Leadership Lessons from Jeff Bezos: CEO of “The Everything Store”
“If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it is too large”.
The world’s richest human, the founder and CEO of “The Everything Store”, Jeff Bezos is not just another billionaire. The American entrepreneur who reshaped the e-commerce industry, adorning it with a cape and a hat, is the living embodiment of success. With Amazon.com, he laid bare the power of dreams, of aspirations and the transformations they can bring if you’re willing to put your heart into it. Founder of Blue Origin and owner of the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos is one amongst the few who are determined to write the future of the world in their ink.
A curious child, he was born in New Mexico in the mid-1960s. Post his graduation in electrical and computer science engineering from Princeton University, he joined investment firms on Wall Street and finally became the youngest senior vice president at DE Shaw. Four years into it, he decided to call it quits to start a venture of his own, Amazon.com, an online bookstore. Word spread like fire about the first-ever bookstore that runs online and is accessible 24 hours a day!
An inspiring figure that he is, we can all learn a few leadership lessons from Jeff Bezos, the entrepreneur who re-shaped the world of the internet.
“Our vision is to use this platform to build Earth’s most customer-centric company, a place where customers can come to find and discover anything and everything they might want to buy online.” - 1999
Bezos had a vision, he knew the strings he will be required to pull in order to turn his dreams into reality. The leader with a vision, Bezos knew the direction in which Amazon will be steered in the near future. Unlike every other customer-centric company, he walked with a clear goal and paid attention to the long term aspects, never letting minor obstacles hinder his growth.
Thus, in the very first month, Amazon.com sold 50 books across 45 international locations and in the next few years, it diversified to include a vast array of products from apparel to consumer electronics and hardware.
“A company shouldn’t get addicted to being shiny, because shiny doesn’t last.”
As things panned out, Amazon did not turn out to be his sole venture. In 2000, Jeff laid the foundation of Blue Origin, a spaceflight company and subsequently bought a launch site in Texas. Ascending the ladder of success rapidly thereafter, Bezos acquired the Washington Post in 2013 and Whole Foods in 2017.
Manoeuvring change in the direction he liked, Jeff Bezos trod to the peak quicker than the others and emerged as an industry stalwart in no time, leaving behind numerous leadership lessons to be learnt from.
“There are two kinds of companies: those that try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second.”
With an idea to make products feasible and easily accessible to the general public, Jeff Bezos is a compassionate leader who knows how to tap the right nerves. So, apart from building an online world that caters to the needs of the consumers, he believes in the thought of holding down costs to pass savings down to the customers. To add to it, he recently announced that the minimum wage of Amazon’s workers will be increased to $15 per hour, thus, looping in all stakeholders of the e-commerce ecosystem.
“The one thing that offends me the most is when I walk by a bank and see ads trying to convince people to take out second mortgages on their home so they can go on vacation. That’s approaching evil.”
The popular leader who believes in bringing about societal reforms, Jeff is also a philanthropist. From contributions to the cause of same-sex marriage in 2012 to fighting climate change, he is a leader who is conscious of major issues of the world and is working actively to resolve them. With this, amongst the many leadership lessons, Jeff Bezos reflects the importance of paying heed to the crucial environmental issues.
Addressing the issue of climate change, Bezos recently said, “Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change.”
“If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”
Even though Jeff Bezos turned out to be the world’s richest human, it wasn’t meant to be this way ever since the beginning. We, undoubtedly, do not get to see the full picture. The struggles behind the scenes along with numerous tribulations Amazon faced, is what’s covered by a shiny top-coat, shielded from the eyes of the general public.
But that didn’t waver Bezos’ determination to stay committed to his company and work tirelessly towards the end goal. He knew how to deal with criticism, packed it in his bag and carried it along with him until he reached the pinnacle of success.
“Base your strategy on things that won’t change.”
With a swish and a woosh, Jeff’s wand has spread magic. It has made people believe in a world that’s way ahead of time. A paragon of perfection, an inspiration for many and an idol for others, Jeff Bezos is the billionaire who has established the roots as an unparalleled leader.
The ideator who changed the world’s outlook of the internet, Jeff Bezos is an innovator, a trendsetter, a reformer and a visionary. Working arduously with an unwavering stance on bringing about a change in the foreseeable future, he is the personification of extraordinary and undeniably, “the man with a plan”.
Before we draw the curtains to a close, head on to: www.relentless.com. What did you find? Shh! Let’s keep that a secret.