By: Richard L. Brandt
Speed Reading
Stats (h:mm:ss)
1st Read: 0:02:17 = 24,239 words/minute
2nd Read: 0:02:22 = 23,386 words/minute
3rd Read: 0:02:35 = 21,424 words/minute
Mind Map Stats (h:mm:ss)
1:36:15
Total Time: (h:mm:ss)
1:43:29
5 Must
Take-Aways (MTAs)
- Try unusual tactics in marketing. Make the business stand-out. Just because no one did it before doesn’t mean it is a bad idea.
- Listen to your customer. Be responsive. Don’t make excuses; ask for forgiveness when you don’t live up to expectations.
- Hire the best people ALWAYS. Continually raise the bar of expectations. Don’t just look for people that have worked in your business sector in the past. Qualifications are not solely about industry knowledge.
- Develop a brand name that encompasses your mission and vision.
- Have a solid business plan. Yeah, I know Bezos didn’t start with one, but he later acknowledged it was important to have analyzed the business potential.
The
Point (TP)
Everyone knows Amazon.com. It is a world-wide business that drastically
changed how people shop, research products, provide consumer feedback, and purchase.
Bezos is unique as an entrepreneurial CEO. He did not start Amazon.com due to a
passion for books. Instead the exceptional market growth associated with online
businesses drove Bezos to walk the entrepreneurial road. Bezos used the
following basic criteria in his assessment of potential businesses: A) Familiar
products do better. B) The larger the market the better. C) Look for a market
with a smaller number of competitors. D) Make sure you can get inventory
quickly and easily. E) Your data is important. Make sure the database is up to
par. F) Look for discount opportunities. G) Product delivery is important. How
will the product get there fast? H) Online potential is HUGE! Don’t forget it.
This lead Bezos to focus on books in the beginning…and we know where it has
ended up.
Bezos rules for success in his business ventures are: 1) Obsess over customers. They will make
or break your business. Never forget that. 2)
Invent the product, then reinvent the product tenaciously, and keep doing it until
you get it right. Always giver your customers something new to come back to
see. 3) Focus on the long term. If
you don’t plan on being around for a long time, you will not even make it for a
short time. 4) “It’s always day one.”
Never forget that today matters as much as the first day.
Brilliant Articulate Mind Map (BAMM)
Brandt, R. L. (2011). One Click:
Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com (p. 214). New York, NY: Portfolio /
Penguin. ISBN: 978-1-59184-375-7.
