The world is littered with corpses that predicted technology in a particular arena was done. If there's another gigantic step change out there, we don't yet know what it is.
Jeff BezosThere are multiple ways to be externally focused that are very successful. You can be customer-focused or competitor-focused. Some people are internally focused, and if they reach critical mass, they can tip the whole company.
Jeff BezosIf you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.
Jeff BezosIf you are going to do large-scale invention, you have to be willing to do three things: You must be willing to fail; you have to be willing to think long term; and you have to be willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time.
Jeff BezosIt is very difficult to get people to focus on the most important things when you're in boom times.
Jeff BezosIf you're competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering.
Jeff BezosWe were hoping to build a small profitable company; and of course, what we've done is build a large, unprofitable company.
Jeff BezosYou know, we love stories and we love narrative; we love to get lost in an author's world.
Jeff BezosIt's perfectly healthy-encouraged, even- to have an idea tomorrow that contradicted your idea today
Jeff BezosYou want to look at what other companies are doing. It's very important not to be hermetically sealed. But you don't want to look at it as if, 'OK, we're going to copy that.' You want to look at it and say, 'That's very interesting. What can we be inspired to do as a result of that?' And then put your own unique twist on it.
Jeff BezosBut there's so much kludge, so much terrible stuff, we are at the 1908 Hurley washing machine stage with the Internet. That's where we are. We don't get our hair caught in it, but that's the level of primitiveness of where we are. We're in 1908.
Jeff BezosAll businesses need to be young forever. If your customer base ages with you, you're Woolworth's.
Jeff BezosIf you look at academic studies, you can see that stock prices are most closely correlated with cash flow. It's such a straightforward number. Cash flow is what will drive shareholder returns.
Jeff BezosYour brand is formed primarily, not by what your company says about itself, but what the company does.
Jeff BezosThe framework I found which made the decision incredibly easy was what I called โ which only a nerd would call โ a โregret minimization framework.โ So, I wanted to project myself forward to age 80 and say, โOkay, now Iโm looking back on my life. I want to have minimized the number of regrets I have.โ
Jeff BezosAmazon.com strives to be the e-commerce destination where consumers can find and discover anything they want to buy online.
Jeff Bezos... if it's not your style to stretch and go the extra mile to make sure our customer experience is great, you're going to have an allergic reaction to this company. You probably won't stay. If you do try and stay, but can't adapt to the culture then it will reject you like a virus from a healthy immune system.
Jeff BezosFeel free to cover Amazon any way you want. Feel free to cover Jeff Bezos any way you want.
Jeff BezosWeb 1.0 was making the Internet for people, Web 2.0 is making the Internet better for companies.
Jeff BezosI definitely believe people should pay for copyrighted works. And the laws are sufficient: They already require you to pay for copyright work. There's no confusion. The problem is...it's a heck of a lot easier to steal MP3s than to buy them.
Jeff BezosI think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.
Jeff BezosPeople loved their horses, too. But you don't keep riding your horse to work just because you love it.
Jeff BezosWhen [competitors are] in the shower in the morning, they're thinking about how they're going to get ahead of one of their top competitors. Here in the shower, we're thinking about how we are going to invent something on behalf of a customer.
Jeff BezosWe've had three big ideas at Amazon that we've stuck with for 18 years, and thy're the reason we're successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.
Jeff BezosItโs very important for entrepreneurs to be realistic. So if you believe on that first day while youโre writing the business plan that thereโs a 70 percent chance that the whole thing will fail, then that kind of relieves the pressure of self-doubt.
Jeff BezosI think there are going to be a bunch of tablet-like devices. It's really a different product category.
Jeff BezosA brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.
Jeff BezosWe're working to lower the cost of spaceflight so that many people can afford to go and so that we humans can better continue exploring the solar system. Accomplishing this mission will take time, and we're working on it methodically.
Jeff BezosI try to spend my time on areas that I think are important for the future, and where I think I can add value.
Jeff Bezos