What Jeff Bezos is teaching me for my family business vision

When I joined my family business full time we didn’t have an explicit vision (direction), values (acceptable behaviors), budgets, etc. It was instinctual. We had literally over 100 years of success: “doing what we do…”

Admittedly, I was frustrated for quite a few years that the direction wasn’t written out more clearly. I wanted it spelled out explicitly for me.  

I used to see the lack of articulation as a liability. As I matured in my leadership, I started to see the lack of explicit vision as an opportunity to galvanize the spirit with utmost care to honor the past and set the trajectory for the future.

When it was finally time to put pen to paper in 2022, I paused. I got nervous. Now I understood why things weren’t spelled out. It would mean I’m on the hook for whatever is written.

Since writing an initial vision and values in 2022, it has continued to evolve and be refined. It is a work in progress. I’m always seeking to study how great leaders are painting a clearer picture.

There’s someone you and I can learn from to keep getting more clear: Jeff Bezos.

Bezos showcases how vision precedes greatness.

Before Amazon made it big. Before Amazon even hit $150MM in revenue Bezos had a vision. It was bold. It had clarity. He did it on a public stage.

You should read his 1997 shareholder letter. (Its absolute gold.) Reading his letter you know he believes. 

Belief precedes ability.

You can tell he did the hard work of studying the greats, studying the marketplace, studying the raw ingredients required for building something great.

30 years ago Amazon.com was not a given. Bezos was up against well capitalized, established competitors. He shares his plans right in plain site for us to learn.

With every passing generation of our family businesses we clarity. We need “Day 1” energy like Jeff Bezos talks about. We need to bring clarity for tomorrow.

Here are my takeaways from his shareholder letter from three decades ago we can bring into our family business right now:

“But this is Day 1 for the Internet”: It’s Day 1 for our family business. Success breeds complacency. Our customers don’t care what we did yesterday nor do our teammates or our vendors. It’s about today and tomorrow. Sense of urgency to do what’s next now.

“Serious investment and crisp execution against established…leaders.” Leaning in and having the passion for “crisp” execution. Business being built to sell just won’t be crisp. That 

requires care and passion. That’s the advantage we have in family business.

“We first measure ourselves in terms of the metrics most indicate of our market leadership.”

What you measure is what you value. Bezos was so thoughtful to decide to measure the things that would feed the Amazon flywheel in the early days when he was against the larger competitors. He allowed data to facilitate focus. 

In my family business, we see measurements around our people as most important so our two most important metrics we share are safety (are teammates getting home safely) and families in family business (is Century worthy of inviting loved ones to join?). As a contractor, we believe the greatest shortage in our industry is people and if we can improve the teammate experience then that is the leading indicator to the customer experience. (I’ll keep you posted as this evolves.)

“Investment decisions in light of long-term market leadership considerations rather than short-term profitability…” 

Relentlessly focused on the long term. In family business, we need to be concerned about family members staying focused on the long-term. Bezos was communicating to the public to focus on the long-term. Bezos had incredible courage and unwavering belief to lead for the long-term in the public markets that are obsessed with the quarterly performance.

“Dogged focus on improving the shopping experience.”

Continuous improvement. Staying in the game to allow small improvements to compound over decades.

Never forget the power of the compound interest equation: A = P * (1+r) ^ t

The t is the most powerful variable for family business which Bezos has been obsessed with for over three decades.

“We are grateful for the trust our customers have placed in us.”

The humility to acknowledge its all about the customer. Amazon.com was nothing without the trust of the customer. In the game of compounding trust. The sales as of this 1997 shareholder letter spiked 838% (15.7MM in 1996 to 147.8MM in 1997). Bezos goes on to say “we still have so much to learn.”

“Setting the bar high… to hiring… the single most important element of Amazon.com’s success.”

Bezos and team were always looking to level up the bar of the hiring of their team so they became a company of giants rather than a company of dwarves. The timeless truth that “A” players hire “A” players. “B” players hire “C” players.  Hire A players. Working with people you like, admire, and trust is much more fulfilling than settling.

“We are working to build something important… something that we can all tell our grandchildren about. Such things aren’t meant to be easy.”

Aligning our work to something meaningful and hard is part of living a good life. The hard way is the right way. We cannot join our family business as the “easy” path or the default path. It’s about joining the family business to help the business have its next Day 1. 

I had the privilege of witnessing what my grandfather and great grandfather built. 

Whether you’ve been at your family business for 40 years or this is your first week…

It’s Day 1. 

Onward,

Matt

We’re not looking to cash in and move on. We’re looking to build a real company.

Building a real company is hard.

This challenge requires us to become the best version of ourselves. (I think this is the whole point.)

The hard way is the right way.

Onward,

Matt