” For Amazon, customers aren’t just buyers; they are partners whose loyalty has been earned through exceptional service and innovative solutions. This customer-centered mindset is the driving force behind Amazon’s operational decisions, even if it means enduring losses in the short term. Bezos’s commitment to “Day One” thinking—which keeps Amazon in a perpetual state of fresh, agile innovation—reinforces this dedication to customers. Rather than becoming complacent, Bezos urges his team to keep thinking like a startup, continually evolving to meet new challenges.
This philosophy of “Day One” extends beyond Amazon and into Bezos’s personal life, where he applies a similar dedication to lifelong learning and growth. His consistent investment in education and innovation aligns with a forward-thinking attitude that’s admirable for its simplicity and power. Bezos believes that “Day Two” is stagnation, and he has applied this guiding principle for over two decades, encouraging employees and leaders alike to pursue excellence without complacency.
Inventing Through Experimentation: Fail Often to Succeed Big
In one of my favorite sections, “Big Winners Pay for Many Experiments,” Bezos argues that invention requires constant experimentation, even if that means failing often. He likens innovation to a lottery where the more tickets you buy, the higher your chances of a win. To make real progress, Bezos insists on a willingness to take risks, understanding that most experiments will fail. However, a single “big winner” can more than compensate for the many smaller failures, providing the momentum to continue experimenting.
This insight, while simple, underscores the practical steps Bezos takes to foster a culture of innovation at Amazon and Blue Origin. Bezos doesn’t just say “fail fast”; he actively sets up an environment that celebrates calculated risk-taking. In his letters, he points out that innovation often arises from the fringes, through unproven ideas that—if successful—can pay for future endeavors. This approach makes Amazon a unique environment where breakthroughs aren’t only possible; they’re expected.
Building a Mission-Driven Culture: “Missionaries” vs. “Mercenaries”
Bezos’s insights into recruiting and team culture stand out as one of the more human-centered parts of the book. In his view, a company’s mission and purpose are essential for attracting and retaining the right people. Bezos differentiates between “missionaries” and “mercenaries” to illustrate this point: Mercenaries work for short-term rewards, driven by perks and benefits, while missionaries are driven by purpose, aligning themselves with the company’s vision.
Bezos favors the “missionaries” because they are more likely to stay committed to Amazon’s long-term goals, motivated by the value they help create rather than immediate benefits. The mission-driven culture Bezos advocates builds loyalty and fosters an environment where employees take pride in their work. This emphasis on purpose over perks resonates with me, especially in an age where employee satisfaction is often measured by the benefits package rather than the intrinsic meaning of the work.
The Importance of Clear Narratives
Bezos’s insistence on narratives over PowerPoint presentations is another unique aspect of Amazon’s culture. Rather than bullet points and slides, Amazon encourages its teams to write detailed memos, which help sharpen ideas and make goals clearer and more relatable. Bezos sees storytelling as essential for effectively communicating complex ideas, and he insists on clear and concise narratives to ensure alignment across teams. Writing narratives is a collaborative effort, and Bezos believes every team should have a member with the skills to communicate ideas effectively.
This practice is a testament to the disciplined thinking Bezos requires at Amazon and the value he places on clear, actionable communication. In the corporate world, where presentations often obscure meaning, Bezos’s emphasis on narratives provides a refreshing focus on substance over style.
Day One Fund: Investing in the Future
Bezos’s long-term perspective isn’t limited to Amazon or Blue Origin; he has also channeled it into the Bezos Day One Fund. This initiative, aimed at addressing homelessness and supporting education, reflects his belief in the importance of contributing to society’s broader well-being. Through the Day One Fund, Bezos consistently aligns his principles with practical, positive impact. His philanthropic efforts are customer-centric in a different way, addressing the needs of vulnerable populations with the same careful, forward-thinking approach he applies to business.
Final Thoughts
Invent and Wander provides an in-depth view of Jeff Bezos’s mindset, reflecting a philosophy built around long-term goals, continual experimentation, and relentless focus on customer needs. This compilation of writings emphasizes Bezos’s belief in investing for the future, both in business and in broader societal issues. His principles—summed up by the idea that it’s “always Day One”—are both insightful and actionable for anyone seeking to foster innovation, purpose, and resilience.
As I reflect on the book, I’m struck by Bezos’s consistency and dedication to his core values. His approach is demanding yet refreshing: work hard, work long, and work smart. Isaacson’s framing of Bezos as a potential creative genius places him in esteemed company, but it’s Bezos’s own words that make his perspective compelling. For anyone interested in leadership, innovation, or even personal growth, Invent and Wander offers a masterclass in strategic thinking, curiosity, and commitment to one’s principles.
Isaacson's Introduction: Creative Genius?
In the introduction, Walter Isaacson explores the notion of Bezos as a creative genius, alongside icons like Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci. In Isaacson’s view, creative geniuses demonstrate relentless curiosity and the ability to merge disparate fields—in da Vinci’s case, art and science, and in Jobs’ case, technology and design. Isaacson ponders if Bezos shares this quality of inquisitiveness, which he believes is central to the creative process. Though Bezos’s approach is rooted in technology and commerce, he embodies this same “exploratory spirit.” Like Jobs and da Vinci, Bezos doesn't just ask questions; he digs into problems with a curiosity that leads to tangible innovation, seen in the successes of both Amazon and Blue Origin.
As a reader, I appreciated Isaacson’s framing of Bezos’s approach as “tortoise” rather than “hare.” While many companies prioritize short-term gains, Bezos advocates for long-term strategies, with his focus extending well beyond immediate profitability. This is rare in the business world, and Bezos seems to have ingrained this principle so deeply into Amazon’s culture that it now defines the company. The emphasis on thinking long-term is one of Bezos’s distinguishing characteristics, helping him to create value not only for customers but for the company as a whole.
Bezos’s Core Principles: Long-Term Thinking and Customer Obsession
One of the central ideas in Bezos’s writing is his principle of thinking three years ahead. Bezos believes that for any success to look effortless in the present, it must have been planned years in advance. While it may be difficult to predict the future with precision, the key is setting a long-term vision and working consistently toward it. Bezos has famously embodied this mindset, setting Amazon on a path where decisions are made not for today’s benefit but for how they will play out years down the line. This patient strategy is a theme that runs throughout the collection, one that many companies could benefit from embracing.
Another foundational value for Bezos is “customer obsession.” For Amazon, customers aren’t just buyers; they are partners whose loyalty has been earned through exceptional service and innovative solutions. This customer-centered mindset is the driving force behind Amazon’s operational decisions, even if it means enduring losses in the short term. Bezos’s commitment to “Day One” thinking—which keeps Amazon in a perpetual state of fresh, agile innovation—reinforces this dedication to customers. Rather than becoming complacent, Bezos urges his team to keep thinking like a startup, continually evolving to meet new challenges.
This philosophy of “Day One” extends beyond Amazon and into Bezos’s personal life, where he applies a similar dedication to lifelong learning and growth. His consistent investment in education and innovation aligns with a forward-thinking attitude that’s admirable for its simplicity and power. Bezos believes that “Day Two” is stagnation, and he has applied this guiding principle for over two decades, encouraging employees and leaders alike to pursue excellence without complacency.
Inventing Through Experimentation: Fail Often to Succeed Big
In one of my favorite sections, “Big Winners Pay for Many Experiments,” Bezos argues that invention requires constant experimentation, even if that means failing often. He likens innovation to a lottery where the more tickets you buy, the higher your chances of a win. To make real progress, Bezos insists on a willingness to take risks, understanding that most experiments will fail. However, a single “big winner” can more than compensate for the many smaller failures, providing the momentum to continue experimenting.
This insight, while simple, underscores the practical steps Bezos takes to foster a culture of innovation at Amazon and Blue Origin. Bezos doesn’t just say “fail fast”; he actively sets up an environment that celebrates calculated risk-taking. In his letters, he points out that innovation often arises from the fringes, through unproven ideas that—if successful—can pay for future endeavors. This approach makes Amazon a unique environment where breakthroughs aren’t only possible; they’re expected.
Building a Mission-Driven Culture: “Missionaries” vs. “Mercenaries”
Bezos’s insights into recruiting and team culture stand out as one of the more human-centered parts of the book. In his view, a company’s mission and purpose are essential for attracting and retaining the right people. Bezos differentiates between “missionaries” and “mercenaries” to illustrate this point: Mercenaries work for short-term rewards, driven by perks and benefits, while missionaries are driven by purpose, aligning themselves with the company’s vision.
Bezos favors the “missionaries” because they are more likely to stay committed to Amazon’s long-term goals, motivated by the value they help create rather than immediate benefits. The mission-driven culture Bezos advocates builds loyalty and fosters an environment where employees take pride in their work. This emphasis on purpose over perks resonates with me, especially in an age where employee satisfaction is often measured by the benefits package rather than the intrinsic meaning of the work.
The Importance of Clear Narratives
Bezos’s insistence on narratives over PowerPoint presentations is another unique aspect of Amazon’s culture. Rather than bullet points and slides, Amazon encourages its teams to write detailed memos, which help sharpen ideas and make goals clearer and more relatable. Bezos sees storytelling as essential for effectively communicating complex ideas, and he insists on clear and concise narratives to ensure alignment across teams. Writing narratives is a collaborative effort, and Bezos believes every team should have a member with the skills to communicate ideas effectively.
This practice is a testament to the disciplined thinking Bezos requires at Amazon and the value he places on clear, actionable communication. In the corporate world, where presentations often obscure meaning, Bezos’s emphasis on narratives provides a refreshing focus on substance over style.
Day One Fund: Investing in the Future
Bezos’s long-term perspective isn’t limited to Amazon or Blue Origin; he has also channeled it into the Bezos Day One Fund. This initiative, aimed at addressing homelessness and supporting education, reflects his belief in the importance of contributing to society’s broader well-being. Through the Day One Fund, Bezos consistently aligns his principles with practical, positive impact. His philanthropic efforts are customer-centric in a different way, addressing the needs of vulnerable populations with the same careful, forward-thinking approach he applies to business.
Final Thoughts
Invent and Wander provides an in-depth view of Jeff Bezos’s mindset, reflecting a philosophy built around long-term goals, continual experimentation, and relentless focus on customer needs. This compilation of writings emphasizes Bezos’s belief in investing for the future, both in business and in broader societal issues. His principles—summed up by the idea that it’s “always Day One”—are both insightful and actionable for anyone seeking to foster innovation, purpose, and resilience.
As I reflect on the book, I’m struck by Bezos’s consistency and dedication to his core values. His approach is demanding yet refreshing: work hard, work long, and work smart. Isaacson’s framing of Bezos as a potential creative genius places him in esteemed company, but it’s Bezos’s own words that make his perspective compelling. For anyone interested in leadership, innovation, or even personal growth, Invent and Wander offers a masterclass in strategic thinking, curiosity, and commitment to one’s principles.
September 13, 2020
Invent and Wander is separated into 3 sections, the biographical introduction, his letters to shareholders, and some personal writings.
The introduction is excellent. Walter Isaacson is a masterful writer. I was drawn into Bezos' history and story, and it was fascinating to learn more about him beyond Amazon as well as more about Amazon beyond my personal experience with the brand.
But Isaacson goes into such great detail that the rest of the book was mostly redundant and boring to read one after another. It's a neat idea: to share his real messages but not a particularly fun read. For every super neat fact, there were pages of reading the same thing over and over in different phrasings. I wonder that it's not meant to be read but rather browsed bit by bit between other books.
I liked the bits about how certain businesses and ventures came to be, like Kindle and Fulfillment. I probably would have rather had a beefed up version of the introduction written by Isaacson with bits of Bezos' letters strewn throughout. Bezos is truly an incredible mind, one of the greats. I can imagine anyone in business or tech would find this inspiring.
And to echo another reviewer, I wish this had contained some of the past and current criticism for Bezos and Amazon. I loved reading about his charitable programs and institutions, but from other things I've heard about what it's like to actually work for Amazon, I'm curious how these programs work in reality and not just in theory as Bezos chats about them. The book did make me both glad I have access to the neat technologies of Amazon as a Prime member and curious about getting a job with the company (currently I'm a stay at home mom, so I daydream about getting a job again, haha).
Thank you PublicAffairs, Harvard Business Review Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
The introduction is excellent. Walter Isaacson is a masterful writer. I was drawn into Bezos' history and story, and it was fascinating to learn more about him beyond Amazon as well as more about Amazon beyond my personal experience with the brand.
But Isaacson goes into such great detail that the rest of the book was mostly redundant and boring to read one after another. It's a neat idea: to share his real messages but not a particularly fun read. For every super neat fact, there were pages of reading the same thing over and over in different phrasings. I wonder that it's not meant to be read but rather browsed bit by bit between other books.
I liked the bits about how certain businesses and ventures came to be, like Kindle and Fulfillment. I probably would have rather had a beefed up version of the introduction written by Isaacson with bits of Bezos' letters strewn throughout. Bezos is truly an incredible mind, one of the greats. I can imagine anyone in business or tech would find this inspiring.
And to echo another reviewer, I wish this had contained some of the past and current criticism for Bezos and Amazon. I loved reading about his charitable programs and institutions, but from other things I've heard about what it's like to actually work for Amazon, I'm curious how these programs work in reality and not just in theory as Bezos chats about them. The book did make me both glad I have access to the neat technologies of Amazon as a Prime member and curious about getting a job with the company (currently I'm a stay at home mom, so I daydream about getting a job again, haha).
Thank you PublicAffairs, Harvard Business Review Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
August 25, 2021
Es fascinante como Jeff Bezos hace parecer fácil las increíbles cosas que ha creado. De una forma muy clara explica desde el origen de Amazon hasta los principios en los que está basada su filosofía, enfoque al cliente e innovación creo que son los dos pilares básicos.
Este libro es realmente inspirador para cualquier persona que busque emprender y tomar decisiones acertadas, aunque desde luego, no todos seamos tan geniales como Jeff.
Por supuesto, Amazon puede tener puntos muy oscuros, pero al menos los puntos luminosos de los que habla Bezos aquí, son resplandecientes.
A mí me daría mucha curiosidad hablar con trabajadores de Amazon de todos los niveles, sobre todo los más bajos, para contrastar lo que ellos digan con lo que se dice aquí.
Las partes dónde habla del futuro de la inteligencia artificial y de la exploración espacial son puro gozo inspirador.
Este libro es realmente inspirador para cualquier persona que busque emprender y tomar decisiones acertadas, aunque desde luego, no todos seamos tan geniales como Jeff.
Por supuesto, Amazon puede tener puntos muy oscuros, pero al menos los puntos luminosos de los que habla Bezos aquí, son resplandecientes.
A mí me daría mucha curiosidad hablar con trabajadores de Amazon de todos los niveles, sobre todo los más bajos, para contrastar lo que ellos digan con lo que se dice aquí.
Las partes dónde habla del futuro de la inteligencia artificial y de la exploración espacial son puro gozo inspirador.
February 9, 2021
it is terrible "book". it is not even a book.
just read the Amazon annual letter form 1998 and few random ones thru years. it will take you 10 min and won't cost you anything and you will cover main Amazon ideas. There is no added value in this book at all. the same words are repeated like a dozen times and it is annoying.
It felt like youtube ads, that was 4h long on repeat. I actually paid to listen that. I want my money back.
just read the Amazon annual letter form 1998 and few random ones thru years. it will take you 10 min and won't cost you anything and you will cover main Amazon ideas. There is no added value in this book at all. the same words are repeated like a dozen times and it is annoying.
It felt like youtube ads, that was 4h long on repeat. I actually paid to listen that. I want my money back.
June 23, 2023
Определено най-вдъхновяващото нещо, което съм чел тази година!
December 14, 2020
Un interesante libro sobre las cartas que ha estado enviando Jeff Bezos a sus accionistas desde 1997 hasta el 2019, llenas de reflexiones sobre la cultura empresarial de Amazon. Y una segunda parte del libro donde author:Jeff Bezos expone algunos puntos clave de los procesos de toma de decisiones de sus objetivos .
Una persona que admiro, nadie es perfecto y todo el mundo tiene claro-oscuros así que probablemente Jeff Bezos también tendrá sus trapos sucios y muertos en el armario, pero Jeff me parece una persona con la que comparto su visión del mundo al 100% no lo digo porque sea un triunfador y la persona más rica del mundo de hecho me parece irrelevante ese aspecto de mi admiración, el aspecto de triunfador es absolutamente irrelevante, lo admiro porque me parece una persona que mantiene unos principios de excelencia y de enfoque que prima el cliente por encima de los accionistas incluso de ganar dinero y eso precisamente le lleva a ganar más dinero que nadie una auténtico contrasentido. Y segundo y más importante porque es una persona con una visión futuro para la humanidad y a la vez lo lleva a la práctica desde muchos enfoques con su apuesta por Blue Origin.
El libro se repite en muchos puntos porque explica algunas situaciones y sucesos de su vida que motivaron su forma de pensar así que la misma anécdota la puedes leer 3 o 4 veces se hace algo repetitivo. Pero la cantidad de pequeñas perlas de liderazgo y de enfoque organizacional son de muchos valor.
Como se puede vender libros y a la vez ser el principal proveedor de infraestructura de servicios Web software solo lo puede hacer una empresa con unos principios de innovación muy arraigados en una cultura de innovación y orientación a cliente.
Algunas de las frases subrayadas del libro:
Uno ya sabe que su plan de negocio no sobrevivirá a su primer encuentro con la realidad. Pero la disciplina de redactar el plan te obliga a considerar detenidamente algunos de los problemas y a prepararte mentalmente para afrontarlos.
Una persona que admiro, nadie es perfecto y todo el mundo tiene claro-oscuros así que probablemente Jeff Bezos también tendrá sus trapos sucios y muertos en el armario, pero Jeff me parece una persona con la que comparto su visión del mundo al 100% no lo digo porque sea un triunfador y la persona más rica del mundo de hecho me parece irrelevante ese aspecto de mi admiración, el aspecto de triunfador es absolutamente irrelevante, lo admiro porque me parece una persona que mantiene unos principios de excelencia y de enfoque que prima el cliente por encima de los accionistas incluso de ganar dinero y eso precisamente le lleva a ganar más dinero que nadie una auténtico contrasentido. Y segundo y más importante porque es una persona con una visión futuro para la humanidad y a la vez lo lleva a la práctica desde muchos enfoques con su apuesta por Blue Origin.
El libro se repite en muchos puntos porque explica algunas situaciones y sucesos de su vida que motivaron su forma de pensar así que la misma anécdota la puedes leer 3 o 4 veces se hace algo repetitivo. Pero la cantidad de pequeñas perlas de liderazgo y de enfoque organizacional son de muchos valor.
Como se puede vender libros y a la vez ser el principal proveedor de infraestructura de servicios Web software solo lo puede hacer una empresa con unos principios de innovación muy arraigados en una cultura de innovación y orientación a cliente.
Algunas de las frases subrayadas del libro:
Marco de minimización del arrepentimiento: Consiste en pensar en cómo se sentirá cuando tenga ochenta años y recuerde la decisión que había tomada y sentirse arrepentido o no.
Uno ya sabe que su plan de negocio no sobrevivirá a su primer encuentro con la realidad. Pero la disciplina de redactar el plan te obliga a considerar detenidamente algunos de los problemas y a prepararte mentalmente para afrontarlos.
Don Logan (director general de Time Inc) . Jeff Bezos no está metido en el negocio de Internet. Él se dedica al negocio de la atención al cliente.
Ningún cliente nos pidió Echo. La investigación de mercado es inútil.
-Pensar a largo plazo. El posicionamiento a largo plazo es esencial para la innovación porque a lo largo del camino hay muchos fracasos de por medio.
-Pensar eterna y apasionadamente en el cliente. El valor de la empres es la obsesión por el cliente frente a la obsesión por la competencia.
- Evitar los Powerpoint. Escribir memorándums.
- Pensar en grandes decisiones. A un ejecutivo principal te pagan para que tomes un reducido número de decisiones de alta calidad.
- Contratar a las personas adecuadas.
1997- El desafío consistirá en priorizar nuestras inversiones, más que en encontrar nuevas formas de ampliar nuestro negocio.
1998- Damos por hecho que los clientes son perspicaces e inteligentes.
1999- La experiencia actual de compra online es la peor que habrá jamás. Solo puede mejorar.
2001- Los flujos de caja parecen ser el medio más fiable de explicar la cotización en bolsa de una empresa a largo plazo.
2003-Nuestra estrategia de precios no pretende maximizar los porcentajes de margen, sino impulsar el máximo valor para los clientes y, por consiguiente, generar unos resultados finales del producto mucho mayores, a largo plazo.
2004- Las ganancias futuras son un componente importante del flujo de caja futuro por acción, pero no el único. El capital circulante y las inversiones de capital también son importantes, como lo es la dilución de acciones futuras.
2008- Pensar a largo plazo agudiza nuestras capacidades actuales. Que contempla el fracaso y la reiteración. La orientación al largo plazo está en consonancia con la centralidad en el cliente.
2012- Una ventaja de un enfoque orientado al clientes es que contribuye a un cierto tipo de proactividad. Lo que mueve estas inversiones es el enfoque hacia el cliente, no la reacción de la competencia.
2012- Los clientes satisfechos proactivamente ganan confianza, lo que genera más negocio por parte de esos clientes, incluso en nuevos ámbitos empresariales.
2013- A largo plazo, que un empleado esté en un lugar en el que no quiere estar no es bueno ni para él ni para la empresa.
2014- Una oferta de negocio ideal presenta cuatro características: A los clientes les encanta, puede crecer a gran escala, proporciona gran rendimiento de capital y se prolonga en el tiempo.
2015- Visión. La centralidad y no del competidor, al entusiasmo por innovar y ser pioneros, a la aceptación del fracaso, al pensamiento a largo plazo y el orgullo profesional por la excelencia operacional.
2015- Las culturas corporativas son duraderas, estables y reticentes al cambio.
2015- El fracaso y la innovación son hermanos inseparables. Para innovar debes experimentar.
2015- Los grandes ganadores invierten en numerosos experimentos.
2015- A medida que las organizaciones crecen, parece que hay una tendencia a utilizar los procesos de toma de decisiones transcendentales para casos que no lo requieren. Esto da como resultado lentitud, una aversión irracional al riesgo, falta de experimentación y, en consecuencia, innovación insuficiente.
2016- Evitar el dia 2. El dia 2 de una empresa es la del estancamiento. A este le sigue la irrelevancia, luego el doloroso y humillante declive y, en última instancia, la muerte.
2016- Puedes centrarte en la competencia, en el producto, en el beneficio, en la tecnología o en el modelo de negocio o en la satisfacción del cliente.
2016- Los clientes siempre están excelente y maravillosamente insatisfechos.
2016- Permanecer en el día 1 requiere experimentar pacientemente, aceptar los fracasos, plantar semilla, proteger los brotes y doblar la apuesta cuando satisface al cliente.
2016- Hay tendencia a gestionar en función de los indicadores. Los indicadores pueden ser de muchos tipos, pero su influencia es peligros, imperceptible y muy propia del día 2.
2016- Una excelente experiencia del cliente se consigue a través del corazón, de la intuición, de la curiosidad, del juego, del gusto y del tacto.
2016- Si no quieres o no puedes seguir ávidamente las tendencias más incipientes, el mundo te llevará al día 2. Si las combates, probablemente estarás luchando contra el futuro.
2017- Mantener altos niveles de exigencia en el trabajo es algo que se puede adquirir.
2017- Hay que controlar las falsas expectativas sobre el esfuerzo que implican tus objetivos.
2017- Una cultura de excelencia protege todo el trabajo "invisible" pero crucial que realiza la empresa.
Theodor Seuss Geisel: Cuando algo malo ocurre, tienes tres opciones: dejar que te defina, que te destruya o que te haga más fuerte.
Ninguna de las personas que despachan conmigo debería estar centrada realmente en el trimestre actual.
Warren buffet: Me conformo en tomar tres decisiones buenas al año.
Dos años es un plazo habitual cuando inventas algo nuevo antes de que lo copien.
Existen dos tipos de emprendedores. Los mercenarios intentan ganar mucho dinero en poco tiempo. En cambio los misioneros se desviven por su producto o servicio y por sus clientes, e intentan crear un buen servicio.
Washington Post. Tuvimos que pasar de un modelo de negocio en el que ganábamos mucho dinero por cada lector teniendo una cantidad relativamente baja de lectores, a ganar muy poco dinero por cada lector teniendo una enorme cantidad de lectores; y esa es la transición que hicimos.
La relación entre vida y trabajo hay que verla como una rueda o círculo, no como una balanza.
Los empleados se queden en la empresa por la misión.
Jim Lovell (astronauta). Del dicho cuando muera, espero ir al cielo.Desde el espacio te das cuenta de que vamos al cielo cuando nacemos. Y se llama tierra.
El consumo energético humano crece un 3% anual. Compuesto en 25 años doblamos el consumo.
Obtener rendimientos impresionantes es fruto de apostar en contra del sentido común, el problema es que el sentido común suele acertar.
November 25, 2020
With all the respect to JB, Amazon, and AWS, this is NOT a good book.
First of all - I have no clue who is it for. Why so?
It consists of 3 parts:
* the intro (by Isaacson) - which 100% repeats the stuff (LITERALLY!) from part 3
* annual letters to shareholders (by Bezos) - which are informative to some degree, present the evolution of Amazon over the years, give a brief glimpse of Amazon's culture and JB's philosophy, BUT ... FFS - these are letters to shareholders - there's a lot of "internal marketing", buzzwords, many repetitions (because there are always new people, etc.) - when I was around 2014 I was nearly screaming: too much, too much! (even if I'm personally very interested in Amazon and AWS)
* collection of writings and interviews - there's literally nothing new here: many things have already been described at least 3 times before in the same book (!) (e.g. JB's mothers teenage pregnancy, "Ouch!", kneepads anecdote, etc.) and the same interviews have been published on multiple occasions before (e.g. in recent "How to Lead")
In the end: YES, the story of Amazon and the one of Jeff Bezos are VERY interesting. YES, the culture of Amazon is tremendous and impressive. YES, Bezos is a good storyteller and it's a pleasure to read/listen to him. But this doesn't mean that "Invent and Wander" is the book you should be reaching for - there are far better (IMHO) alternatives.
First of all - I have no clue who is it for. Why so?
It consists of 3 parts:
* the intro (by Isaacson) - which 100% repeats the stuff (LITERALLY!) from part 3
* annual letters to shareholders (by Bezos) - which are informative to some degree, present the evolution of Amazon over the years, give a brief glimpse of Amazon's culture and JB's philosophy, BUT ... FFS - these are letters to shareholders - there's a lot of "internal marketing", buzzwords, many repetitions (because there are always new people, etc.) - when I was around 2014 I was nearly screaming: too much, too much! (even if I'm personally very interested in Amazon and AWS)
* collection of writings and interviews - there's literally nothing new here: many things have already been described at least 3 times before in the same book (!) (e.g. JB's mothers teenage pregnancy, "Ouch!", kneepads anecdote, etc.) and the same interviews have been published on multiple occasions before (e.g. in recent "How to Lead")
In the end: YES, the story of Amazon and the one of Jeff Bezos are VERY interesting. YES, the culture of Amazon is tremendous and impressive. YES, Bezos is a good storyteller and it's a pleasure to read/listen to him. But this doesn't mean that "Invent and Wander" is the book you should be reaching for - there are far better (IMHO) alternatives.
March 30, 2021
A pompous ramble into the history of Amazon. This might be the best example of corporate propaganda available right now. The first half of this text is mostly focused on a basic history of the company, Bezos' focus on the customer whilst ingoring staff needs and an orgy of congratulating the "free market" solutions available to him.
It's like at some point he gains some sort of conscious and starts to talk about ways he helps his employees whilst ignoring he's cause of most of their issues. My favourite part is when he talks about helping train and give education to employees, even if the training will help them outside of their careers at amazon. He fails to mention the degree he enables his people to earn in pissing in bottles and dying on the job due to poor conditions.
I wonder what noise would be made if you were to slap his bald head like a bongo? It might sound better than the blowjob he gives to America's ability to spread "democracy" and "freedom", the defense industry and his idea that people are jealous of America's way of running things lol.
Bezos wants you to know how pro employee he is that he fights unionisation with fake profiles:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-5...
Oh and I almost forgot, when he gets to the part about philanthropy and mentions his passion for ending homelessness in America, he forgets to mention that he could do it on his own dime with just one sixth of his net worth right now and chooses not to.
It's like at some point he gains some sort of conscious and starts to talk about ways he helps his employees whilst ignoring he's cause of most of their issues. My favourite part is when he talks about helping train and give education to employees, even if the training will help them outside of their careers at amazon. He fails to mention the degree he enables his people to earn in pissing in bottles and dying on the job due to poor conditions.
I wonder what noise would be made if you were to slap his bald head like a bongo? It might sound better than the blowjob he gives to America's ability to spread "democracy" and "freedom", the defense industry and his idea that people are jealous of America's way of running things lol.
Bezos wants you to know how pro employee he is that he fights unionisation with fake profiles:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-5...
Oh and I almost forgot, when he gets to the part about philanthropy and mentions his passion for ending homelessness in America, he forgets to mention that he could do it on his own dime with just one sixth of his net worth right now and chooses not to.
March 26, 2025
Extremely happy I got this second hand instead of buying it off Bezos and paying full price.
This book is not a book and actually sucks. The introduction was done by Walter Isaacson and is really good, had me looking forward to the book. Then the book is every shareholder letter Bezos has written since 1998 (200 pages worth) and then the last 150 pages are written versions of Bezos’ speeches or public addresses. I should’ve just asked ChatGPT for an overview of Jeff Bezos.
I am not happy.
On another note. I would say that Bezos, as an individual, has done more damage to the environment than any other human to ever exist. Bro sucks. He might even be evil. But what I do know? He can’t write books for shit.
This book is not a book and actually sucks. The introduction was done by Walter Isaacson and is really good, had me looking forward to the book. Then the book is every shareholder letter Bezos has written since 1998 (200 pages worth) and then the last 150 pages are written versions of Bezos’ speeches or public addresses. I should’ve just asked ChatGPT for an overview of Jeff Bezos.
I am not happy.
On another note. I would say that Bezos, as an individual, has done more damage to the environment than any other human to ever exist. Bro sucks. He might even be evil. But what I do know? He can’t write books for shit.
August 27, 2021
Fascinating experience to read the investor letters in hindsight, knowing what actually happened in the future. You can only connect the dots looking backwards…it’s an instructive journey from first principles of building a company. Gotta say Bezos towers over any other business leader in terms of combining long term patience and short term action.
April 28, 2021
This book is largely collection of all the Amazon shareholder letters from 1997-2019, all of which can be found on Amazon's website for free. It also contains snippets for a few other talks that Jeff Bezos has given over the years. Many of these talks are also available online for viewing through YouTube. It's a good collection of the key ideas Bezos has wanted to expound over the years organized into one place. A few key takeaways from the book:
1. Obsess over customers - As opposed to obsess over competition. Customers are always dissatisfied, which keeps you on your toes and prevents you from getting complacent. If you focus on competitors and you see yourself running faster than everyone else, you may be tempted to slow down. Over the long term, this also aligns with shareholder interests
2. Focus on long term - Ideas often take time to play out. At Amazon's current scale, even the best ones take 3-7 years to have a meaningful impact on the overall business. Some efforts are not very apparent based on data, such as Prime in its early days. What's happening in the current quarter has likely largely been set in stone by years of prior efforts. Over the long term, focus should be on free cash flow per share. Amazon largely operates in scale businesses with high fixed costs, so in investment phase this may not be apparent, but Bezos is very clear that free cash flow is the focus (as a sidenote, an interesting fact about Amazon's financial statements is that they present the cash flow statement first, whereas most companies present either the balance sheet or income statement first)
3. Decisions usually rely either on (1) quantitative data or (2) judgment. Decisions which rely on data generally have a "right" answer and do not require much judgment. Fulfillment center capacity and inventory purchasing decisions can largely be answered through poring through data. However, certain decisions, like lowering prices, require judgment despite lack of data, or even in the face of contrary data. The judgment Amazon made was that relentlessly returning efficiency improvements and scale economies to customers in the form of lower prices creates a virtuous cycle that would maximize free cash flow over the long term. This is despite evidence that short term price elasticity data generally indicates that price decreases are not made up by volume (at least in the short term). The whole 2005 shareholder letter on making decisions is excellent
4. Hiring framework: (1) Missionaries over mercenaries (2) individual raises the average performance of group he or she is joining (3) along a certain dimension the individual is a superstar. (1) Bezos thinks of missionaries as those who are obsessed with delivering a high-quality product or service, in contrast to mercernaries who are merely trying to flip their stock at a good price. Ironically, missionaries tend to do better in terms of shareholder returns. (2) Making sure the individual raises the average performance of a group means you're constantly raising the bar for both new employees and existing employees. (3) In some way, have to see the individual as exceptional even if not directly related to work (might be an Olympian or singer for example)
5. Decisions are broken into two types: Type 1: reversible or Type 2: irreversible. Type 2 decisions therefore require a lot of thought and deliberation. Mistake most organizations make is they apply the same level of rigor to everything, and treat Type 1 decisions in the same way as Type 2 decisions. Speed of decisionmaking is hugely important in business and is lost if everything is treated a Type 2 problem. Usually you learn and adapt along the way, so going forward on Type 1 decisions results in much better agility for organizations
6. Working backwards - Focus on what the customer needs, then backsolve to what we ought to be doing. The contrast is skills-forward - we are really good at X, what else can we do with X? Problem is that if you're skills forward you don't get pressured to develop NEW skills. Working backward from the customer needs demands new competencies over time. For example, before Kindle Amazon had never built and sold a piece of hardware. The mission was to have a device that could get every printed book in history within 60 seconds, and had to exist seamlessly with integrated software. Amazon had to hire a bunch of hardware engineers and figure out how to do that
There are many more insights contained in the book. Reading through it can get repetitive at times because you can see how Bezos has come to rely on a handful of talking points and stories which have formed the core principles of how he approaches business. Nonetheless it was highly engaging, and I'm glad that Walter Isaacson compiled all of these writings into one place.
1. Obsess over customers - As opposed to obsess over competition. Customers are always dissatisfied, which keeps you on your toes and prevents you from getting complacent. If you focus on competitors and you see yourself running faster than everyone else, you may be tempted to slow down. Over the long term, this also aligns with shareholder interests
2. Focus on long term - Ideas often take time to play out. At Amazon's current scale, even the best ones take 3-7 years to have a meaningful impact on the overall business. Some efforts are not very apparent based on data, such as Prime in its early days. What's happening in the current quarter has likely largely been set in stone by years of prior efforts. Over the long term, focus should be on free cash flow per share. Amazon largely operates in scale businesses with high fixed costs, so in investment phase this may not be apparent, but Bezos is very clear that free cash flow is the focus (as a sidenote, an interesting fact about Amazon's financial statements is that they present the cash flow statement first, whereas most companies present either the balance sheet or income statement first)
3. Decisions usually rely either on (1) quantitative data or (2) judgment. Decisions which rely on data generally have a "right" answer and do not require much judgment. Fulfillment center capacity and inventory purchasing decisions can largely be answered through poring through data. However, certain decisions, like lowering prices, require judgment despite lack of data, or even in the face of contrary data. The judgment Amazon made was that relentlessly returning efficiency improvements and scale economies to customers in the form of lower prices creates a virtuous cycle that would maximize free cash flow over the long term. This is despite evidence that short term price elasticity data generally indicates that price decreases are not made up by volume (at least in the short term). The whole 2005 shareholder letter on making decisions is excellent
4. Hiring framework: (1) Missionaries over mercenaries (2) individual raises the average performance of group he or she is joining (3) along a certain dimension the individual is a superstar. (1) Bezos thinks of missionaries as those who are obsessed with delivering a high-quality product or service, in contrast to mercernaries who are merely trying to flip their stock at a good price. Ironically, missionaries tend to do better in terms of shareholder returns. (2) Making sure the individual raises the average performance of a group means you're constantly raising the bar for both new employees and existing employees. (3) In some way, have to see the individual as exceptional even if not directly related to work (might be an Olympian or singer for example)
5. Decisions are broken into two types: Type 1: reversible or Type 2: irreversible. Type 2 decisions therefore require a lot of thought and deliberation. Mistake most organizations make is they apply the same level of rigor to everything, and treat Type 1 decisions in the same way as Type 2 decisions. Speed of decisionmaking is hugely important in business and is lost if everything is treated a Type 2 problem. Usually you learn and adapt along the way, so going forward on Type 1 decisions results in much better agility for organizations
6. Working backwards - Focus on what the customer needs, then backsolve to what we ought to be doing. The contrast is skills-forward - we are really good at X, what else can we do with X? Problem is that if you're skills forward you don't get pressured to develop NEW skills. Working backward from the customer needs demands new competencies over time. For example, before Kindle Amazon had never built and sold a piece of hardware. The mission was to have a device that could get every printed book in history within 60 seconds, and had to exist seamlessly with integrated software. Amazon had to hire a bunch of hardware engineers and figure out how to do that
There are many more insights contained in the book. Reading through it can get repetitive at times because you can see how Bezos has come to rely on a handful of talking points and stories which have formed the core principles of how he approaches business. Nonetheless it was highly engaging, and I'm glad that Walter Isaacson compiled all of these writings into one place.
May 29, 2021
The Good:
- Fast read.
- GREAT introduction by Walter Isaacson; he's always a treat!
- Amazing to watch Amazon grow through the shareholder letters from the mid-90s to present-day.
Some great sticky ideas:
- "One-way/Two-way door" decision making framework: don't apply the same deliberate, slow, meticulous decision process of one-way decisions to reversible two-way decisions. Act fast.
- "Disagree and commit". Even if you disagree with a course of action, you can get to the important part - the ACTION - by disagreeing and committing to proceed. (no I-told-you-so's allowed; failure is good)
- "Work-life harmony". "Balance" implies these two things are in opposition, and they don't have to be.
The Bad: SO REPETITIVE. These ~260 pages could have been condensed down into a 5-star 100-page book. But the same stories from Bezos' childhood and same anecdotes and same corporate mantra were reprinted again and again and AGAIN and AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! While each individual speak or shareholder letter would have been interesting on their own, to compile them into a book without removing the redundancies is a waste of reader time. As a space geek I was hoping for some meaningful content on Blue Origin near the end, but it wasn't there. 3 stars.
My recommendation: Borrow from the library, read the Walter Isaacson intro, and start reading the shareholder letters until you've heard it all before, then stop.
- Fast read.
- GREAT introduction by Walter Isaacson; he's always a treat!
- Amazing to watch Amazon grow through the shareholder letters from the mid-90s to present-day.
Some great sticky ideas:
- "One-way/Two-way door" decision making framework: don't apply the same deliberate, slow, meticulous decision process of one-way decisions to reversible two-way decisions. Act fast.
- "Disagree and commit". Even if you disagree with a course of action, you can get to the important part - the ACTION - by disagreeing and committing to proceed. (no I-told-you-so's allowed; failure is good)
- "Work-life harmony". "Balance" implies these two things are in opposition, and they don't have to be.
The Bad: SO REPETITIVE. These ~260 pages could have been condensed down into a 5-star 100-page book. But the same stories from Bezos' childhood and same anecdotes and same corporate mantra were reprinted again and again and AGAIN and AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! While each individual speak or shareholder letter would have been interesting on their own, to compile them into a book without removing the redundancies is a waste of reader time. As a space geek I was hoping for some meaningful content on Blue Origin near the end, but it wasn't there. 3 stars.
My recommendation: Borrow from the library, read the Walter Isaacson intro, and start reading the shareholder letters until you've heard it all before, then stop.
October 14, 2021
Great stuff in this book, but far too much redundant information to give it more than three stars.
I think Amazon is an amazing company and the book gives some good insight into what driving forces resulted in their success.
However, the book is a compilation of annual letters and speeches by Bezos, so by its very nature it covers the same ground multiple times. It gets a little old hearing about how successful their market place is on the fourth read. It feels like if the redundancy was removed from thus book, it would have been at least 30% shorter.
Bezos makes the point, multiple times, that he allows people to fail at Amazon. He explains that to have an innovative culture, a company must accept failure. However, there is limited description of any Amazon failures. To be fair, you wouldn’t expect a description of a significant failure, such as short lived Amazon cell phone, in an annual report — but some more details on struggles the company faced over the years would have been a nice complement to the self grandizing elements of the book.
I think Amazon is an amazing company and the book gives some good insight into what driving forces resulted in their success.
However, the book is a compilation of annual letters and speeches by Bezos, so by its very nature it covers the same ground multiple times. It gets a little old hearing about how successful their market place is on the fourth read. It feels like if the redundancy was removed from thus book, it would have been at least 30% shorter.
Bezos makes the point, multiple times, that he allows people to fail at Amazon. He explains that to have an innovative culture, a company must accept failure. However, there is limited description of any Amazon failures. To be fair, you wouldn’t expect a description of a significant failure, such as short lived Amazon cell phone, in an annual report — but some more details on struggles the company faced over the years would have been a nice complement to the self grandizing elements of the book.
May 3, 2021
A very light-weight book with a few gems to be sifted out.
This book gets three stars because there are indeed a few real insights here, and that's worth something. Nevertheless, I advise against purchasing this book. It's got the intellectual nutritional value of a solid blog post. I got through it in approximately 3 hours. Check it out from the library, or read a summary online (like this one!).
The book is divided into three parts:
1. An introduction by Walter Isaacson
If you want to TL;DR this book hard, I recommend just reading the introduction. (In fact, at the time of writing, you can read the whole introduction for free on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Invent-Wander-...)
One of the frustrating things about this book is that the introduction contains about 90% of the real content of this book, and many sections of the rest of the book end up feeling like "deja-vu", with phrases that caught your eye in the introduction coming back (often as the only interesting point of the letter or essay in question).
So read this part, and if you're still hungry...
2. Bezos' annual letter to investors from 1997-2019
For me, this section was mostly a bust. Often - especially in the more recent letters, I felt like I was reading marketing copy. Nevertheless, I found the 2016 letter to be really worth reading. In this one, Bezos lays out the way organizations - especially very large or old ones - tend to slow down by making process a proxy for outcomes. He warns against the temptation to slide into "Day 2" thinking, saying, "The process [can become] the proxy for the result you want. You stop looking at outcomes and just make sure you're doing the process right. ... The process is not the thing. It's always worth asking, do we own the process or does the process own us?"
The 2004 shareholder letter was also very interesting, as Bezos gives insights about how to think about the role of cash flows (vs revenue) over the long term.
3. A collection of essays and excerpts, taken from sources as varied as congressional testimony, commencement speeches, and snippits of a conversation with Bezos' brother
These documents were a really mixed bag. Some of them were not worth my time at all, such as the concluding congressional testimony, "It's Still Day One For America".
One essay that I thought was positively inspiring was "The Purpose of Going to Space." I fear that Mr. Bezos and I have different sets of moral compasses, and I am skeptical of his largely uncritical view of market capitalism. Nevertheless, I am on board with his vision for space exploration that is geared towards human flourishing, and an expansion of human civilization to a point where there could be a trillion people in the solar system, including "a thousand Einsteins and a thousand Mozarts." For all my critiques of Bezos, this man understands the value of scale, and gets what expansion out into the cosmos could mean for the power, depth, and quality of human civilization going forward.
Other good picks from the essays:
"Decisions"
"Recruiting Talent - Do you want Mercenaries or Missionaries?"
"Work-Life Harmony"
"Thinking Three Years Out"
Key Takeaways:
Here are the main points that I thought were worth taking away from this book:
0. Day 1
If I had a single big takeaway from this book, it would be Jeff Bezos' orientation around how to think about time. For Bezos, it's always day one of the rest of the story. No resting on mantles. No self-satisfaction. No rent-seeking. All that matters is the next step.
1. Two-way/one way doors
When taking decisions, speed is a huge advantage. Decisions should be fast if the decision is reversible, and failure would not be a catastrophe. That's most decisions.
In the exceptional case of "one-way door" decisions - choices that we can't take back and which could be potentially catastrophic - then we need to act very carefully and do our due diligence.
Nimble, powerful companies are able to maintain speed on most of their decisions, and only bring out the serious discernment apparatus for the one-way door decisions. This empowers teams and leaders to act, and creates a culture of forward momentum.
2. Disagree and commit
A big concept for Bezos, which he says he employs a lot internally at Amazon, is that sometimes we need to commit to ideas that we are not convinced of. When multiple stakeholders come together, at a certain point in the conversation there may simply be disagreement. In these cases, it can be helpful for one party (often the boss!) to say, "I disagree and commit to your perspective." That is, "let's go ahead and do this, because I trust your judgement, and if it turns out this was a bad idea, I'll never say 'I told you so', because I'm committed, too."
By disagreeing and committing, we can strengthen organizations in a variety of ways. It allows teams and leaders to get feedback - even highly critical feedback - without necessarily being blocked. It reinforces trust and camaraderie between leaders and teams. It allows the organization to move quickly and take calculated risks, even risking failure when appropriate (and, as mentioned above, it often is).
3. The power of scale
Jeff Bezos is a master of scale. He gets that there are things that you can do as a billion dollar company you simply can't do as a ten million dollar company, and then things you can do as a trillion dollar company that are unthinkable as a billion dollar company. Size matters. Though there are huge risks to scale - especially stagnation and decline - tackling these risks is unavoidable if we want to accomplish truly monumental projects.
4. Making the few critical decisions
The job of a leader is to make a small handful of truly critical decisions each day. Leaders make a huge mistake by trying to do too much, spreading their energy too thin, and not committing themselves to focus on the highest-value work they can be doing. Delegate, delegate, delegate - and prioritize those things that only you can do.
5. Taking risks and experimenting
Bezos says that, if a company the size of Amazon isn't making billion dollar mistakes, it isn't pushing hard enough. Amazon is built around the concept of making audacious bets, including ones that fail. "If you had a 10% chance of 100x return, you should take that bet every time!"
This isn't an excuse for making bad decisions, or failing on areas of the business that should be locked down. But for continued growth, constant experimentation and risk-taking is critical.
6. "Customer obsession" / don't worry about competitors
For Bezos and Amazon, the driving philosophy has been to put the customer first, with the faith that this ultimately ends up putting the shareholders first, because customer loyalty is everything. Bezos claims - and, in my opinion, has proven - that "fearing the customer" is far more important than fearing competitors. Take care of the customers and deliver value for them, and they will keep coming back.
7. Mercenaries vs missionaries
When Bezos hires and acquires, he is looking for employees and founders who are in it because they really believe in the mission. People who are around to pick up their checks are not going to build the kind of organization he wants. I believe Bezos when he says that, for him, it's ultimately not about the money, per se. It's about building something amazing, and relentlessly continuing onward.
8. Long-term thinking
Bezos advises that high-level leaders (C-suite types) should not be thinking about this quarter or this year. The outcomes of the near-term should already be locked in by decisions that were made years ago. Instead, leaders should be focusing their activity on impacting a three-year time horizon. "What will the organization need to do now in order to be positioned for the opportunities we will have in three years?"
9. Always take the cash flows
Revenue isn't cash flow. Free cash flow is what is left after all expenses, capital investments, research and development - everything - is taken into account. So if your capital costs are outstripping your revenue, you could actually bankrupt yourself faster by increasing sales! Bezos eschews some of the vanity metrics that get paddled around on Wall Street and keeps his eye on long-term free cash flow generation potential.
This book gets three stars because there are indeed a few real insights here, and that's worth something. Nevertheless, I advise against purchasing this book. It's got the intellectual nutritional value of a solid blog post. I got through it in approximately 3 hours. Check it out from the library, or read a summary online (like this one!).
The book is divided into three parts:
1. An introduction by Walter Isaacson
If you want to TL;DR this book hard, I recommend just reading the introduction. (In fact, at the time of writing, you can read the whole introduction for free on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Invent-Wander-...)
One of the frustrating things about this book is that the introduction contains about 90% of the real content of this book, and many sections of the rest of the book end up feeling like "deja-vu", with phrases that caught your eye in the introduction coming back (often as the only interesting point of the letter or essay in question).
So read this part, and if you're still hungry...
2. Bezos' annual letter to investors from 1997-2019
For me, this section was mostly a bust. Often - especially in the more recent letters, I felt like I was reading marketing copy. Nevertheless, I found the 2016 letter to be really worth reading. In this one, Bezos lays out the way organizations - especially very large or old ones - tend to slow down by making process a proxy for outcomes. He warns against the temptation to slide into "Day 2" thinking, saying, "The process [can become] the proxy for the result you want. You stop looking at outcomes and just make sure you're doing the process right. ... The process is not the thing. It's always worth asking, do we own the process or does the process own us?"
The 2004 shareholder letter was also very interesting, as Bezos gives insights about how to think about the role of cash flows (vs revenue) over the long term.
3. A collection of essays and excerpts, taken from sources as varied as congressional testimony, commencement speeches, and snippits of a conversation with Bezos' brother
These documents were a really mixed bag. Some of them were not worth my time at all, such as the concluding congressional testimony, "It's Still Day One For America".
One essay that I thought was positively inspiring was "The Purpose of Going to Space." I fear that Mr. Bezos and I have different sets of moral compasses, and I am skeptical of his largely uncritical view of market capitalism. Nevertheless, I am on board with his vision for space exploration that is geared towards human flourishing, and an expansion of human civilization to a point where there could be a trillion people in the solar system, including "a thousand Einsteins and a thousand Mozarts." For all my critiques of Bezos, this man understands the value of scale, and gets what expansion out into the cosmos could mean for the power, depth, and quality of human civilization going forward.
Other good picks from the essays:
"Decisions"
"Recruiting Talent - Do you want Mercenaries or Missionaries?"
"Work-Life Harmony"
"Thinking Three Years Out"
Key Takeaways:
Here are the main points that I thought were worth taking away from this book:
0. Day 1
If I had a single big takeaway from this book, it would be Jeff Bezos' orientation around how to think about time. For Bezos, it's always day one of the rest of the story. No resting on mantles. No self-satisfaction. No rent-seeking. All that matters is the next step.
1. Two-way/one way doors
When taking decisions, speed is a huge advantage. Decisions should be fast if the decision is reversible, and failure would not be a catastrophe. That's most decisions.
In the exceptional case of "one-way door" decisions - choices that we can't take back and which could be potentially catastrophic - then we need to act very carefully and do our due diligence.
Nimble, powerful companies are able to maintain speed on most of their decisions, and only bring out the serious discernment apparatus for the one-way door decisions. This empowers teams and leaders to act, and creates a culture of forward momentum.
2. Disagree and commit
A big concept for Bezos, which he says he employs a lot internally at Amazon, is that sometimes we need to commit to ideas that we are not convinced of. When multiple stakeholders come together, at a certain point in the conversation there may simply be disagreement. In these cases, it can be helpful for one party (often the boss!) to say, "I disagree and commit to your perspective." That is, "let's go ahead and do this, because I trust your judgement, and if it turns out this was a bad idea, I'll never say 'I told you so', because I'm committed, too."
By disagreeing and committing, we can strengthen organizations in a variety of ways. It allows teams and leaders to get feedback - even highly critical feedback - without necessarily being blocked. It reinforces trust and camaraderie between leaders and teams. It allows the organization to move quickly and take calculated risks, even risking failure when appropriate (and, as mentioned above, it often is).
3. The power of scale
Jeff Bezos is a master of scale. He gets that there are things that you can do as a billion dollar company you simply can't do as a ten million dollar company, and then things you can do as a trillion dollar company that are unthinkable as a billion dollar company. Size matters. Though there are huge risks to scale - especially stagnation and decline - tackling these risks is unavoidable if we want to accomplish truly monumental projects.
4. Making the few critical decisions
The job of a leader is to make a small handful of truly critical decisions each day. Leaders make a huge mistake by trying to do too much, spreading their energy too thin, and not committing themselves to focus on the highest-value work they can be doing. Delegate, delegate, delegate - and prioritize those things that only you can do.
5. Taking risks and experimenting
Bezos says that, if a company the size of Amazon isn't making billion dollar mistakes, it isn't pushing hard enough. Amazon is built around the concept of making audacious bets, including ones that fail. "If you had a 10% chance of 100x return, you should take that bet every time!"
This isn't an excuse for making bad decisions, or failing on areas of the business that should be locked down. But for continued growth, constant experimentation and risk-taking is critical.
6. "Customer obsession" / don't worry about competitors
For Bezos and Amazon, the driving philosophy has been to put the customer first, with the faith that this ultimately ends up putting the shareholders first, because customer loyalty is everything. Bezos claims - and, in my opinion, has proven - that "fearing the customer" is far more important than fearing competitors. Take care of the customers and deliver value for them, and they will keep coming back.
7. Mercenaries vs missionaries
When Bezos hires and acquires, he is looking for employees and founders who are in it because they really believe in the mission. People who are around to pick up their checks are not going to build the kind of organization he wants. I believe Bezos when he says that, for him, it's ultimately not about the money, per se. It's about building something amazing, and relentlessly continuing onward.
8. Long-term thinking
Bezos advises that high-level leaders (C-suite types) should not be thinking about this quarter or this year. The outcomes of the near-term should already be locked in by decisions that were made years ago. Instead, leaders should be focusing their activity on impacting a three-year time horizon. "What will the organization need to do now in order to be positioned for the opportunities we will have in three years?"
9. Always take the cash flows
Revenue isn't cash flow. Free cash flow is what is left after all expenses, capital investments, research and development - everything - is taken into account. So if your capital costs are outstripping your revenue, you could actually bankrupt yourself faster by increasing sales! Bezos eschews some of the vanity metrics that get paddled around on Wall Street and keeps his eye on long-term free cash flow generation potential.
September 9, 2021
+ Five star introduction of Walter Isaacson
+ Fascinating to read about the journey of a company, growing from a small business in Bezos' garage to one of the largest companies in the world. Particularly the parts about Amazon being very customer centric.
+ Interesting vision of Blue Origin.
- Some stories are told multiple times, this repetitiveness is really annoying.
- The writings are very biased. Besides the successes, I would like to read more about the challenges/failures to get a more complete overview.
+ Fascinating to read about the journey of a company, growing from a small business in Bezos' garage to one of the largest companies in the world. Particularly the parts about Amazon being very customer centric.
+ Interesting vision of Blue Origin.
- Some stories are told multiple times, this repetitiveness is really annoying.
- The writings are very biased. Besides the successes, I would like to read more about the challenges/failures to get a more complete overview.
April 4, 2021
I read this book after reading Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, It's amazing to see the complete opposite personalities of Jeff and Elon.
I loved to see Bezos's attention to detail, problem solving and customer service.
Amazon has always kept things revolutionary and cheap and the evolution of the company through the years is unbelievable. I really liked Jeff's writings and ideas year by year.
A great book for business fans.
And for growth purposes, the quote "It's Always Day 1" Is a great one to have.
I loved to see Bezos's attention to detail, problem solving and customer service.
Amazon has always kept things revolutionary and cheap and the evolution of the company through the years is unbelievable. I really liked Jeff's writings and ideas year by year.
A great book for business fans.
And for growth purposes, the quote "It's Always Day 1" Is a great one to have.
February 22, 2021
Nothing exceptional, simply the story of Amazon described through letters to shareholders.
January 21, 2025
Así es como se ve la mente de los brillantes:
No hay metas inalcanzables, no hay fracaso que no sirva como trampolín para las grandes victorias, no hay grandes ganancias sin grandes riesgos, apasiónate por una idea y llévalo a lo mas alto posible.
No hay metas inalcanzables, no hay fracaso que no sirva como trampolín para las grandes victorias, no hay grandes ganancias sin grandes riesgos, apasiónate por una idea y llévalo a lo mas alto posible.
July 13, 2022
In one of the classic contradictions to what is expected out of a visionary, Jeff Bezos smirks that people often ask him what will change in next 10 years, which is a great exercise to do on imagination but he very rarely gets asked what will not change in the next 10 years, while the latter is the answer to creating pillars that can scale a sustainable business because of its relevance in time to come. 'New' and invention have been bed rock of several big tech giants that have scaled over years, what is peculiar about Amazon however is the fact that once it convinced itself on an idea, it focussed a lot more on doing the old of that idea in the right away before scraping itself into the quest of the next New. The obsessive, repetitive and often simplistic style of Jeff Bezos leadership is re-enforced over the years in his legendary shareholder letters, all of which makes more than sixty percent of this Book. While they are available online, for reading free, having them in chronological order in this beautiful hard cover format is an easy, informative and digestible experience. They do not offer anything new than what you perhaps already know of in case you have followed the man or his company over the years, but that does not make the information any less powerful, any less directional, any less clutter clearing if you need to get the messages back again. As one grows up in life what is important to remember (and is perhaps evident) is that we need to increase our focus span on doing a few ideas right and maintaining a sense of consistency to build something over them, regardless of what the popular narrative would be on re-inventing, the boring linear consistent way on principles is the right one if you can stay at it. It's important to read this in perspective to the hate, the change, the twists and turns that Jeff and Amazon have gone through in that period of nearly 25 years to appreciate the consistency of the thought put across on these in retrospect.
May 6, 2021
I’ve read a book or two about Amazon, but thought this “from the horse’s mouth” selection of Bezos’ writing would be a different take on his company’s story. Before you get to the business discussion, the book begins with an excellent introduction by Walter Isaacson. This is followed by a collection of Bezos’ letters to shareholders from Amazon’s annual reports as well as various other speeches and transcripts Bezos has given over the years. I found the introduction well written and interesting in providing a biographical background on Bezos. I found his explanation of why he wants to invest in going to space was eye-opening. Being the same age and consuming the same sci fi books as Bezos when young, I strongly identified with his thoughts on this, and you could understand how his thoughts on building an infrastructure also came into play with Amazon. I enjoyed his explanation of how decisions are made at Amazon, and found it very much as I was taught to present cases when I was in business school – concise. And I found the writing style of the shareholder letters and the speeches to government to be very much in line with Trump’s style in boiling issues down into simple terms that anyone could understand. While you could say that this style was the results of using corporate writers, given Bezos’ goal to simplify decision-making through concise communication, it seems to be driven from the top. Overall, I found this a worthwhile read in terms of understanding the business of Amazon, understanding a simple writing style, and understanding the way Bezos thinks.
January 18, 2021
it's good for amazon fan. but it's not my thing.
My favourite part just introduction. Isaacson write Bezos's biography in there. Just few pages. But it's so inspiring. Half of book was filled with annual year report of Amazon from early years until now (2019). So, it's so boring. and the half others filled with Bezos's short article about anything. The content is good but it's boring for me.
So, I gave 3 stars.
My favourite part just introduction. Isaacson write Bezos's biography in there. Just few pages. But it's so inspiring. Half of book was filled with annual year report of Amazon from early years until now (2019). So, it's so boring. and the half others filled with Bezos's short article about anything. The content is good but it's boring for me.
So, I gave 3 stars.
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