Bold, deliberate choices include some mistakes
“We will have to make many conscious and deliberate choices, some of which will be bold and unconventional. Hopefully, some will turn out to be winners. Certainly, some will turn out to be mistakes.”
Investing
Jeff Bezos's 1998 letter to Amazon shareholders, one of the letters in Day 1: The Amazon Shareholder Letters, 1997–2020.
Brand image follows reality
“We hold as axiomatic that customers are perceptive and smart, and that brand image follows reality and not the other way around.”
Terrified of customers, not competition
“I constantly remind our employees to be afraid, to wake up every morning terrified. Not of our competition, but of our customers.”
Working only with people he admires
“For myself, I’ve always tried hard to work only with people I admire, and I encourage folks here to be just as demanding. Life is definitely too short to do otherwise.”
Hiring to fight entropy
“Will this person raise the average level of effectiveness of the group they’re entering? We want to fight entropy. The bar has to continuously go up.”
Hiring for unique strengths beyond the job
“Along what dimension might this person be a superstar? Many people have unique skills, interests, and perspectives that enrich the work environment for all of us.”