Game Changer

Today 'buy it on Amazon' is a phrase used as frequently as we say hi or hello. Amazon has changed the way we shop and read. It is indeed the 'Everything Store'. Last month I finished reading this book on Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos by Brad Stone. This book made me realize what it means to have a passion and pursue it. This book not only talks about the genius, hardworking and risk-taking Bezos but it also talks about the ruthless, aggressive and highly demanding Bezos. Even though this book throws some light on the negatives of Bezos, my takeaways from this book are very positive. 

Firstly his risk-taking ability. It is a skill and some people have a huge appetite for it. Bezos left his high paying job on wall street to start Amazon. The rapid pace at which he grew the company from books to toys to clothes to practically anything under the sun is very remarkable. My penchant for risk-taking is very low and so is with most of the people. There is a saying that if you don't take risks, you will always work for someone who does and I think it is absolutely true. The second thing which comes hand in hand with risk is not to be afraid of failures. Our education system right from the beginning trains us that failure is bad. You should always win. This always makes us stay in the safe zone and does not allow us to venture anything new. While reading this book I realized that so many efforts of Bezos have failed. We never see that. Hardly anyone knows about the failures.We only see the success. 

The third is hard work. Amazon culture imbibes hard work. No matter how cliched it sounds but there is no substitute for hard work. Till now in almost all the biographies I have read about highly successful people, they all have these 3 things in common. 

Being a User Experience researcher and spending most of my time in understanding the customer,  another thing which I found fascinating about Bezos is that he always leaves one chair in every meeting empty, the chair represents the customer. The book talks a lot about how Bezos always puts his customers first and makes sure that they get any product for the best deal possible. The company highly respects their customers and even today anyone can write directly to Bezos if they are not happy with any Amazon service or product. He still personally reads customer-complaint emails sent to him, even though he doesn't reply to many of them. Often he will forward those emails to the executives in charge, with a single character:? a question mark. The manager who receives the email is then on the hook to drop everything, research the situation, and write a well-crafted response. 

One more thing which I remember from this book is Bezos' another basic principle of thinking long term.  One-click ordering allowed customers to purchase things with the single press of a button. Other initiatives like offering a 40 percent discount on “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and express delivery, cost the company money, but, as Bezos saw it, helped to build customer loyalty. The introduction of Prime membership — which cost $79 per year, and provided free two-day shipping — similarly seemed to make little sense in terms of the immediate balance sheet, but eventually justified its existence, turning customers into loyal Amazon customers. 

Last year I had read the biography of Steve Jobs and had loved that book too.  I feel that when I am depressed about some small issues at work or home, reading such books uplifts my spirit. The kind of challenges these people have dealt with makes you realize how trivial our problems are. Such books also motivate you to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and try something new. They give you that energy to believe in your dreams. 

So all those who are interested in knowing more about Amazon and getting inspired should definitely read this book. Happy reading :)