Jeff Bezos
Founder, Amazon
Customer, doors, and the six-page. How to read a company that still writes.
From Shareholder letters and public memos. Not Jeff Bezos. Not affiliated.
01
Day 1 is a decision about decay
“Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death.”
Ask what they killed this year. If nothing, you are walking into Day 2.
02
One-way doors slowly
“Some decisions are consequential and irreversible or nearly irreversible — one-way doors.”
Leaving a shop for a lab is often one-way. Leaving a lab for a shop is not. Know which door you are in.
03
Write the six pages
“We don't do PowerPoint. Instead, we write narratively structured six-page memos.”
A company that cannot write the offer is a company that cannot decide.
04
Disagree and commit
“If you have conviction, you need to disagree and commit.”
In the loop: say the no. Then take the seat or walk. Do not stay and sulk.
05
The customer is never conflicted
“There are many ways to center a business. The most durable is the customer.”
If the real customer is the board or the feed, your work will be rearranged every quarter.
06
Regret minimization
“I wanted to project myself forward to age 80 and say, 'Okay, now I'm looking back on my life.'”
The 80-year-old does not remember the extra $40k. They remember the team they did not join.