https://ir.aboutamazon.com/annual-reports-proxies-and-shareholder-letters/default.aspx

https://bettertomorrowfinancial.com/2021/04/15/2020-update-all-of-jeff-bezos-amazon-letters-to-shareholders-together-in-one-pdf-through-fiscal-year-2019/

https://bettertomorrowfinancial.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/jeff-bezos-amazon-shareholder-letters-1997_2020.pdf

1997

From the beginning, our focus has been on offering our customers compelling value. We realized that the Web was, and still is, the World Wide Wait. Therefore,

(www: wild wild west from jay z)

It's not easy to work here (when I interview people I tell them, “You can work long, hard, or smart, but at Amazon.com you can't choose two out of three”), but we are working to build something important, something that matters to our customers, something that we can all tell our grandchildren about. Such things aren't meant to be easy. We are incredibly fortunate to have this group of dedicated employees whose sacrifices and passion build Amazon.com.

To be certain, a big part of the challenge for us will lie not in finding new ways to expand our business, but in prioritizing our investments.

We feel good about what we've done, and even more excited about what we want to do.

1998

We will have to make many conscious and deliberate choices, some of which will be bold and unconventional. Hopefully, some will turn out to be winners. Certainly, some will turn out to be mistakes.

But there is no rest for the weary. I constantly remind our employees to be afraid, to wake up every morning terrified. Not of our competition, but of our customers. Our customers have made our business what it is, they are the ones with whom we have a relationship, and they are the ones to whom we owe a great obligation. And we consider them to be loyal to us – right up until the second that someone else offers them a better service.

It would be impossible to produce results in an environment as dynamic as the Internet without extraordinary people. Working to create a little bit of history isn’t supposed to be easy, and, well, we’re finding that things are as they’re supposed to be! We now have a team of 2,100 smart, hard-working, passionate folks who put customers first. Setting the bar high in our approach to hiring has been, and will continue to be, the single most important element of Amazon.com’s success.

During our hiring meetings, we ask people to consider three questions before making a decision: