I think I speak for most of us when I say that Amazon has officially taken over my life, and I don’t hate it. My neighbor regularly jokes that there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t have a stack of Amazon packages waiting for me at my door, but who could blame me? Amazon is amazing, and there ain’t no shame in my obsession game.
Jeff Bezos is the mastermind behind Amazon’s global takeover, and his success has catapulted him to be the richest person alive, with a net worth of $131 billion. Luckily for us, Bezos is constantly offering his advice for those looking to follow in his footsteps and achieve success, and there are countless interviews available where he shares his wealth of knowledge on how to make it big. I’ve compiled a few of his best words of wisdom, without further ado:
- Identifying your passion is central. According to Bezos, “You can have a job, or you can have a career, or you can have a calling,” he says. “And if you can somehow figure out how to have a calling, you have hit the jackpot, cause that’s the big deal.” He believes most people never realize their true calling. In fact, many are lucky to have a career, while most just end up with a job. Read more here.
- Forget work-life balance. Instead, Bezos thinks of his personal and professional pursuits as a “circle” rather than a balancing act. Bezos believes that his new hires should stop attempting to achieve “balance” within their professional and personal lives, since that implies a strict trade-off between the two. Instead, Bezos envisions a more holistic relationship between work and life outside the office. Historically, the world’s richest man has a nontraditional approach to work: He makes time for breakfast every morning with his family, doesn’t set his alarm before going to bed, schedules surprisingly few meetings, and still sets aside a few minutes every day to wash his own dishes. This counterintuitive approach to maintaining a healthy symmetry within his professional and personal pursuits is one of the chief pieces of advice Bezos offers his staff. Read more here.
- Empower employees for change. As employees begin to open up, empower top contributors by getting them involved. If someone suggests a more robust training program, employ his/her help to develop the program and roll it out. Being an effective manager is another great way of boosting employee satisfaction and engagement, but you will likely benefit the most from the use of certain software solutions when seeking to do this – check out quicksprout blog for examples of such solutions. If someone comes up with a great idea for a company activity or retreat, have that individual spearhead the event. Not only does the employee gain notoriety for his/her efforts, but the task gets carried out with enthusiasm since the idea is that team members’ “baby.” Doing so also helps the employee reap higher job satisfaction, and the organization becomes a bigger part of that individual’s identity. Read more here.
- Don’t give up too soon. While expanding on the nature of “high standards,” Bezos writes that a friend of his was trying to learn how to pull off “a perfect free-standing handstand,” and wasn’t progressing the way she wanted to, so she hired a coach who told her about how many people underestimate how much time it really takes to excel at it. “Unrealistic beliefs on scope – often hidden and undiscussed – kill high standards. To achieve high standards yourself or as part of a team, you need to form and proactively communicate realistic beliefs about how hard something is going to be – something this coach understood well,” Bezos writes. Making sure that everyone understands what’s necessary to be successful is crucial. Read more here.
