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His father was an engineer and his mother a housewife. As a child, he spent his summers at
his grandfather's ranch in Texas. Jeff Bezos grandfather, Lawrence Preston Gise worked
as Regional Director at the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. He played a big role in Jeffs
life and was the one who got him interested in computers.
Jeff has a passion for fixing things and figuring out how things work and turning his
parents' garage into a laboratory. He was always one step ahead of others, as evident by his
desire to be a space entrepreneur from a young age. Bezos had an early love of
computers and studied computer science and electrical engineering at Princeton University.
After graduation, he worked at several firms on Wall Street, such as Fitel Bankers Trust,
and the investment firm D.E. Shaw and in 1990 became the youngest senior vice president
at the investment firm D.E. Shaw. Four years later, he quit his lucrative job to open
Amazon.com, a virtual bookstore that became one of the internet's biggest success stories.
AMAZON NAME
According to recent industry figures, Amazon is the leading e-retailer in the United
States with more than 88.99 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 net sales.
The majority of the companys revenues are generated through the sale of
electronics and other products, followed by media and other activities.
Recently, the Amazon reported that it has more than 270 million active customer
accounts worldwide. Due to Amazons global scope and reach, it is also considered
one of the most valuable brands worldwide.
When you have to write your ideas out in complete sentences, complete paragraphs it
forces a deeper clarity.If you ever get into a flow of writing, youll notice something
amazing happens. Your brain produces thoughts and ideas faster than your fingers can
type them. Youre totally in the zone. Its an exciting, yet frantic experience, because you
want to write down all of the thoughts so you dont forget them.
In Amazon board meetings are structured around a 6 page narrative memo. It involves the
presenter preparing a 4-6 page memo written as a document, not a PowerPoint
presentation. The first 20 minutes of a meeting is spent reading the document quietly as a
group. After 20 minutes, the group then discusses the content of the memo, often
questioning the presenter very diligently but, the idea here is to truly debate the points
made in the memo and let truth win out through a very healthy debate. At the end,
recommendations are discussed and decisions are made. So Think complex, speak
simple. It is hard work to prepare well enough to be able to speak simple.
Present
In early December 2013, Bezos made headlines when he revealed a new,
experimental initiative by Amazon, called "Amazon Prime Air," using drones
remote-controlled machines that can perform an array of human tasksto
provide delivery services to customers. According to Bezos, these drones are
able to carry items weighing up to 5 pounds, and are capable of traveling
within a 10-mile distance of the company's distribution center.
Ever since he was a child, he was immensely interested in aerospace. In 2000, he started a
space company, Blue Origin with the vision to bring down the cost of space travel so
everyone can go into the space.
Bezos made headlines worldwide on August 5, 2013, when he purchased the Washington
Post and other publications affiliated with The Washington Post Co., which owns the paper
and other entities, for $250 million cash.