Author

Chris Dunlop

Learn to Read - Jeff Bezos Style

So I was reading the book "Working Backwards" by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr and they discussed how Jeff Bezos is the slowest reader in the room.

Jeff Bezos

At Amazon, Jeff Bezos is famously known as the slowest reader in the room. While this might seem surprising for a CEO of one of the world's largest companies, Bezos has always prioritised deep, thoughtful analysis over speed.

On a personal note, I've always enjoyed reading things quickly and so hearing that Jeff Bezos was the slowest reader in the room was a bit of a wakeup call.

It's only in the last 5 months of doing the ThinkTank that I have actually really started to absorb books and deeply consider them. (AKA I bought a pink highlighter)

It's hidden amongst all of my excited highlighting, but there is a line about what Jeff is doing when he reads:

Well if you wanted a way to read slowly, that's a pretty good way to do it. Assuming every single sentence is wrong until you can prove otherwise!

Now you can see why I triple highlighted that page. That blew my mind.

I assumed, because he was so intelligent that he would zip through books and articles in a flash.

To be honest, I didn't really understand what it even meant to read slowly and assume that everything is wrong.

So in order to deeply sink in this lesson, it wasn't enough to just say slow down to you all (and myself) and then assume everything is wrong! Instead I've been doing a lot of background reading, and realised that I needed clear concrete examples on how to actually implement this in practice.

Before Reading Slow

Quick sidenote! Before you implement this at your work...

Remember Amazon has banned Powerpoint for 20 years and they dedicate the first 20 minutes of each meeting to silent reading.

In fact, the practice is so strange that in the book "Working Backwards" by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr, they mention this:

If you were to ask recently hired Amazon employees about what has surprised them about the time at the company so far, one response would certainly be at the top of the list... The eerie silence that fills the room during the first 20 minutes of every meeting.

Colin Bryar - Working Backwards

Example of the Assume Everything is Wrong Method

So to help explain this I have created an example scenario where you can see how Jeff Bezos might read an email. This example contains three parts:

• The first part is a normal email
• The second part shows how Jeff might read it, with thoughts and annotations
• The third part is a detailed analysis and next steps that Jeff would expect to see

Part 1 - An email from the head of marketing about a recent product launch

Subject: Q2 Product Launch - Unprecedented Success!

Dear Team,
I'm thrilled to announce that our Q2 product launch has been an unprecedented success! The market response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we're seeing incredible traction across all channels. Here are some highlights:

Social media buzz is off the charts, with influencers praising our product.
Website traffic has increased by 200% since the launch.
We've already hit 80% of our Q2 sales target.
Customer feedback has been stellar, with a 4.8/5 star rating on our website.
Major tech blogs are calling our product "revolutionary" and "game-changing."
This success is a testament to our team's hard work and innovation. We're not just meeting expectations; we're redefining the market!
Let's keep this momentum going. I'll be scheduling a team meeting to discuss our next steps and how we can leverage this success for future launches.
Best regards,

Sarah Johnson

Head of Marketing

Part 2 - Jeff's Analysis

How Jeff might approach reading this email

Subject: Q2 Product Launch - Unprecedented Success!

So what would make Jeff happy?

Now the book mentions that he appreciates a rigorous approach to data-driven decision-making.

Also a heavy reliance on charts, graphs and tables.

What he would expect to see is a robust analysis backed by quantifiable metrics that not only compare current data against previous benchmarks but also align with industry standards.

This approach helps ensure that claims of success are not only based on substantial evidence but also provide actionable insights for future strategies.

Let's show what that might look like

2. Key Insights

• Traffic increase is significantly above industry average, but conversion rate growth is lagging.
• Customer Acquisition Cost has decreased, indicating improved marketing efficiency.
• Net Promoter Score shows strong customer satisfaction, but there's room for improvement.
• 80% of Q2 sales target hit, but profit margins need to be analysed for a complete picture.

3. Areas for Further Investigation

• Analyse traffic sources to understand which channels are driving the most valuable traffic.
• Investigate the gap between traffic increase and conversion rate growth.
• Conduct a detailed analysis of customer feedback, particularly focusing on the 20% non-5-star reviews.
• Evaluate the long-term impact of influencer mentions and tech blog reviews on brand perception and sales.

5. Long-term Strategic Considerations

• How can we maintain this growth rate in subsequent quarters?
• What potential market expansions or product iterations can we explore based on this success?
• How do we need to scale our infrastructure and team to support continued growth?
• What potential risks or challenges could arise from this rapid growth, and how can we mitigate them?

Phew

Honestly, this post felt like going to the gym for me.

I noticed that even practicing this method of reading and analysis in a blog post was a lot of work! That was all for a single made up email.

I can't imagine how much work it would be to do this for every email, every report, every article, every book.

So I can see why Jeff Bezos is the slowest reader in the room.

Here's a picture of the first ever Amazon office to finish off the post: