I just read all of Jeff Bezos's 23 letters to Amazon shareholders. And here's a thread with just one key-takeaway from each of these letters.
So if you're an artist or an entrepreneur looking to get some insight into the mind of this genius, read this right now.
1997: Focus relentlessly on your customers and long-term growth.
1998: Here are the 3 criteria Bezos wants managers to consider when hiring (to set the bar high):
1. Will you admire this person?
2. Will they raise the average level of effectiveness of the group?
3. Along what dimension might this person be a superstar?
1999: How to think long-term? Think: it's good enough today, but it will get so much better.
2000: "In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.” - Benjamin Graham
We aren’t 10% smarter when the share goes 10% up, nor 10% dumber when it goes down. We want to be weighed, & we're always working to build a heavier company.