Cultures aren’t so much planned as they evolve from that early set of people.

I’d rather interview 50 people and not hire anyone than hire the wrong person.

I like to be counted on.

If everything you do needs to work on a three-year time horizon, then you’re competing against a lot of people, But if you’re willing to invest on a seven-year time horizon, you’re now competing against a fraction of those people, because very few companies are willing to do that. Just by lengthening the time horizon, you can engage in endeavours that you could never otherwise pursue. At Amazon we like things to work in five to seven years. We’re willing to plant seeds, let them grow—and we’re very stubborn. We say we’re stubborn on vision and flexible on details.

The thing that motivates me is a very common form of motivation. And that is, with other folks counting on me, it's so easy to be motivated.

I believe you have to be willing to be misunderstood if you're going to innovate.

It is very difficult to get people to focus on the most important things when you're in boom times.