Jeff Bezos on Customer Value, Climate Change, and Employees
Last week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos issued his last "Letter to Shareholders" as the firm’s CEO. His comments included:
“If you want to be successful in business (in life, actually), you have to create more than you consume. Your goal should be to create value for everyone you interact with. Any business that doesn’t create value for those it touches, even if it appears successful on the surface, isn’t long for this world. It’s on the way out.
“From the beginning, our focus has been on offering our customers compelling value. We realized that the Web was, and still is, the World Wide Wait …. We maintained a dogged focus on improving the shopping experience … [and] word of mouth remains the most powerful customer acquisition tool we have.
“Smart action on climate change will not only stop bad things from happening, it will also make our economy more efficient, help drive technological change, and reduce risks. Combined, these can lead to more and better jobs, healthier and happier children, more productive workers, and a more prosperous future. This doesn’t mean it will be easy. It won’t be. The coming decade will be decisive. The economy in 2030 will need to be vastly different from what it is today, and Amazon plans to be at the heart of the change.
“I think we need to do a better job for our employees. While the voting results [in Bessemer, Alabama] were lopsided and our direct relationship with employees is strong, it’s clear to me that we need a better vision for how we create value for employees – a vision for their success."
OUR TAKE
Since his first annual letter in 1997, Bezos has shared many ideas to consider, including 1) the importance of focusing on customer needs, 2) maintaining high standards, 3) managing projects with small teams – and making teams "own" their projects, 4) the value of writing and editing and 5) the pursuit of the perfect handstand.
Regarding climate change: Bezos and Amazon are addressing the challenge through operational improvement, energy efficiency, and direct investments including Rivian, a developer of electric delivery vehicles, as well as CarbonCure Technologies, Pachama, Redwood Materials, Turntide Technologies, ZeroAvia, and Infinium. A lot more needs to be done by Amazon and by all of us.
Regarding Amazon employees: The firm has over 1.3 million employees globally that are engaged in many activities. Addressing employee concerns will likely include improving safety conditions, developing better employee relations, and introducing more automation in business processes.
Going forward: Expect Amazon to increase its presence in new markets - which is already taking place in healthcare and music streaming.