The Bezos Letters: 14 Principles to Grow Your Business Like Amazon
Published:
Test
- Encourage “Successful Failure”—Blue Origin begins by experimenting small to see what works best (space exploration is a bit pricey, even for Bezos).
- Bet on Big Ideas—Space travel is, obviously, a big idea.
- Practice Dynamic Invention and Innovation—They have to invent and create for the unknowns in space travel.
Build
- Obsess Over Customers—Their customers are future passengers, third parties, and our great-great-great-grandchildren.
- Apply Long-Term Thinking—They’re creating new ways for life to be lived hundreds of years from now.
- Understand Your Flywheel—Blue Origin started in 2000 and they have gained momentum as they have learned, grown, and expanded their business to create reusable vehicles for space travel.
Accelerate
- Generate High-Velocity Decisions—Decisions are made as fast as possible but also made with prudence at the same time. The mascot for Blue Origin is the tortoise because risky (life and death) decisions have to be like the tortoise in The Tortoise and the Hare: “slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.”
- Make Complexity Simple—Blue Origin is working to take the average person, not just astronauts, into space.
- Accelerate Time with Technology—Technological advancement is being created and developed to make space travel common and fast.
- Promote Ownership—Space travel is privately owned and not waiting for government programs.
Scale
- Maintain Your Culture—A culture focused on space exploration is, by definition, one where there is a common goal to achieve.
- Focus on High Standards—Only the best and the brightest will get us safely into space.
- Measure What Matters, Question What’s Measured, and Trust Your Gut—Everything must be measured, tested, quantified, and replicated to assure safety, but when your instincts contradict the data, ask again, and test again.
- Believe It’s Always Day 1—It really is always Day 1 at Blue Origin. Belief is a mindset that’s crucial for getting into space.