Setting the bar high on hiring has been the single most important element of Amazon’s success. During the interview process, Amazon asks each interviewer to consider three questions before making a hiring decision:

• Will you admire this person?
• Will this person raise the average...

From the outset, Amazon’s goal was to build the world’s most customer-centric company. Bezos would constantly remind employees to wake up every morning terrified… not of the competition, but of Amazon’s own customers.

Customers are fickle; they are loyal to a company until...

• A focus on the long-term is important for several reasons. First, for a company that drives growth through innovation, a long-term approach allows for experimentation and an acceptance of short-term failures.
• Second, having a long-term orientation reduces the impact of stock price fl...

Bezos offers a set of guidelines for how to make decisions at high-velocity:

• Understand that decisions can be reversed: 
• Bias towards action: Most decisions should be made with close to 70% of the information needed. Waiting for 90%+ informatio...

While Amazon takes financial outputs seriously, 100% of the company’s time is focused on inputs. This is because these inputs are controllable and are the most effective way to maximize financial outputs.