Jeff Bezos’ 4 ‘Unusual’ Traits Helped Grow Amazon Into a $1 Trillion Company, says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy
Jeff Bezos built Amazon from scratch and it's no secret that he is one of the leading entrepreneurs in the world today. According to the current CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy, he is one of the most " unusual business leader of our era". In a recent interview with Fortune, Jassy said that he was "lucky" to have learned from Bezos' unique style of working. He went on to explain what sets Bezos apart and what makes his style of working so unique.
Think Big
"Think Big" is one of the 16 leadership principles which Bezos crafted during his time in the company. The current CEO talked about the times when he saw the people actually adhering to the principle. He talked about how the team of developers and executives bring really "great ideas" sometimes. “There aren’t too many other bigger thinkers than Jeff Bezos,” Jassy said, adding: “He always had a way of getting teams to think bigger."
High standards
The current CEO sais that he always thought that he was the one with high standards until he met Bezos. He talked about how Bezos always found a way to inspire employees to meet his expectations and produce the best work. "Watching Jeff, I have never seen anybody with higher standards," said Jassy.
He also said that Bezos has faced criticism for his high expectations time and again but he still continues to use this approach to inspire the employees at Amazon. “Really smart, motivated, talented, ambitious people will stretch to those goals,” Jassy said. He also talks about how Bezos "had a way of having really high standards, and then having everybody really stretch and aspire to those standards.”
Long-term planning and patience
Jassy also seemed impressed with Bezos' ability to think for the longer future. He said that he admired his ability to be “strategically patient and tactically impatient.”Jassy also talked about Bezos' stubbornness about that vision, saying, “His conviction about long-term vision and where he wants to take something, and even when people tell him it is not possible."
Jassy elaborated on how Bezos has the ability to think for future as well as the knack to take quick decisions. "Big things start small. The biggest oak starts from an acorn," said Bezos in a 2017 "Four Peaks TV" interview. " “You’ve got to be willing to let that acorn grow into a little sapling, and then finally into a small tree and then maybe, one day, it’ll be a big business on its own."
Be open and stay curious
Another principle of Amazon say that good leaders should "seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs." "I have never met someone who learns the way he does," said Jassy. He also talked about how "open and curious" Bezos is when it comes to learning about new areas and topics. “Great leaders keep listening to additional inputs—people inside of the company and outside the company—and keep adjusting their opinions and their ideas as they learn more," Jassy concluded.
