- Amazon announced on Tuesday that Jeff Bezos will step down as CEO and become executive chairman.
- Bezos sent a letter to employees that reminded them of Amazon’s purpose and its role in it.
- HBS professor Sunil Gupta said the letter is a strong example of effective messages for the CEO.
- Visit the Insider Business section for more stories.
On Tuesday, Amazon announced that CEO Jeff Bezos would step down later this year. Bezos will become executive chairman and Andy Jassy, head of Amazon Web Services, will replace Bezos as CEO.
The same day, Bezos sent a letter to employees giving a little more detail about what his career change would mean for the company. (We include the full text at the end of this article.) Amazon declined to comment.
It’s not especially syrupy, which it presumably could be, since Bezos started the $ 1.67 trillion tech giant in his garage 27 years ago. (“The question I was asked most often at the time,” wrote Bezos in the letter, was: ‘What is the Internet?’ “)
Insider spoke with Sunil Gupta, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School who wrote a case study on Amazon’s growth strategy. Gupta said Bezos’s letter was generally strong and a model for other leaders to follow. Specifically, said Gupta, the letter contained three essential components of effective CEO messages.
Reminded employees that Amazon is bigger than e-commerce
“The CEO reflects the company’s values,” said Gupta. And Bezos showed in his letter that he is committed to making life better for everyone.
“As Executive President, I will continue to be involved in important initiatives in the Amazon,” wrote Bezos, “but I will also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post and other passions. “
For reference, the Day 1 Fund is a philanthropic program to support homeless families and education, the Bezos Earth Fund works against climate change and Blue Origin is a space flight company. In other words, Bezos is facing problems in which the future of humanity is at stake. These initiatives are not directly connected to Amazon, but Bezos has invested money (and time) in them. In 2019, Bezos pledged to make the Amazon carbon neutral by 2040, which he mentioned in the letter.
Read More: What billionaire Jeff Bezos says he will do after stepping down as CEO of Amazon
This kind of message helps give employees a sense of purpose, said Gupta, reminding them “why they come to work at Amazon”. The business case here is strong: research suggests that people who can connect their daily job responsibilities to a broader mission are more engaged and work better for their employers.
Gives staff credit for Amazon’s success
Bezos did not use the letter to pat himself on the back for turning Amazon from an incomplete idea into the global powerhouse it is today. Instead, he told all 1.3 million employees that they were important.
“We have they did crazy things together, “writes Bezos,” and then made them normal. “He talks about”our inventiveness, “and why” millions of customers depend on we for our services. “(Italics are the emphasis of the Insider.)
This focus on teamwork is a good thing. “Many CEOs, especially after doing what Jeff Bezos did from scratch, may be tempted to have this as a ‘glory card’ or the ‘See what I’ve done’ thing,” said Gupta. Bezos chose to temporarily shelve his ego and congratulate the team on their success.
It was concise
Amazon places great value on writing and good communication. Employees spend the first part of each meeting reading a memo to make sure they are prepared, and you need to write a model press release when presenting a new idea.
Read More: The ‘2 pizza rule’ is a secret to productive meetings that helped Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos become one of the richest men in the world. See why you’re smart.
So it is not particularly surprising that Bezos’ letter goes straight to the point (in 619 words) and conveys a clear message, said Gupta. That message is: Amazon is in a great place and I’m leaving it in good hands. Bezos briefly answered questions about his new role, said Gupta, but did not waste much time in response to people’s curiosity.
The only potential failure
Gupta acknowledged that Bezos’s letter did not say much about Jassy, the new CEO. “Andy is well known within the company and has been with Amazon for almost as long as I have,” wrote Bezos. “He will be a remarkable leader and he has all my confidence.”
“I would expect almost a paragraph about Andy,” said Gupta, especially since he is much less of a public figure than Bezos. In the interest of keeping the letter short, Bezos may have chosen not to say much about his successor. (Jassy sent his own letter to the team the same day.)
Also note that the dollar signs do not appear on the chart, although Amazon’s market capitalization can be thought of as something Bezos is proud of. This is not what inspires employees, said Gupta. “People don’t come to work just because they earn a salary,” he said. “They do this because they have a purpose that what they are doing really makes a difference.”
Read Bezos’ letter in full below:
Companions from the Amazon:
I am pleased to announce that this third quarter I will transition to Executive Chairman of the Board of Amazon and Andy Jassy will become CEO. As Executive President, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and initial initiatives. Andy is well known within the company and has been with Amazon for almost as long as I have. He will be a remarkable leader and has all my confidence.
This journey began about 27 years ago. Amazon was just an idea and had no name. The question I was asked most often at that time was, “What is the Internet?” Fortunately, I haven’t had to explain this in a long time.
Today, we employ 1.3 million talented and dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world.
How did this happen? Invention. The invention is the root of our success. We did crazy things together and then made them normal. We were pioneers in customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, incredibly fast shipping from Prime, Just Walk Out purchases, Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, cloud computing infrastructure, Career Choice and more. If you get it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. And that yawn is the highest compliment an inventor can receive.
I don’t know of another company with a history of inventions as good as that of Amazon, and I believe that we are in our most inventive moment. I hope you are as proud of our creativity as I am. I think you should be.
As Amazon became big, we decided to use our scale and scope to lead on important social issues. Two high-impact examples: our $ 15 minimum wage and the Climate Commitment. In both cases, we set up leadership positions and then asked others to join us. In both cases, it is working. Other big companies are coming our way. I hope you are proud of that too.
I find my work meaningful and fun. I work with the most intelligent, talented and resourceful teammates. When times were good, you were humble. When times were tough, you were strong and supportive, and we made each other laugh. It is a joy to work on this team.
As much as I still tap dance in the office, I’m excited about this transition. Millions of customers depend on us for our services, and more than a million employees depend on us for their livelihood. Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep and exhausting responsibility. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to pay attention to anything else. As executive president, I will continue to be involved in important Amazon initiatives, but I will also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post and my other passions. . I’ve never had more energy and it’s not about retiring. I am very excited about the impact that I think these organizations can have.
Amazon couldn’t be better positioned for the future. We are firing on all cylinders, just as the world needs us. We have things in the pipeline that will continue to surprise. We serve individuals and businesses, and are pioneers in two complete industries and a whole new class of devices. We are leaders in areas as varied as machine learning and logistics, and if the idea of an Amazonian requires another new institutional skill, we are flexible and patient enough to learn it.
Keep inventing and don’t despair when the idea seems crazy at first. Remember to wander. Let curiosity be your compass. Day 1 remains.
Jeff