Jeff Bezos has been devouring bookstores as the founder of Amazon. On the other hand, he also devours books. He used his talents to expand Amazon’s business domain and became one of the richest men in modern history.
Best-selling author Brad Stone published The Everything Store, which tells the story of Bezos and Amazon, in 2013. In the book, Stone explores Bezos’ thinking habits that have helped him grow his online bookstore into an online retail empire, and how he has used books to shape his business ideas. doing.
In the same book, Stone writes:
“Books have nurtured Amazon since its inception and shaped its corporate culture and strategy.” let’s go
Here are the 12 books Bezos has read so far.
Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
Bezos’ favorite book has nothing to do with business.
In fact, this book captures a story of a butler reminiscing about the work of serving others in wartime England, with a poignant depiction. Stone notes that Bezos learns more about aging, memory, loss and love in turbulent times through fiction than nonfiction.
Bezos has previously said:
“Until I read this book, I thought there was no such thing as a perfect novel. But this book blew me away. That impossibility has been accomplished admirably.”
Sam Walton: Made in America
This memoir is Walmart founder Sam Walton’s detailed memoir about how he came to create the company, his beliefs about discount retail, and his willingness to try a number of trials and errors. The book is full of episodes and “principles” from Walton’s journey to build the world’s largest retail store.
Inspired by Walton’s willingness to take on challenges, Bezos followed his example and embraced the same core values, Stone wrote.
Alan Greenberg, Memos from the Chairman
Alan Greenberg, the former CEO and chairman of Bear Stearns, was a Wall Street legend who was well known for sending memos to in-house traders. This book is a collection of memos for employees that give a glimpse of Greenberg’s management philosophy.
In this book, Greenberg teaches leaders to use common sense in their decision-making, avoid crowds, and always be humble in their successes.
“Amazon’s yearly repetition of its first letter to shareholders in 1997 is reminiscent of the book’s style of repeating the wisdom of a fictional philosopher,” Stone said.
Frederick P. Brooks, Jr., The Mythical Man-Month
According to Stone, Amazon’s “two-pizza rule” is based on the book. Bezos believes that a team shouldn’t have more people than two pizzas can feed everyone. Smaller teams allow for more effective communication and greater autonomy.
Based on his experience as a project manager for several software giants, Brooks reveals how to identify problems in managing large projects. Brooks believes that fewer people are more productive and proactive when it comes to handling complex tasks.
Jim Collins, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
Co-authors Jim Collins and Jerry Porras spent more than six years analyzing prominent industry leaders and companies to find out which companies of the same industry and size have survived over the years. He explains why there are companies that do not. Many examples of visionary companies such as Walt Disney and General Electric are also featured.
“Guidelines guide a visionary company, and only those employees who embrace the core mission thrive, while those who do not are ‘wiped like a virus’ from the organization,” Stone wrote.
Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
According to Stone, the book’s author, Jim Collins, lectured Amazon executives about the groundbreaking management book. This book is one of the most useful leadership books in today’s rapidly changing business environment.
Collins spent five years researching what makes a company stand out. Based on the results, he identified eight rules for the leap from “Good” to “Great.”
“Companies must be able to face the harsh realities of their business, find their unique strengths, and turn the ‘flywheel.’ You have to try to accelerate the movement,” Stone wrote.
Steve Grand, Creation: Life and How to Make It
According to Stone, the book inspired Bezos to develop Amazon Web Services (AWS), the service that popularized the concept of the cloud.
A computer scientist and robotics engineer, Grand also creates his own computer games that allow players to create living, breathing creatures in real time.
In this book, Grand examines society’s growing reliance on artificial life, technology, and cyberspace.
Clayton Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma
More than 20 years after its first publication, this book is still a must-read for business school students.
“Amazon acted on the principles described in this book, leading to the birth of Kindle and AWS,” Stone said.
The book is a case-based discussion of innovation, and how it can transform markets and sectors in unconventional ways. The book also presents examples of companies that did everything right but failed because they didn’t innovate.
By using the word “disruption” to mean “redesigning the way things are done,” Christensen warns against leaders becoming too familiar with their own business models.
Eliyahu Goldratt, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement
“The Goal” is a best-selling novel about a manager tasked with rebuilding an underperforming manufacturing plant. Bezos asked executives to read the book, he said.
“This book will teach you how to identify the biggest constraints you face in your business and how to reorganize your organization to take full advantage of those constraints,” Stone wrote.
James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation
The title of this book comes from Toyota’s lean thinking. Lean thinking is a way of thinking focused on zero waste of resources and perfect value for the customer.
“This production philosophy, pioneered by Toyota, focuses on activities that create value for the customer and systematically eliminates the rest,” Stone wrote.
Mark Jeffery, Data-Driven Marketing: The 15 Metrics Everyone in Marketing Should Know
Voted Best Marketing Book of 2011, this book will help you focus on learning how numbers-driven strategies can increase efficiency and drive growth.
“At Amazon, every claim needs to be backed up by data. If you have weaknesses in your data, show them the weaknesses, or your colleagues will harass you,” Stone said.
The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Taleb, the author of Black Swan, is an investor and philosopher. In this book, he breaks down how people rely on false predictions to live in the world, and, like the global financial crisis that occurred in 2007, reveals that the more organized the system, the more vulnerable it is. ing.
“Humans have a tendency to turn a blind eye to unpredictable events while trying to find rules in chaos. The consequences of this are immense,” Stone said. “Experimentation and rules of thumb are better than easy, straightforward opinions.”
*This article first appeared on December 28, 2020.
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(Translated by Tomomi Inda, edited by Ayuko Tokiwa)
Source: BusinessInsider
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