Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, CEO, and the president has rapidly become one of the world’s wealthiest people.  Whether you love him or hate him, it’s impossible to deny his success.  Any current or aspiring business owner or manager can learn a great deal from his approach to business. These five lessons from Bezos himself are especially relevant in the wake of the pandemic.

Operating with a “Day One” mentality has been one of Bezos’ most criticized business philosophies but it has been a core of Amazon’s success since the beginning.  This mindset dictates that Amazon has always acted like a startup.  More specifically, it requires that every employee and every department obsess over the customer, focus on results over processes, make high-quality decisions quickly, and embrace external trends quickly.

This calendar year has been anything but business as usual. However, as much as businesses are facing adversity, there are numerous examples of businesses pivoting quickly and new businesses rising to the challenges and demands of the post-pandemic world.  These businesses that have succeeded in uncertain times are those that apply a Day One mentality, whether they are in the startup phase or not.

There are a lot of businesses that tout that they put the customer first, but Amazon has this concept baked into their company culture at every step.  Beyond the Day One mentality, the focus on the customer is arguably one of the most important aspects of Amazon’s success.  In every decision you make, you need to consider how it is going to impact the customer.  Beyond that, you need to go out of your way to delight them, treat them well, and retain them.

Nearly every business has faced challenges recently and many will struggle to be profitable. However, to the extent it is sustainable, it is better to focus on building the business for the future instead of worrying about short-term gains. That may mean that right now, it is more important to focus on building customer loyalty than focusing on your bottom line.  The economy will rebound and when it does, your business will reap the rewards of the actions taken now.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to have a successful business.  The world has changed drastically lately and old ways of doing things are constantly evolving.  There are certainly new ways of doing or providing existing products or services that are more in line with consumer preferences and applicable to the modern day.  There is a great opportunity to be had in imitating something that already exists, but finding a better, and more efficient, way to do it.

There are a number of reasons a business may fall into what is colloquially referred to as “analysis paralysis.”  This is when a business gets caught up in overthinking or overanalyzing decisions which cause a delay in being able to move forward.  One way to make decisions quickly is to develop a framework.  In Bezos’ world, this framework focuses on minimizing regret.  One thing this past year has taught the world is we can’t predict the future and things can change in an instant.  When in doubt, according to Bezos, make decisions based on what you’ll regret the least.

When looking for a roadmap on how to successfully launch or run your business, learning from the lessons of those that are already doing it, like Bezos, can provide excellent direction.  Make sure to get the latest business insights.