Jeff Bezos’s 23 shareholder letters show he values customers more than employees

Here’s a count of 23 Amazon’s shareholder letters that fared better than the others.

By Shannon Tellis, ET Bureau | Apr 30, 2019, 10.43 AM IST

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s shareholder letters revealed the words at the top of his mind. Here’s a count of those that fared better than the others.

When the world’s richest man puts pen to paper to outline his long-term strategy, it’s a good idea to comb through his words, not just for their strategic wisdom but also for the secrets they reveal. An online business magazine recently ran all of Amazon’s shareholder letters — approximately 44,000 words — through a word cloud generator and the numbers that emerged were interesting, to say the least:

443 - The number of times the word ‘customer’ or ‘customers’ appears. For years, Bezos has extolled the virtues of customer obsession. Not only is it one of the cornerstones of Amazon’s business but it’s also the first thing Bezos looks for when investing in a new business.

Ultra Rich World: Ambani Tops Indian Billionaires; Bezos Wealthiest; Kylie Jenner Youngest Achiever

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Like every year, Forbes World's Billionaire list highlighted some obvious names, and brought in some surprises.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos topped the global list, and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani ranked 13th making him the wealthiest Indian.

With 55 fewer billionaires from the previous year, the ultra-rich make a total net worth of $8.7 trillion ($400 million lower last year), Forbes reported.

Here's a look at who made it to the Forbes rich list this year.

443:28 - The contrast between the number of times Bezos references the Amazon ‘customer’ versus the number of times he uses the word ‘competition’ or some form of it like ‘competitive advantage’. Bezos believes that competitor-obsession is a common trap that many tech companies fall into. In a 2013 interview, he said, “Let’s say you’re the leader in a particular arena, if you’re competitor-focused and you’re already the leader, then where does your energy come from? Whereas, if you’re customer focused, and you’re already the leader, customers are never satisfied. You’re always waking up wondering, how can we make that customer say, wow?”

0 - The number of times Bezos mentions the word ‘antitrust’ despite growing congressional concerns that Amazon is behaving like a monopoly and need to be regulated.

176 - The number of times Bezos mentions his employees using words like team, people, hiring and associates. In his most recent letter, Bezos challenged rivals to raise their minimum wage. “Today I challenge our top retail competitors to match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage,” he wrote. “Do it! Better yet, go to $16 and throw the gauntlet back at us. It’s a kind of competition that will benefit everyone.”

1 - The letter ended with a familiar sentiment — “It remains Day 1” — a reminder to employees to make decisions quickly and focus on results, not the process.

Jack Ma, Bezos, Travis Kalanick: Top Bosses Who Promoted Hostile Work Culture

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Being an industry leader is not child's play. Apart from taking one's business ahead and dealing with the complications that come along with it, inculcating a healthy work culture is also extremely important.

Recently, Alibaba Group boss Jack Ma received flak on social media for promoting a 12-hour-a-day and six-days-a-week work routine for success. However, he isn't the only one who, in an effort to be on the top, ended up promoting a hostile work culture.

Here's a look at some top bosses who haven't been appreciated for their leadership qualities.

(In pic from left: Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma, Travis Kalanick)