How Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos makes decisions on big gambles.
8/16/2004
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos loves a fact-based decision; it's why the online retailer doesn't do TV advertising. But he has become more known for his willingness to throw the dice on innovations that won't pay off short term, but may long term. Think "Gold Box," "Bottom of the Page Deals," and "Search Inside the Book." How does Bezos make those critical decisions?
This intriguing Fastcompany.com portrait of Bezos by writer Alan Deutschman is a worthwhile read for any entrepreneur or business risk-taker trying to calculate the costs of a gamble. What makes Bezos an even more compelling character, at least to Deutschman, is that his let-it-fly mentality is coupled with a background in mathematics. "He's the rare leader who obsesses over finding small improvements in efficiency at Amazon's huge warehouses right now while sustaining an entrepreneur's grand vision of changing the world over decades," writes Deutschman.