CEO Stories: How to “Think Like Amazon”

PATIENCE AND PROCESS

It took Rossman 23 interviews to get the job at Amazon, which gave him a strong sense of the value Amazon places on patience and process. According to Rossman, not doing anything in a hurry—hiring, branching out into new categories/geographies, or pushing for short-term profits—is one of the secrets to Amazon’s success. The company will typically evaluate new ventures in a timeframe of 8 to 10 or even 15 years. And patience has paid off: Now an $850 billion business, with its stock trading around $2000 a share, Amazon saw its stock languish in the wake of the dot-com bust the dot-com bust until after the Great Recession.

CUSTOMERS FIRST

Making life easier for customers has served as Amazon’s North Star from the beginning, whether through greater selection, more sellers, lower costs, or building customers trust. Its most recent example of “make it easy” is Prime Day, which lets customer choose the day their package arrives, rather than letting the shipping method be the deciding factor. Removing countless small points of friction for customers has been the “flywheel” that has given Amazon its momentum, says Rossman.

THINK BIG, BUT MAKE SMALL MOVES

Rossman now advises small startups on how to “think like Amazon” —the title of his new book, which draws on his years of having a front-row seat to the ways and wisdom of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. Amazon has always viewed innovation as a series of small incremental bets—not all of which will pay off. But the lessons learned from the small bets can add up to knowledge that informs other initiatives.