When you receive criticism from well-meaning people, it pays to ask, ‘Are they right?’ And if they are, you need to adapt what they’re doing. If they’re not right, if you really have conviction that they’re not right, you need to have that long-term willingness to be misunderstood. It’s a key part of invention.

I'm skeptical of any mission that has advertisers at its centerpiece.

The three most important things in retail are location, location, location. The three most important things for our consumer business are technology, technology, technology.

People don't want gadgets, they want services.

Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice.

What we want to be is something completely new. There is no physical analog for what Amazon.com is becoming.

If you invent frequently and are willing to fail, then you never get to that point where you really need to bet the whole company.