Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-02 08:56:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jeff Bezos
- ISBN：1647820715
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Summary
In this collection of Jeff Bezos’s writings—his unique and strikingly original annual shareholder letters， plus numerous speeches and interviews that provide insight into his background， his work， and the evolution of his ideas—you’ll gain an insider’s view of the why and how of his success。 Spanning a range of topics across business and public policy， from innovation and customer obsession to climate change and outer space， this book provides a rare glimpse into how Bezos thinks about the world and where the future might take us。
Written in a direct， down-to-earth style， Invent and Wander offers readers a master class in business values， strategy， and execution:
● The importance of a Day 1 mindset
● Why “it’s all about the long term”
● What it really means to be customer obsessed
● How to start new businesses and create significant organic growth in an already successful company
● Why culture is an imperative
● How a willingness to fail is closely connected to innovation
● What the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us
Each insight offers new ways of thinking through today’s challenges—and more importantly， tomorrow’s—and the never-ending urgency of striving ahead， never resting on one’s laurels。 Everyone from CEOs to entrepreneurs just setting up shop to the millions who use Amazon’s products and services in their homes or businesses will come to understand the principles that have driven the success of one of the most important innovators of our time。
Written in a direct， down-to-earth style， Invent and Wander offers readers a master class in business values， strategy， and execution:
● The importance of a Day 1 mindset
● Why “it’s all about the long term”
● What it really means to be customer obsessed
● How to start new businesses and create significant organic growth in an already successful company
● Why culture is an imperative
● How a willingness to fail is closely connected to innovation
● What the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us
Each insight offers new ways of thinking through today’s challenges—and more importantly， tomorrow’s—and the never-ending urgency of striving ahead， never resting on one’s laurels。 Everyone from CEOs to entrepreneurs just setting up shop to the millions who use Amazon’s products and services in their homes or businesses will come to understand the principles that have driven the success of one of the most important innovators of our time。
Reviews
Alex
，
Reading about the origin of the Kindle on a Kindle was great。Reading about Jeff was great。Reading content in Part II that was already in Part I was not so great。
Chloe
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Meh， a collection of letters to stakeholders/board。。。 too specific for the general public
Kai Hesthammer`
，
Wonderful book full of good ideas and well-phrased thoughts。 Some repetition but that could be a positive， as it make the material stick better in the brain。 Overall， I thoroughly enjoyed the read！
Rich
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I enjoyed this book and like others have mentioned would definitely read a Walter Issacson biography of Jeff Bezos as the intro was fantastic。There is a lot of repetition of some of the key thoughts which is fine considering the type of book this is。 I would have like more detail on the creation process of some of the key bets like Prime & AWS to get more of an insight into the decision making process but the letter highlight interesting trends regardless。
Omkumar Enkannathan
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Good book。 Lots of lessons to learn from here。 What works and what does not work。 Towards the end it became more repetitive。 Readers can stop after chapter titled "2019"。 Good book。 Lots of lessons to learn from here。 What works and what does not work。 Towards the end it became more repetitive。 Readers can stop after chapter titled "2019"。 。。。more
Dmitriy Rozhkov
，
I'd appreciate someone rewriting it to be a narrative。 Some of the articles are being repeated word to word。 Despite that it was a peculiar deep dive （amazonian here） I'd appreciate someone rewriting it to be a narrative。 Some of the articles are being repeated word to word。 Despite that it was a peculiar deep dive （amazonian here） 。。。more
Zhou Fang
，
This book is largely collection of all the Amazon shareholder letters from 1997-2019， all of which can be found on Amazon's website for free。 It also contains snippets for a few other talks that Jeff Bezos has given over the years。 Many of these talks are also available online for viewing through YouTube。 It's a good collection of the key ideas Bezos has wanted to expound over the years organized into one place。 A few key takeaways from the book:1。 Obsess over customers - As opposed to obsess ov This book is largely collection of all the Amazon shareholder letters from 1997-2019， all of which can be found on Amazon's website for free。 It also contains snippets for a few other talks that Jeff Bezos has given over the years。 Many of these talks are also available online for viewing through YouTube。 It's a good collection of the key ideas Bezos has wanted to expound over the years organized into one place。 A few key takeaways from the book:1。 Obsess over customers - As opposed to obsess over competition。 Customers are always dissatisfied， which keeps you on your toes and prevents you from getting complacent。 If you focus on competitors and you see yourself running faster than everyone else， you may be tempted to slow down。 Over the long term， this also aligns with shareholder interests2。 Focus on long term - Ideas often take time to play out。 At Amazon's current scale， even the best ones take 3-7 years to have a meaningful impact on the overall business。 Some efforts are not very apparent based on data， such as Prime in its early days。 What's happening in the current quarter has likely largely been set in stone by years of prior efforts。 Over the long term， focus should be on free cash flow per share。 Amazon largely operates in scale businesses with high fixed costs， so in investment phase this may not be apparent， but Bezos is very clear that free cash flow is the focus （as a sidenote， an interesting fact about Amazon's financial statements is that they present the cash flow statement first， whereas most companies present either the balance sheet or income statement first）3。 Decisions usually rely either on （1） quantitative data or （2） judgment。 Decisions which rely on data generally have a "right" answer and do not require much judgment。 Fulfillment center capacity and inventory purchasing decisions can largely be answered through poring through data。 However， certain decisions， like lowering prices， require judgment despite lack of data， or even in the face of contrary data。 The judgment Amazon made was that relentlessly returning efficiency improvements and scale economies to customers in the form of lower prices creates a virtuous cycle that would maximize free cash flow over the long term。 This is despite evidence that short term price elasticity data generally indicates that price decreases are not made up by volume （at least in the short term）。 The whole 2005 shareholder letter on making decisions is excellent4。 Hiring framework: （1） Missionaries over mercenaries （2） individual raises the average performance of group he or she is joining （3） along a certain dimension the individual is a superstar。 （1） Bezos thinks of missionaries as those who are obsessed with delivering a high-quality product or service， in contrast to mercernaries who are merely trying to flip their stock at a good price。 Ironically， missionaries tend to do better in terms of shareholder returns。 （2） Making sure the individual raises the average performance of a group means you're constantly raising the bar for both new employees and existing employees。 （3） In some way， have to see the individual as exceptional even if not directly related to work （might be an Olympian or singer for example）5。 Decisions are broken into two types: Type 1: reversible or Type 2: irreversible。 Type 2 decisions therefore require a lot of thought and deliberation。 Mistake most organizations make is they apply the same level of rigor to everything， and treat Type 1 decisions in the same way as Type 2 decisions。 Speed of decisionmaking is hugely important in business and is lost if everything is treated a Type 2 problem。 Usually you learn and adapt along the way， so going forward on Type 1 decisions results in much better agility for organizations6。 Working backwards - Focus on what the customer needs， then backsolve to what we ought to be doing。 The contrast is skills-forward - we are really good at X， what else can we do with X？ Problem is that if you're skills forward you don't get pressured to develop NEW skills。 Working backward from the customer needs demands new competencies over time。 For example， before Kindle Amazon had never built and sold a piece of hardware。 The mission was to have a device that could get every printed book in history within 60 seconds， and had to exist seamlessly with integrated software。 Amazon had to hire a bunch of hardware engineers and figure out how to do thatThere are many more insights contained in the book。 Reading through it can get repetitive at times because you can see how Bezos has come to rely on a handful of talking points and stories which have formed the core principles of how he approaches business。 Nonetheless it was highly engaging， and I'm glad that Walter Isaacson compiled all of these writings into one place。 。。。more
Alejandra Restrepo B。
，
Lo abandoné en la página 40。1） Es un libro sin autor。 La editorial cogió las cartas a los inversionistas y las entrevistas que le habían hecho a Bezos y listo。 Muy pero muy aburridor。2） Puede que Bezos sea un visionario， puede que se le admire por los millones que acumula en sus arcas （hay gente así） PERO no va conmigo， en este momento de mi vida， el estilo de un megalómano， que quiere enriquecerse más todos los días a costa de la explotación de sus empleados y de no fomentar un ambiente laboral Lo abandoné en la página 40。1） Es un libro sin autor。 La editorial cogió las cartas a los inversionistas y las entrevistas que le habían hecho a Bezos y listo。 Muy pero muy aburridor。2） Puede que Bezos sea un visionario， puede que se le admire por los millones que acumula en sus arcas （hay gente así） PERO no va conmigo， en este momento de mi vida， el estilo de un megalómano， que quiere enriquecerse más todos los días a costa de la explotación de sus empleados y de no fomentar un ambiente laboral HU-MA-NO。 No puede ser que esta clase de gente sea la que queremos copiar。 。。。more
Siyu
，
挺有意思的，让我理解了Blue Origin名字的意涵，重新审视我对太空探索/移民的成见。他的叙事里面有一个小破绽，就是他一开始就想建everything store还是选择了卖书后发现这个模式可以运用到任何商品上，不同时期他的叙述稍有不同，大概美化了些许
James Anderson
，
Overall not a bad read， I gave 3 stars as it does get a bit repetitive。 A found it informative to read the past shareholder letters。 However， closing chapters is when the restiveness really starts to show。
Karmanya Aggarwal
，
Interesting book， but nothing very special or new in here - most of the stuff can be found in other places，
Chris
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Collection of Bezos annual shareholder letters。 Excellent insight into Bezos and what made Amazon great。
Catalina Tamayo Posada
，
Indudablemente Jeff Bezos es uno de los grandes innovadores de la historia。 Así lo describe Walter Isaacson en el prólogo， en donde resalta las características necesarias para ser catalogado como tal: una curiosidad obsesiva， un profundo interés por las humanidades y la ciencia， la capacidad de pensar diferente y disponer de un campo de distorsión de la realidad。El libro recoge todas las cartas hechas por Bezos a sus accionistas a lo largo de la historia de Amazon， lo que resulta interesante pue Indudablemente Jeff Bezos es uno de los grandes innovadores de la historia。 Así lo describe Walter Isaacson en el prólogo， en donde resalta las características necesarias para ser catalogado como tal: una curiosidad obsesiva， un profundo interés por las humanidades y la ciencia， la capacidad de pensar diferente y disponer de un campo de distorsión de la realidad。El libro recoge todas las cartas hechas por Bezos a sus accionistas a lo largo de la historia de Amazon， lo que resulta interesante pues permite ver el crecimiento y los retos de la empresa año a año。 Rescato su enfoque en el cliente， su obsesión por entregar la mejor experiencia y el saber que la venta y la confianza son el resultado de la mejor experiencia， no al revés。 La visión de largo plazo fue clave en la construcción de un proyecto multimillonario。 Muestro de ello fue lo que sucedió con la burbuja del 。com， en donde las acciones de Amazon bajaron más de un 80% y todos los analistas auguraban una quiebra inminente para Amazon。 Sin embargo Bezos logró sortearlo y enfocarse en todos los indicadores clave que seguían mostrando el potencial del negocio que estaba creando。Está dividido en 3 partes: el prólogo， las cartas de accionistas y su vida y obra。 En las 3 partes se encuentra información repetida de varios temas puntuales， lo que en ocasiones hace un poco lenta （o aburrida） su lectura， sin embargo su genialidad y su enfoque merece gran reconocimiento。 。。。more
Camilo Escárraga
，
La introducción por Walter Isaacson es impecable， pero lo demás logró ser un poco monótono y repetitivo con algunos （digamos que pocos） momentos emocionantes y motivadores。
Brenna Radtke
，
I had high hopes for this book。 I’ve been tracking it since before it was published。 But I missed a very important part of the title， “The collected writings of” 。。。What a disappointment。 The first half of the book is a collection of Amazon’s letters to their stakeholders。 Interesting， sure but not at all what I expected。 Many of the chapters are speeches that Bezos has given。 Imagine reading several variations of the same speech that Bezos has given over and over。 Most of the key takeaways of t I had high hopes for this book。 I’ve been tracking it since before it was published。 But I missed a very important part of the title， “The collected writings of” 。。。What a disappointment。 The first half of the book is a collection of Amazon’s letters to their stakeholders。 Interesting， sure but not at all what I expected。 Many of the chapters are speeches that Bezos has given。 Imagine reading several variations of the same speech that Bezos has given over and over。 Most of the key takeaways of these chapters were referenced in Walter Isaacson’s introduction。 Overall， a very repetitive book with little knowledge shared。 Save yourself some time and watch one of Bezos’ commencement addresses instead。 。。。more
Gijs Koopman
，
Surprisingly inspiring。 From an outsider's perspective he doesn't spark the imagination of Elon Musk or resembles the 'capitalist gone good-guy philanthropist' of Bill Gates。 However his story is one of vision， hard work and unprecedented success。 His effort to encourage learning and reading stand out。 His aim to move people to 'a world with longer spans of attention， providing a counterbalance to the recent proliferation of info-snacking tools' is admirable。 This quote resounds in particular: ' Surprisingly inspiring。 From an outsider's perspective he doesn't spark the imagination of Elon Musk or resembles the 'capitalist gone good-guy philanthropist' of Bill Gates。 However his story is one of vision， hard work and unprecedented success。 His effort to encourage learning and reading stand out。 His aim to move people to 'a world with longer spans of attention， providing a counterbalance to the recent proliferation of info-snacking tools' is admirable。 This quote resounds in particular: 'In the end we are our choices。 Build yourself a great story。' 。。。more
Jake Tate
，
I didn't expect most of this to be letters。 But it was。 I didn't expect most of this to be letters。 But it was。 。。。more
Susana
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Un libro altamente repetitivo， que pretende convencernos de la bondad de Bezos y Amazon。 En Venezuela tenemos un refrán: "dime de que alardeas y te diré de que careces"。 Un libro altamente repetitivo， que pretende convencernos de la bondad de Bezos y Amazon。 En Venezuela tenemos un refrán: "dime de que alardeas y te diré de que careces"。 。。。more
Maur0
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No me arrepiento de haberlo leído。 Definitivamente Jeff Bezos es un crack。 Interesante ver la evolución de su start-up enviando cada año un resumen a sus inversionistas y evidenciar el crecimiento exponencial de su empresa。 Realmente su visión de los negocios creo que sale un poco de lo normal。 Me quedo con varias frases y buenos consejos expuestos。 Ojalá algún día pueda trabajar en su compañía。
Manan Vora
，
Reading first the shareholder letters and then other letters on life by Bezos himself is fascinating。 Learning a thing or two from the way he built Amazon is mind blowing。 Also the vision he has for Blue Origin is fascinating。 One thinks - Bezos is more than just being the worlds richest man。 He’s a true visionary！
Lukas Giraldo
，
Buen libro。 Interesante la visión de Jeff Bezos a largo plazo y deja enseñanzas prácticas e interesantes de un buen CEO。El libro repite varias veces algunos temas， pero es interesante。
Miebara Jato
，
Love it。
Yi
，
Bezos is the best pm of our times。 There’s so much to learn from how he put forth a clear and concrete vision and how he outlines the strategy to get there。 A must read for PMs and aspiring PMs。
Richard Reyes
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Great job author， I really like your writing style。 I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition this April。 If you are interested kindly check this link https://www。facebook。com/104455574751。。。 for the mechanics of the writing contest this April and also， I am sharing your book in Facebook to help reach readers。 Thank you Great job author， I really like your writing style。 I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition this April。 If you are interested kindly check this link https://www。facebook。com/104455574751。。。 for the mechanics of the writing contest this April and also， I am sharing your book in Facebook to help reach readers。 Thank you 。。。more
Julius
，
Massively disappointing book。 Almost all content （shareholder letters， speeches） can be found for free online。 Yearly earning updates and numbers from 1998 or 2001 are not even relevant anymore， but take up a significant chunk of the book。 I stopped reading at 40%。 The only Walter Isaacson's contribution I found was the introduction - a long winded summary of the whole book。 Worst part - with some gaping factual errors， that I just could not unsee。 Walter seems to not know who was the first pers Massively disappointing book。 Almost all content （shareholder letters， speeches） can be found for free online。 Yearly earning updates and numbers from 1998 or 2001 are not even relevant anymore， but take up a significant chunk of the book。 I stopped reading at 40%。 The only Walter Isaacson's contribution I found was the introduction - a long winded summary of the whole book。 Worst part - with some gaping factual errors， that I just could not unsee。 Walter seems to not know who was the first person to orbit the earth， or is catering for the "America is the world" （or "first"） audience。For a biographer， I think， getting the facts right is paramount。 Sadly， after this blunder I just could not trust the book。 I read a bit longer， but it was just copy pasted documents。This could have been a semi sequel to "Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger"， with some interesting facts and experiences learned from， distilled， structured， with a story-line。 Yet， it's a binder of consistently formatted pdf documents。Shame。 。。。more
Viraj Shah
，
A perfect way to learn about Amazon and it’s story to date if business， product and the method behind the success which is its leadership principles and the ever demanding customers。
Pablo Capurro
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Compilation of already existing textsI think the author or editorial company should warn that this isn't an original book， it is instead only a compilation of public speeches of Bezos itself。 Compilation of already existing textsI think the author or editorial company should warn that this isn't an original book， it is instead only a compilation of public speeches of Bezos itself。 。。。more
Priyank Trivedi
，
Treat this book as more of a biography rather than learning more about Amazon's Journey and business internal workings。Lots of repetitive thoughts and ideas are presented， could be more concise。 Best part was Introduction by Walter Issacson。 Treat this book as more of a biography rather than learning more about Amazon's Journey and business internal workings。Lots of repetitive thoughts and ideas are presented， could be more concise。 Best part was Introduction by Walter Issacson。 。。。more
Sidharth Mishra
，
An awesome book。Through the various shareholder letters and the collected writings， one gets a peek into the thought process of Jeff Bezos and the consistency of principles which have shaped the organisations he has founded or influenced。
Sanket Sheth
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