Lessons from Jeff Bezos

Amazon.com Founder Jeff Bezos gave a great interview with Charlie Rose. The entire thing is available here (and below):



Lessons from Jeff Bezos:

1. Keep prices low, but not at the cost of quality.

2. Be reliable and dependable. People will trust you and stick.

3. Constantly experiment and innovate to improve the quality of your product. In this case, increase the simplicity, efficiency and delivery of your product to the customer.

4. Be prepared to fail. Failure is good, just learn from it.

5. Be culturally sensitive. Always adapt to local culture; create local jobs and use local skills as much as possible in a way that works for your organization.

6. Think long-term (be in it for the "long haul"), and be willing to be misunderstood (I'm not sure I understand this part!).

The Kindle is cool, but what happens to libraries now?? Do they all move to the third world now??

The Magic of Letters

One of my favorite blogs that I subscribe to is the NPR series called "This I Believe" that outlines the thoughts and lessons of remarkable men and women from around the world.

Inspired by the "This I Believe" podcast in the United States, a local radio station in Nepal is doing a version of their own "Mero Jindagi" (literally translated to "My Life", but meant to convey the same sentiment as "This I believe").

This week, Chameli Waiba gave her beautiful and powerful story titled "The Magic of Letters." Chameli lives in a rural village in Nepal, was a child bride at 15, and didn't learn to read until she was 21. Learning the alphabet, and later, how to read opened up her world. Today, she heads social and environmental movements in the village she lives in, as well those surrounding hers. In her essay, she talks about the power of letters.

Listen to it here.