"Bezonomics, a potent cocktail of customer obsession, crazy innovation, and long-term thinking driven by a relentless AI flywheel, is the business model of the twenty-first century."
Me: Alexa, I love this book.
Alexa: I think you are looking for the song 'I love this bar'. Is that right?
Me: No, I've never even heard of it.
Alexa: Would you like me to play it for you?
🎶🎶 Music (?) plays 🎶🎶
Me: Alexa, STOP! It's country!!!!!!!!!! 😝
I confess: I'm a big fan of Amazon. Alexa feels almost like a family member, and though she doesn't always get things right or plays me country music even though she should know better, it's hard to resist talking to her.
And then packages..... every time I see a box with that smiley arrow, I smile too. It doesn't have to be a package for me; I smile when the UPS guy brings them to me at the library whether they're addressed to me personally or to the library. I see that smiley arrow and ping! Dopamine hit!
I began using Amazon back when they only sold books. I loved reading the reviews even though I didn't make my first purchase until 2003 (Nine Inch Nails' "Pretty Hate Machine" and Train's "My Private Nation" CDs). I became a Prime Member as soon as it started in 2005 and have been a loyal customer ever since. I pre-ordered the first Kindle Fire and had it the day it was released. In the future, I will buy every Alexa-enabled device as soon as I need to replace a current one.
(An aside: I am nerding over the fact that Alexa was named for the ancient Egyptian library in Alexandria!)
Excluding groceries, about 75% of my purchases are made on Amazon. I dislike shopping in "real" stores and would much rather head off to Amazon, select my items, and 1-Click to have them arrive 2 days later.
While there are other books about Jeff Bezos and Amazon, I was never interested in reading them. When I saw Bezonomics: How Amazon Is Changing Our Lives and What the World's Best Companies Are Learning from It however, I immediately had to read it. Maybe it's because of the iconic smiley arrow on the cover that I couldn't resist.
What a fascinating book! My poor partner might have wished she was back at work those two days in which I read it. On just about every page, there was something I had to interrupt her over because I just HAD to share it with her. This book is fun and it's exciting!
I enjoyed learning about the founder Jeff Bezos, how he started Amazon, and his business savvy. It is thrilling to see how Amazon has grown since those first days as a small book seller in Seattle into the worldwide company it is today. Perhaps it has grown too big? The author explores this idea as well. I want to think it is too big and yet I see its growth and branching out into various segments as a good thing for customers and the economy.
The author is clearly pro-Amazon, however, I appreciate that he also addresses some negative aspects and criticisms facing Bezos and Amazon. I found that to be more than fair and kept the book from seeming like a fan-boy write-up.
The author discusses the charge that Amazon is responsible for many small businesses closing. However, Amazon is also responsible for helping create more than 2 million, and growing, independent businesses who use the Amazon platform to sell on. It is not Bezos' fault that many of us prefer to shop online than in old-fashioned brick-and-mortar stores. Those businesses which have closed would have closed even if there was no Amazon.com.
Another big complaint about Amazon, which has made me uncomfortable and more than a couple times had me considering ending my Amazon account, is how it purportedly treats its warehouse workers.
I was glad to learn differently. Amazon is the first large company to start the hourly pay at $15, more than half of the national minimum wage. If I was a young person just starting out, I would try to get a job at an Amazon warehouse, or fulfillment center as they are called. Anyone who works there for a year can have 95% of their job training/college expenses paid for by Amazon, provided it is for a job that is in demand. It does not have to be at Amazon. Want a nursing degree but can't afford it? Go work at a fulfillment center for a year and Amazon will pay most of your educational costs. That is incredible!
It is physically demanding and stressful work but what blue-collar job isn't? Almost all of them are. At least Amazon pays a decent wage and benefits, as well as provides the opportunity to further one's education.
This book shows how Bezos was able to create the world's most successful business, worth USD$1 trillion as of 2018. As the author points out, Bezos "believes that resourcefulness is the greatest virtue. He faces the truth no matter where it leads him. He is a visionary who thinks in terms of not years but decades and centuries."
As Amazon ventures into more and more sectors, other businesses will have to adopt the Bezos business model or crumble. This includes the addition of self-learning artificial intelligence algorithms to help run things. It is one of the reasons, perhaps the reason, Amazon has become a worldwide conglomerate.
Any business that wants to keep up in the future will have to play by the rules of Bezonomics. As the author notes, "the retailers of the future will focus their efforts in four major areas: creating an amazing in-store experience that digitally merges with an amazing online one".
This book explores the various venues into which Amazon is branching out, from its purchase of Whole Foods brick-and-mortar stores to its development of cloud computing and entering into financing and shipping and more.
Amazon's purchase of the online pharmacy PillPack is paving the way for it to become the next big provider of healthcare in America. Because Amazon focuses so heavily on the customer - removing "friction" from the customer's life and lowering costs -Amazon is set to reshape how healthcare is provided in America. I for one would be happy to sign up with an Amazon healthcare plan or even a virtual AI doctor when one is available (I personally trust AI more than I trust human doctors).
This book also explores the coming need for a Universal Basic Income. As more and more jobs are taken over by artificial intelligence, governments will have to find a way to provide for all those who've lost their jobs. Perhaps there will be new jobs created but it will take time for people to train for new careers even if there are enough new jobs to go around.
I apologize if this review seems all over the place. There are so many exciting things I learned in this book that it's hard to stay focused. I would encourage everyone who is interested in either Amazon, Jeff Bezos, businesses of the future, or economics in general to read Bezonomics. It is fascinating and you won't be disappointed!
While there are valid concerns about Amazon or any other corporation becoming too big, one thing is clear: Amazon is here and has changed the way business is done. Love it or hate it, Amazon has profoundly changed not just the way business is done, but also the way we live.
5 glowing, smiley stars for Bezonomics.
And to close, I have to add my one gripe against Amazon, because I have to get it off my chest:
The new Echo eyeglasses frames are only available in one size. I wanted to request an invitation to be among the first to purchase them, both because they're kick-ass cool and because I would love to be part of the feedback team that helps make any necessary improvements. However, having just one size excludes those of us with small faces, namely females. I was geeking big time about having Alexa in my glasses only to be disappointed that the current ones won't fit. There's a bit of discrimination going on here.....