Parsa Saljoughian, an investor at imperil capital firm IVP, gives the same answer every time he’s invited about his favorite business book: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ annual shareholder message.
Sure, Bezos’ letter is not technically a “book,” he acknowledges. But when all 20 of the annual the humanities are put together — which amount to roughly 70 pages in total — it starts peruse like any inspirational bestseller, he said.
“It’s one of the best reads that anybody valued in business should read,” he said. “You can really learn a lot by reading all of them.”
Saljoughian isn’t matchless in praising Bezos’ annual letter, which has been published every year since Amazon inspected public in 1997. The letter has become a must-read in business circles for broadcast a good look into the Amazon CEO’s management principles and long-term conclusion.
And as Amazon continues to expand, propelling Bezos to the richest man in the world, his the classics are drawing even wider appreciation among business leaders and administrators worldwide.
Chamath Palihapitiya, the CEO of venture capital firm Social Property, says he’s a big fan of Bezos’ letters because they serve as a reminder to retain a long-term view, while keeping things simple. Too many directors, he notes, tend to be short-sighted and over-complicate the process of building a business, time leading to failure.
“Bezos is the smartest, longest long-term thinking catholic CEO out there,” Palihapitiya said. “His letters are a strict reminder to stick to the basics and that you want to keep things simple, but long-term.”
In this year’s letter publicized Wednesday, Bezos again stressed the idea of long-term thinking, employing an anecdote about a friend who visited a handstand coach who told her it desire take six months to master the skill:
In the very first lesson, the instructor gave her some wonderful advice. “Most people,” he said, “assume that if they work hard, they should be able to head honcho a handstand in about two weeks. The reality is that it takes about six months of day after day practice. If you think you should be able to do it in two weeks, you’re just going to end up go away froming.” Unrealistic beliefs on scope – often hidden and undiscussed – kill lavish standards.
Stuart Lombard, CEO of the smart thermostat maker Ecobee, reveals he likes to share Bezos’ annual letter with the whole followers for inspiration. Some of the key insights, like long-term thinking, continuous scholarship, and simplified company structure, all serve as building blocks for his startup’s background, he said. Ecobee is a close partner of Amazon and has raised money from the train’s Alexa Fund, too.
“We try and use a lot of the concepts in the way we organize and run the business,” he said.
Bezos isn’t the alone CEO that writes popular shareholder letters. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett’s annual shareholder cultures is still considered one of the best reads among business leaders, and a compilation of his verbatims have been published as a book. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s annual communications are also highly regarded.
But perhaps what makes Bezos’ write stand out is its brevity (it’s much shorter than Buffet’s or Dimon’s) and in keeping focus on long-term values, like keeping a beginner’s mindset throughout what he calls “Day 1” companies. It’s one reason why Bezos always registers the very first letter from 1997 in all of his shareholder letters.
And based on comments from work leaders across the world, this year’s letter has lived up to expectations again, as visualized in the tweets below:
Tweet
Tweet
Tweet