Jeff Bezos Quotes

So in 2000, when we changed the business model and started really focusing on that triangle and putting the customer in the center, we decided we should hold off - we've done enough consolidation; we've got enough critical mass.

Stay externally focused - on your customers - and focus internally when you have to hire.

I think there's a need for somewhat of a mindset change. We need to have a consistent external focus. We've always had the research labs. We've always had the resources to be innovative, and we've been innovative in a number of businesses. But, in any big company, you have to constantly push people to look at markets and customers, rather than look internally at themselves.

I study my competition for at least an hour a day. I get on the internet, look at what they doing, then I look at ways to defeat them.

Core competence, as it is used by many managers, is a dangerously inward-looking notion. Competitiveness is far more about doing what customers value than doing what you think you're good at.

Even in the face of massive competition, don't think about the competition. Literally don't think about them. Every time you're in a meeting and you're tempted to talk about a competitor, replace that thought with one about user feedback or surveys. Just think about the customer.

Successful organizations have one common central focus: Customers.

Companies face a handful of different risks, whether it is competitors or different market environments. But I think that people focus way too much on competitors and not enough on their own execution.

I want you to say to me right from the start, "We are here to serve customers. We're not here for me to make a lot of money. We're not here to bet on interest rates or credit spreads. We are here to serve our customers really well over a long period of time, and that's how you build a successful business." And so I want to see that, too, you know?

At Netflix, we realized that we weren't in business with the Toshibas and the Sonys of the world. We were in business with the guy sitting at home trying to find a DVD to watch. If we had the courage to focus on him, everyone - movie studios, electronics companies, Netflix itself - won.

Part of calling ourselves Live Nation was about starting to shift the way we think, to be first and foremost fan-focused.

My aspiration is that M&M become one of the most customer-centric organizations in the world. If we focus on understanding our customers, we will be able to develop customer-centric innovations.

The consumer is the absolute king in everything you do.

Certainly in business terms, considering how thriving the market is. Understanding what people want is essential. We have a team on the ground whose job it is to keep tabs on what's good, whether it's a tapas bar in Barcelona, or an amazing fish and chip shop in Yorkshire.

Market leaders inevitably slip into decline when they tell the people what they want instead of giving the people what they want.

Somebody once told me, ‘Manage the top line, and the bottom line will follow.’ What's the top line? It's things like, why are we doing this in the first place? What's our strategy? What are customers saying? How responsive are we? Do we have the best products and the best people? Those are the kind of questions you have to focus on.

If we can keep our competitors focused on us while we stay focused on the customer, ultimately we'll turn out all right.

What are you doing at the moment? How does that compare to your competitors? What do you want to achieve? How can you create something people want?

We watch our competitors, learn from them, see the things that they were doing for customers and copy those things as much as we can.

Successful people stick to what they are good at and find ways to make that larger.

I read annual reports of the company I'm looking at and I read the annual reports of the competitors - that is the main source of material.

Marketing is not only much broader than selling, it is not a specialized activity at all. It encompasses the entire business. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is, from the customer's point of view.

I don't know where we should take this company, but I do know that if I start with the right people, ask them the right questions, and engage them in vigorous debate, we will find a way to make this company great.

Obsess about customers, not competitors.

The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. All business activities must be focused on this central purpose.