Review of the book by Jeff Bezos, “One Click”
Video resources:
The video “How to live MULTIPLE lives”
He nabbed the coveted title of “World’s Richest Man” from Bill Gates in October 2017 and has held that position ever since. He founded the world’s largest online store and invests in space travel research, just like fellow billionaires Richard Branson and Elon Musk do. In short, Jeff Bezos is the man of the moment.
In the book One Click, author Richard Brandt traces Bezos’ rise from a computer nerd to a revolutionary entrepreneur. His success can be attributed to his looking to the future and ruthless business acumen.
He explores Amazon’s business model, which is deceptively simple: making online shopping so easy and convenient that it becomes a daily habit for customers. This is the reason for the title of the English version of the book: One Click. It can almost be summed up with the button on every page: “Buy now with one click.”
Why has Amazon been so successful? Much of this is down to Jeff Bezos, CEO and Founder, whose unique combination of character traits and business strategy has propelled Amazon to the top of the online retail world.
Text transcript of my video review of the book One Click:
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and author of the book “One Click”
Hello, here Olivier Roland and welcome to this new video in which I will share with you an extremely interesting book called “One Click” in English and which has been translated into French as “Les secrets de la Réussite” (‘Secrets of Success’) by Jeff Bezos.
It’s simply about the birth of Amazon.
So, this book “One Click” by Jeff Bezos, unlike a lot of biographies, is pretty short.
It’s a small book; it reads fairly quickly and is full of extremely interesting information.
I was sharing with you recently how important it is, how useful it is to live multiple lives by immersing yourself in the biographies of successful people, and even of people who failed, it can still teach us things. And this one is undoubtedly one of the most easily accessible. So, there you go.
“People who are right often change their minds.” – Jeff Bezos
Read it. 🙂
Well, I’ll still share some tips that I learned from this book.
To begin with, Jeff Bezos has more of a background as a computer programmer. He was educated in that area.
Afterwards, he worked in finance since from the end of the 80s to the beginning of the 90s. Wall Street is very fond of computer scientists who are also mathematicians, who help develop software that allows for extremely quick trading.
And in 1994, it was while reading an article that predicted the growth of the web of several, I don’t remember, more than 1000% per year, more than 5000% per year that Jeff Bezos said to himself: Wow! It would be a shame not to take advantage of that.
It would be a shame.
“If I don’t try to take advantage of this tremendous growth of the Internet, I will regret it for my entire life.”
And he made a list of the items that he thought could be most easily sold on the web and that would benefit from being sold on the web.
There were books, CDs, DVDs. Well, at the time, it was video cassettes since it was in 1994, and there were other things as well.
He focused on books because there was a huge catalog; it was in high demand and it was easier for him in the beginning, compared to videos, CDs.
Don’t ask me why. And what I didn’t know was that he took classes. That’s great in the United States. You have lessons on how to conduct your business in all possible areas.
In France, we don’t have that. In France, I don’t know, we have the impression that you either learn at school, or you’re great, or you simply manage.
“Obsess about customers, not competitors.” – Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos took a course on how to run a bookstore.
It’s not about the art of running an online bookstore, but he was taught by someone who had a lot of experience in the field and who gave him good tips, and in particular, who had really stressed the importance of customer service.
And this is something that had a deep impact on Jeff Bezos, and he built all of Amazon around this concept of maximum customer service. I think if you’re an Amazon customer like me, you’ve also seen how truly exceptional their customer service is, and you really feel like you’re on a pedestal, somewhat the center of the Amazon universe.
If you have a general complaint, they will always go your way.
It’s true that this is what lacks a bit in France.
In the United States, if you want to become a chiropractor, or manager of a golf course, or open your own karate dojo, you have people who train you in that, who sell you lessons, training programs on how to make a great successful business out of it.
Amazon Warehouse
It’s really something extraordinary in American culture that you don’t find here in France or even in Europe, and that’s a shame. It’s also things that I try to change through my videos; and then also, my blogs and my programs, my books.
This is one of the interesting things I learned from this book, but there are many more. And frankly, you can read it so, so quickly that you have no excuse not to read it. So, “One Click” in English. Otherwise, “Les Secrets de la Réussite” (‘Secrets of Success’) by Jeff Bezos in French. And well obviously, it’s available on Kindle. Simply click here to go to its Amazon page.
“Be stubborn on the vision but flexible on the details.” – Jeff Bezos
There you go. Thank you for watching this video. In addition to “One Click”, also feel free to receive, and this time at no cost, my book ” Vivez la vie de vos rêves grâce à votre blog “ (‘Live the Life of Your Dreams through Your Blog’), which gives you other methods, other techniques for creating or developing your business on the Internet, this time with a blog.
You click for that on the cover that appears there or simply click here or go to olivier-roland.tv/livre if you are watching this video on a device that does not allow you to click on the video. Leave your first name and your email and I will send the book to you immediately. That’s how it is, it’s free.
And as usual, I need your feedback. If you liked this video, click “like” just below and then share it. And then in addition, do not hesitate to watch this video precisely on the importance of reading biographies in order to live multiple lives.
Jeff Bezos’ 5 Principles of Success
1. Surround yourself with the best possible team.
Amazon has a notoriously long hiring process. Prospective employees can expect to submit SAT scores and answer questions such as “How many gas stations are there in the United States?” The answer is not meant to be correct, rather it is intended to promote critical thinking skills.
“Every time we hire someone, he or she should raise the bar for the next hire, so that the overall talent pool is always improving,” Bezos says.
2. Learn from your mistakes.
Amazon has experienced several failures. And that never scared the CEO of the company. Jeff Bezos even said in his book One Click that expecting to fail is very liberating. To compete with eBay, Bezos once launched his own version of auctions in the marketplace. It collapsed.
But it also paved the way for Amazon affiliates, allowing private sellers to use the site, shipping facilities, and even storage to sell their own merchandise. Most recently, the Amazon Fire Phone, which was widely viewed as a publicity stunt. Without failure, innovation could never be possible.
3. Be thrifty.
Frugality is an almost direct opposition to the modern practices of big business. Bezos has preached and practiced from the start. A now famous photo shows Bezos seated behind a desk made of a door propped up by two-by-fours. Amazon was already a publicly traded company at the time.
Doors were simply cheaper than traditional desks, and Bezos always had a soft spot for symbolism. An upgraded version of the desks is still in use at the Seattle headquarters today, and miniature versions are given as awards for cost-saving innovations.
4. Be firm.
It is only in recent years that Bezos has become known to the general public. For many years he was content to work behind the scenes – a sort of ‘head down, work hard’ mentality. His recent social emergence demonstrates a kind of evolution.
Bezos understands that in order to stay relevant and grow, you need to be prepared to adapt, but you also need to know when to set your limits. For him, that means sticking to the big vision while still allowing small movable parts to move.
For Bezos, compromising on customer experience has never been an option. He once almost shut down an entire email marketing division after an embarrassing customer email was sent directly to him. That single email sparked a marketing overhaul.
As he writes in Amazon’s 14 Principles of Leadership, “Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.” Make a list of your items with great vision. Frame it and keep it accessible. These are your items without compromise. Everything else is negotiable.
5. Dream big
It is important to have big dreams. Amazon was never intended as an online bookstore or even an online retailer. Books turned out to be the easiest entry to the market at the time. And for Bezos, Amazon was just the start.
In 2000, he secretly founded Blue Origin, a space exploration company, to fulfill his ultimate dreams of not only exploring deep space, but eventually colonizing other planets as a backup option for Earth. Think about your dreams in relation to the tools you use to make them happen. Do not confuse the two and settle for the simpler option.