American industrialist & Amazon founder (1964- )
If you're customer-focused, you're always waking up wondering, how can we make that customer say, wow? We want to impress our customers -- we want them to say, wow. That kind of divine discontent comes from observing customers and noticing that things can always be better.
JEFF BEZOS
GeekWire, September 17, 2013
We like to pioneer, we like to explore, we like to go down dark alleys and see what's on the other side.
JEFF BEZOS
60 Minutes, December 1, 2013
One thing that I tell people is ... if you're going to do anything new or innovative, you have to be willing to be misunderstood. If you cannot afford to be misunderstood, then for goodness' sake, don't do anything new or innovative.
JEFF BEZOS
Business Insider, April 28, 2018
There are two kinds of companies: those that try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second.
JEFF BEZOS
Forbes, April 23, 2012
If you double the number of experiments you do per year you're going to double your inventiveness.
JEFF BEZOS
Inc., May 7, 2014
If you absolutely can't tolerate critics, then don't do anything new or interesting.
JEFF BEZOS
bOinGbOinG, June 1, 2016
Life's too short to hang out with people who aren't resourceful.
JEFF BEZOS
Business Insider, July 16, 2015
Wandering is an essential counterbalance to efficiency.
JEFF BEZOS
The Atlantic, November 2019
I think. I remember the very first occupation I wanted to be -- when, I think, I was about six years old -- was an archeologist. I would like to point out this was before Indiana Jones. It's a point of pride. Then I wanted to be an astronaut. By the time I was in my high school years, I wanted to be a physicist and then by the time I got to college I wanted to be a computer programmer. That's actually what I studied in school and that's what has led me along the path I'm on.
JEFF BEZOS
Academy of Achievement interview, May 4, 2001
The long term approach is rare enough that it means you're not competing against very many companies. 'Cause most companies wanna see a return on investment in, you know, one, two, three years.
JEFF BEZOS
60 Minutes, December 1, 2013
I was one of those people who every time I looked at something it looks like it could be improved -- there's something wrong with it. So I'd go through, like, how could this restaurant be better? So I've always had that kind of idea.
JEFF BEZOS
interview, Business Insider, April 28, 2018
Part of company culture is path-dependent--it's the lessons you learn along the way.
JEFF BEZOS
Business Insider, July 16, 2015
Seek revenge and you shall dig two graves, one for yourself.
JEFF BEZOS
bOinGbOinG, June 1, 2016
As companies get bigger, they have something to lose. When they do, the natural tendency is to get risk-aversive. They lose their boldness. They lose the spirit to innovate. They lose their pioneering qualities. I am bound and determined not to let that happen to Amazon.com.
JEFF BEZOS
Playboy, Feb. 2000
I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it's not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but that's not why you do it. You do it because you have something meaningful that motivates you.
JEFF BEZOS
Business Insider, July 16, 2015
You can have the best technology, you can have the best business model, but if the storytelling isn't amazing, it won't matter. Nobody will watch.
JEFF BEZOS
Business Insider, July 16, 2015
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
Wired, November 13, 2011
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
Business Insider, July 16, 2015
In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts.
JEFF BEZOS
Forbes, April 23, 2012
Your margin is my opportunity.
JEFF BEZOS
"Amazon's Impending Invasion of Banking", Forbes, July 8, 2019