Hey all, please read the below link because it is worth reading and important, I think.
https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-first-amazon-job-ad-reveals-obsession-with-speed-2019-7
I know that some folks at LP think that our “need for speed” is sometimes unreasonable. But I really don’t believe that. I think if you look at many of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time, Steve Jobs with Apple, Larry Ellison with Oracle, Jeff Bezos with Amazon, Elon Musk with Tesla (and many others, I’m sure), they all have many common denominators—1 of which is “unreasonable speed”.
Whether it’s answering the incoming phone call, or getting back to the customers, or solving a problem, or developing software that the biz needs to grow—the “reasonable” speed (what everyone else would do/consider “normal”) probably just won’t cut it. And, you will find, that the pace of doing things more quickly (but doing them right—remember John Wooden’s old quote, “be quick, but never hurry” still counts) then becomes more of the “norm” and becomes contagious. And that then becomes the speed of a successful business, like Apple and Amazon and Oracle and Tesla and (haha—not in the same company by any means, but…) LP.
An aside—two actually:
- If you ever watched a juggler, they may be tossing 5 or 6 apples (or chainsaws or axes) at once, and it seems CRAZY. But, if you watch their hands, they are not moving quickly or chaotically. It’s the rhythm, the consistency, and the adjustment when necessary that makes it all work. And
- “Too busy” is never a good excuse. Doing things right once, the first time, takes no longer than doing it wrong the first time and takes way less time than doing it over. So be careful, be efficient. Measure twice, but cut once and you’ll find you actually have MORE time to do things. As my Dad used to say, “you want something done, ask a busy person”. (Dads sure are smart : )
So, when we have tasks to do, things to fix, issues to communicate, speed matters. Don’t put off til tomorrow what you can do today. (I always say: Much better to have a DONE list than a TO DO list). And don’t accept timelines that are argued to be “normal”. Normal does not cut it in the business world. Getting shit done (done right) quickly, and then moving onto the next project does.
PS—and “customer obsession” is key too. Bezos got a LOT of things right, and has been on the same track for 25 years. This letter was written when he was starting out and all these years later, he still KNOWS they are true. Lessons we should all learn too if we want to pursue our mission to “humbly conquer the world from Erie, Pa 🙂
Onward…
-JB