Interesting Facts in “Invent & Wander” by Jeffrey Bezos

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Table of Contents

Summary
Economic Principles Amazon Prioritizes
Strengths and Weaknesses of “Invent & Wander”
Conclusion
Work Cited

The book “Invent and Wander” is a collection of selected writings which are either letters to shareholders of the Amazon company written by its owner Jeff Bezos, or parts from his interviews. These works were chosen and collected into one book by the main editor of The Time, Walter Isaacson. Jeff Bezos is among the wealthiest businessmen of the modern world, and his company’s outstanding success and fast development impress. The works collected in the book were found, selected, and arranged by Walter Isaacson, who wrote biographies of such geniuses as Steve Jobs, Leonardo da Vinci or Albert Einstein.

The book itself, however, does not contain much presence of Walter Isaacson. The readers see his short story regarding the biography of Jeff Bezos in the introduction. The rest of the book consists of Jeff Bezos’s letters to Amazon shareholders, interviews, and speeches. The collected works by Bezos address a variety of themes – from business to politics, from culture to innovation, from global warming to flights to space. “Invent and Wander” is a personal master class of one of the leading innovators of the modern world. The book is his attempt to comprehend changes that the world is susceptible to, as well as the challenges humankind may face.

The book is written for people who may not relate to the business field professionally but are interested in it. However, it may become an object of interest for people in business, who will find there a lot of helpful information concerning Bezos’s ways of building and managing his business empire. The book may also be interesting for the general public, who are eager to find out what kind of person Jeff Bezos is and what is the secret of his success.

The book may be considered a credible source of information related to business because it was composed by the main editor of The Time, who had successful experiences in writing biographies of famous people. The sources the materials were taken from belong to the include reliable ones, like Washington Post, RNDF, and Economic Club. Though the book may not be of scientific interest in terms of research, it is a reliable source that can be cited in other books or articles on the field.

Summary

The book starts with an introduction, which is the only part written by Walter Isaacson. The introduction presents an overview of events that defined Jeffrey Bezos’s career as a businessman and founder of Amazon. Isaacson portrays the key reasons for Bezos’s enormous success as passionate curiosity, incorporating sciences and humanities, and the ability to retain a childlike sense of wonder. Bezos had an idea of the fast growth of the Internet’s potential during the 1990th. Still, only his skills to hustle and hunger for innovations helped him implement this idea in practice, establishing the Amazon company.

The rest of the book concerns stories and insights from Jeffrey Bezos himself. The first chapter consists only of the shareholder letters. It reflects the history of the Amazon from 1997 up until the present day. It is hard to imagine nowadays that a company whose stock trades over $3,000 a share had a share price of $6 per one at the beginning of the century.

Since the company’s establishment, Bezos has managed to retain a sense of urgency in his workers’ minds, saying that every day on the Internet is Day One. That is why the company must be focus primarily on the customers’ needs. Paying special attention to the customers’ demands is one of the main strategies of leading a successful business, Bezos writes. The customer-oriented policy is one of the key reasons for Amazon’s prosperity and fast growth in the market. It determined its leading role in the US and world market, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second chapter of the book that contains excerpts from Jeffrey Bezos’s interviews and speeches allows the readers to know the Amazon founder as a person. It reveals several details about his life that were probably unknown to the wide audience before. From this section, the readers find out that Bezos’s mother was pregnant with him in high school, and she could have been expelled for it since it was unacceptable in the 1960s. The chapter also gives hints concerning the fact why Bezos has become a pioneer of the Internet trade. Young Bezos was a fan of science fiction and, later at college, was fond of computer science.

The second chapter of the book also allows the readers to look at Bezos’s further plans concerning his business. He is determined to minimize Amazon’s carbon footprint for the sake of the ecology. He also hopes that the company will use only renewable energy by the end of the decade. The section also concerns his buying The Washington Post in an attempt to bring its content to a global audience with the help of the Internet.

Economic Principles Amazon Prioritizes

The book “Invent & Wander” contains information about the organization of the Amazon company as well as economic strategies Jeff Bezos and his team have stuck to since the company’s foundation in 1994. These basic principles are customer-oriented policy, long-term market leadership instead of short-term profitability considerations, and investment in programs and services that work best (Bezos 72). The company’s policy changed over time, and some new strategies emerged, but these basic principles remain solid and unbreakable and provide the outstanding success of the Amazon company.

Jeff Bezos has always considered that obsession with the customers is the key to a successful business in any field. Bezos defined two major strategies of companies’ corporative cultures, which are customer obsession and competitor obsession (Bezos 124). The last one is oriented rather on their rivals at the market and concerns mostly the companies’ response to their competitors’ actions. Customer-focused policy, on the contrary, is not targeted at responding to rival companies’ actions. It prioritizes customers’ needs and requests, as well as an innovative approach to their realization, is long-term oriented, and eager to provide high-quality service.

Jeff Bezos claims that the customer-oriented policy helped the Amazon company implement most of its services and programs. Amazon’s obsession with the customers combined with a hunger for innovations often resulted in absurd things that worked (Bezos 130). The best example that illustrates this is the creation of Amazon Prime in 2005, which at first sight looked as something unreliable and unprofitable, as people got free shipping of an unlimited number of goods.

The conception of Prime seemed absurd at the initial stage because the company lost a great amount of money on free shipping. Bezos’s comparison of the service with “all-you-can-eat buffet” helped the readers understand the scale of the disaster Amazon staff faced when Prime first appeared (Bezos 187). However, the constant flux of customers of all kinds joining Prime proved that the service concept was just what people needed, so Prime gained extreme popularity among Amazon users.

Prime serves as a perfect example of the results customer-focused policy can lead to. The service is a product of constant analysis of the customers’ needs combined with the creativity of the Amazon staff and them being fearless regardless of all the risks (Bezos 187). The power of the customer-oriented policy as a business strategy concerns the fact that the company’s intention to provide its clients with high-quality services enables the staff to generate ideas that will possibly benefit customers. These ideas may seem unreliable and cost the company a lot of money in a short-term perspective. However, good and great things take time, so the results of their implementation may prove worthy in the long-term perspective. They will regard not only the customers’ profit but also the company’s one because the services that prioritize clients help attract new people interested in a particular program.

The concept of customer-oriented corporative culture is currently among the most popular ones. Such public recognition is caused by examples of its successful implementation, not only in business. For instance, if the writer is determined to write a good text, he has to keep in mind the image of the target audience and try to meet their demands. If the text is written with careful attention towards the readers, they will be more likely to like it, perceive its message as well as share the author’s point of view.

The next quality a successful business should possess is long-term market leadership orientation. Jeff Bezos stuck to this principle, and it has become the key reason for not losing courage during the massive stock recession in 2000. The long-term-oriented policy enables the company’s administration to concentrate on further developing the business strategy, taking concrete steps to achieve noticeable results (Bezos 33). Such an approach, unlike the short-term-oriented one, is concerned with further development and expansion of the business.

The results of the long-term focused policy are usually not significant and outstanding during the first several years after its implementation. However, thorough analysis and thoughtful measures that go hand in hand with the long-term oriented policy ensures a solid and concrete result that may concern the profits increase, the customers’ and investors’ trust, or both. Jeff Bezos speaks about such a thing as a cash flow when relating the long-term perspective development of the company.

Both phenomena are interconnected and contribute to the company’s primary goal – the customer-focused policy and working in the buyers’ interests. The consistent plan helps the company not to shift its focus on anything else and accomplish it with as few possible damages and unpleasant surprises as possible.

The long-term-oriented policy also concerns the principle of Day 1 and Day 2 companies Bezos mentions almost in every writing. Day 1 companies, such as Amazon, develop constantly, are not afraid of taking risks and making mistakes, and always seek innovations to implement. Day 2 companies, on the contrary, stick to old and tested ways, do not like trends and innovations, and do not regard failures as valuable experience. Bezos considers that Day 2 companies do not live long because their philosophy does not let them keep up with the times. Day 1 companies, on the contrary, evolve fast and gain more revenue and recognition. Hence, it is reasonable to adhere to the Day-1-company philosophy in the long-term perspective.

However, the long-term-oriented policy may be considered adequate not only in terms of business but also in terms of life choices. Hence, when making a life-changing decision, it is necessary to consider whether it is relevant for one in the future. For instance, when a person decides to start learning a foreign language, he or she should understand that the process takes time, and the results may only be seen in the long-term perspective.

One should spend at least several months on constant learning in order to see the progress. It is important not to stop the process and not to get discouraged by mistakes and failures. This situation seems to be similar to the situation in business when a company does not betray its primary goal after one or more losses in search of an easier way to earn money.

The next element of the economic strategy that is necessary for a flourishing business is avoiding settled and long-lasting models of managing the business. Bezos states that it is important to keep a critical eye on work and concentrate more on the results than the process. The main pitfall of the settled models of leading business lies in the fact that the company’s staff starts to equate the process and its results (Bezos 136). Hence, the company may stick to the old and tested models even though the results of their implementation are not as promising as they could be.

The reason for such actions may lie in people’s fear of change. Many companies are afraid of the fear of change just because they understand that they will have to face new, untested challenges and overcome them. Hence, they prefer to stay where they are and avoid the implementation of the new models. Such a business will inevitably face a crisis because the focus is shifted from valuable and quality results to sticking to the process. This policy will ensure that the company may just not be ready to face the competitors, who prioritize the result but not the old and tested models. Hence, either the business will be unprofitable, or its owner will just go bankrupt.

The principle of rejecting the new in favor of the old and clear, though unprofitable ways, may be related not only to business people to people’s lives in general. The fear of change prevents people from leaving their comfort zone for the sake of better life. Not many dare to adhere to a new life-path, because it presumes new challenges and obstacles which will require a new way of thinking to overcome.

However, those who are bold enough to try and face possible risks may gain victory over the circumstances and improve their life and personality. However, if people face failure in their new life path, they are still winners because they gain experience and skills that may be helpful for them. It is necessary to remember that it is better to try and fail than not try and that success comes to those who try new.

The fourth element of Amazon’s business strategy is to refuse the unprofitable projects in favor of those that work best. According to Bezos, it is necessary to stop the financing of the projects that were not profitable in order to spend more time and effort on those that benefit the company and the customers (Bezos 72). However, it is still important to consider failures and negative experiences, in general, to not repeat them.

The author gives the example of Marketplace, a successful Amazon project that enables third-party sellers to compete against the company’s retail category managers. The goods by third-party sellers sold through Marketplace compose about 40 percent of Amazon units today (Bezos 115). The success of the Marketplace was preceded by two unprofitable campaigns launched in 1999. Thus, Amazon Auctions were later transformed to zShops which were the same service with the stable price. Both these initiatives attracted no customers and made the company incur losses. That is why the company stopped investing money in promoting these services and developed the idea of Marketplace that finally became more profitable.

The principle of abandoning projects that do not bring any money or other benefits is good enough to implement the daily-life practice. People should not spend their time and effort on things that do not work for them. It may be hard to acknowledge, but such things only take time and effort without bringing any benefits. It relates not only to money-related experiences but to life in general.

The most important thing here is to realize that abandoning unprofitable businesses and relations is not a loss. It is better to regard their disposal as the investment into future success. For instance, if a person understands that his friend or significant other does not share his values, points of view, and hobbies, he should not be afraid of abandoning them. The point here is that new and better options do not emerge if people continue to focus on old and useless relations or patterns.

The final point of the Amazon business model described in “Invest & Wander” is related to staff employment. The main principle here that Amazon sticks to since its foundation is setting the bar high when hiring people (Bezos 35). The ideal Amazon employee shares the company’s fundamental principles, mainly the customer-oriented approach, is not afraid of hard work, and is ready to raise the average level of effectiveness.

The company’s approach to hiring is conditioned by its corporative culture rules, since people may just seek easy ways to earn money or be not ready to work in customers’ interests. Amazon, however, provides many programs beneficial for its employees. For instance, the company launched the Career Choice program. It prepays 95% of tuition for its employees regardless of whether the studying field is relevant for the company or not (Bezos 106). The realization of career programs and the fact that Amazon raised salaries to 15 dollars per hour which is twice as high as the federal minimum wage, proves that the company cherishes its employees.

Relying on people who share one’s views and principles is a strategy that may prove beneficial in managing a business and in life in general. When people have the same opinion on different things and other fundamental life-organization principles, their chance to form a productive and mutually beneficial alliance at work and in everyday life increases. Hence, when building either work or live environment or even both, it is necessary to find people with the same worldview and values in order to have a reliable and supportive friend or partner.

Strengths and Weaknesses of “Invent & Wander”

The fundamental economic and business-leading principles of the Amazon company listed in the first part of the book “Invent and “Wander” help the reader understand the company’s philosophy. They enable the audience to figure out the ways of establishing a successful business and making it flourish. Entrepreneurs, as well as ordinary people, may find there helpful advice applicable both to work and personal life.

It is interesting to read about the company’s history since the foundation watching a small Internet-bookstore turn into a giant company. It is also great that the book reveals many details concerning the business organization of Amazon that people with their own businesses may implement to their work and increase their companies’ productivity. Amazon’s example proves that a customer-oriented approach is one of the keys to a successful business, though not all companies may approve it.

In addition, it was exciting to read about the ecological initiatives Amazon sticks to. Thus, the reduction of carbon footprint, or Frustration-Free Packaging program, aimed at decreasing the packaging waste, positively influences the environment. Amazon sets a perfect example of an environmental-care initiative to other companies proving that it is possible to deal with the ecological problem. Besides, in the second chapter Bezos enumerates the steps Amazon is going to make towards a more ecology-friendly business strategy, which may also be a good tip for other companies to consider.

Jeff Bezos’s personal life details and thoughts the second part of the book is about are also fascinating to read. It is also possible to encounter several valuable insights from this chapter. For instance, the claim that life should not be divided into work and family sections is not necessary to balance these two fields (Bezos 203). Both family and work must give people energy, and it is dangerous to fulfill its balance in one category at the cost of another one.

It was also interesting to read about Bezos’s attitude towards failures because he seems to have quite an unusual opinion about them. Bezos regards failures as a valuable asset to future success. He gives examples of failures Amazon faced in the past, together with the results they led to. Thus, Marketplace was launched after two failed attempts to introduce first, Amazon Auctions and then zShops. There is no success without failure because the more mistakes people make, the more experience they get, and the experience may be regarded as a contribution to future success.

However, the book possesses several weak points. First, most of the stories are told repeatedly throughout the book, which creates an impression of déjà vu and re-reading the same text several time. The book does contains little information about the challenges Amazon faced in the past and faces now. There is almost no information about the major failures as well, apart from the stories of Amazon Auctions or zShops. Finally, the book contains little information about the projects apart from Amazon Bezos is currently into. The information about Blue Origin may have been printed on more than ten pages because the project is unusual, and many people could be interested to know more details about it.

Conclusion

The book “Invent & Wander” by Jeffrey Bezos is an excellent example of biography writing, where everyone can find meaningful and useful insights and advice to follow. The book is useful both for people related to the business field and for ordinary readers. The advice given in it may be implemented both in managing the company and in everyday life. The experience Jeffrey Bezos shares with the readers is unique as his business is and, therefore, worthy of public attention.

Work Cited

Bezos, Jeff. “Invent and Wander: A Collected Writings from Jeff Bezos with an Introduction by Walter Isaacson.” Harvard University Press. 2020.

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