Jeff Bezos once said: "You can be grinding for four years with no results, and in the fifth year, become the biggest thing on the planet. The power of not giving up is real." Today, I’ll share the 10 things I learned from the founder of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), writes Pieter Slegers, editor of Compounding Quality.
1. Do hard things. Go the extra mile. There is no substitute for hard work in life.
"A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well." - Jeff Bezos
2. Try new things. To stand still is to go backward. You should always keep improving and innovating.
"If you double the number of experiments you do per year, you're going to double your inventiveness." - Jeff Bezos
3. Focus on brand power. The best companies in the world have a very strong brand.
"Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room."- Jeff Bezos
4. Failure is good for you. If you’ve never failed, you’ve probably never tried anything new.
"I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying." - Jeff Bezos
5. Be flexible. Seek a good balance between stubbornness and flexibility to be successful in life.
"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." - Jeff Bezos
6. Start with why. What’s your purpose? Always have clear goals.
"The common question that gets asked in business is, 'why?' That's a good question, but an equally valid question is, 'why not?'" - Jeff Bezos
7. Put the customer first. What made Amazon so successful is its customer obsession. When your customers are happy, your business will thrive.
"We see our customers as guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better."- Jeff Bezos
8. Understand customer needs. Having a successful business is not just about creating something new or innovative. Successful innovation is about whether customers embrace and adapt that innovation.
"Invention is not disruptive. Only customer adoption is disruptive." - Jeff Bezos
9. Understand customer needs. Jeff Bezos always says it’s still Day 1 for Amazon. Make progress every single day.
"We are stubborn on vision. We are flexible on details." - Jeff Bezos
10. Interests should be aligned. Never underestimate the power of incentives. Invest in companies where the customer interests are aligned with the ones of you as a shareholder.
"If you're long-term oriented, customer interests and shareholder interests are aligned." - Jeff Bezos
