When it comes to business and entrepreneurship, Jeff Bezos’s reputation precedes itself. His brainchild Amazon has managed to become one of the biggest empires to exist worldwide. Here we learn about 6 major principles followed by Jeff Bezos that helped him shape the trajectory of his success.
Perpetually known as the wealthiest person in modern history, Jeff Bezos is not only rich but notorious for his strict work ethos. No wonder that his constant hustle for success affronted him with a massive multi-billion empire with $ 1.7 trillion revenue.
So, what is it like living your life akin to Jeff Bezos? Let’s find out in this informative article opined by India’s beloved Astro Strategist, Mr Hirav Shah.
Table of Contents
About Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston Bezos – also known as Jeff Bezos- was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He holds a degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the reputed Princeton University. After graduation, Bezos secured a job at a fintech telecommunications startup where he continued to climb the corporate ladder. He founded his company- Amazon-in 1994 as an online bookstore in a garage. By 1998, the company diversified and began selling other products, notably CDs and videos in 1998, and clothes, electronics, toys and more with major retail partnerships.
Fast forward to 2021, when Amazon is one of the five companies in the U.S. Information technology industry, contesting Google, Apple, Facebook (now known as Meta), and Microsoft.
What started in a small garage manifested itself into this huge conglomerate, all thanks to the strenuous work put out by Bezos and his team of dedicated employees. The lord of small things is ironically the wealthiest person on earth & here is how he did it.
Here are the top 6 principles that every business person should learn from Jeff Bezos:
1- Be Stubborn yet flexible:
Just like the two sides of a coin, a true businessperson must have these contradictory characteristics. He explains, “If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”
Being stubborn in business is appreciated as long as you are open to changes and make good decisions.
2- Follow the ‘regret minimization framework’:
This is something that Bezos came up with when he was starting his online bookstore. The thought here is to imagine yourself as an 80-year old and recount every regret you have had in life. Then you can proceed to cut these regrets off and move on. He explains this by saying, “I was not going to regret trying to participate in this thing called the internet that I thought was going to be a really big deal.”
3- Be obsessed with your customers:
This is something that every business mogul religiously follows and Jeff is no different. Perhaps, the fundamental framework of Amazon is excellent customer service. Through Amazon, Bezos created a commodity without which people couldn’t live. So the lesson is not to look out for small-term profits. Instead, one must focus on giving the best customer service that will make them come waning more.
4- Understand that there is no guide to success:
Yes, you read it right. Bezos believes that there is no holy book for 100% success in life. People always look out for famous success stories but what it does is, oversimplify the actual process. Pioneering or inventing something great takes a dozen hours and patience. It is achievable by persistent hard work. So, do not follow some vacuous manual to success. Instead, understand your strengths and weaknesses and make your own success story.
5- Follow major trends:
One must always be on the lookout for major trends. The thing about business is it always keeps evolving. One must be in sync with the changing trends and be ahead of the curve. In his own words, “If you decide that you’re going to do only the things you know are going to work, you’re going to leave a lot of opportunities on the table.”
6- The key to making money:
In today’s world, simply offering your services isn’t enough. The real question is what values are you adding to the lives of your customers? Always think of helping people make complex decisions or giving them a purpose. Enriching lives is the key to making tons of money.
“We don’t make money when we sell things. We make money when we help customers make purchasing decisions,” says the self-made billionaire.
Conclusion:
The ways of Jeff Bezos may be methodical or even complex, but it works. It’s probably the reason why each one of us has the Amazon app installed on our cell phones.
Be audacious, be stubborn and most importantly have the drive to succeed. That’s the ‘Bezos’ code of success. As Jeff rightfully says, “We can’t be in survival mode. We have to be in growth mode.”- opines Hirav Shah, India’s favourite Astro Strategist.
Image Credit
Seattle City Council from Seattle, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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