Uber’s New CEO
“In fact, what makes Uber so valuable — and still so attractive, despite all of the recent troubles — is its position with riders. The more riders Uber has, the more drivers it will attract, even if the economics are worse relative to other services: driving at a worse rate is better than not driving at a better one.”
Very interesting (as usual) breakdown of Uber’s current status and how the newly appointed CEO good turn things around. Ben has a great talent for breaking down big business decisions into practical terms.
Betting on Things That Never Change
“Jeff Bezos once explained why this was critical: I very frequently get the question: “What’s going to change in the next 10 years?” That’s a very interesting question. I almost never get the question: “What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?” And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two. You can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time. In our retail business, we know that customers want low prices, and I know that’s going to be true 10 years from now. They want fast delivery; they want vast selection. It’s impossible to imagine a future 10 years from now where a customer comes up and says, “Jeff I love Amazon, I just wish the prices were a little higher.” Or, “I love Amazon, I just wish you’d deliver a little slower.” Impossible. So we know the energy we put into these things today will still be paying off dividends for our customers 10 years from now. When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it.”
“In the last 100 years we’ve gone from horses to jets and mailing letters to Skype. But every sustainable business is accompanied by one of a handful of timeless strategies: Lower prices. Faster solutions to problems. Greater control over your time. More choices. Added comfort. Entertainment/curiosity. Deeper human interactions. Greater transparency. Less collateral damage. Higher social status. Increased confidence/trust. You can make big, long-term bets on these things, because there’s no chance people will stop caring about them in the future.”
Great read about Amazon’s history. What stood out to me was the quote from Jeff—how nobody asks, “What’s not going to change in 10 years?” Everyone is so focused on pushing the envelope further that there is something to be said about a company that focuses on things that aren’t going to change. Clearly this has been working for Amazon.
Forget Meditating, Just Go For A Swim
“There is one quiet place left on this earth. One quiet place where there are no phones, no news tickers, no instant messages or even music. It’s the one place where you can have not just quiet but utter silence and meditative calm, even if those things don’t come to you naturally. That place is underwater.”
100% can confirm this is true. The very nature of swimming forces you to focus and think whether you realize it or not. It’s one of the best exercises (both physical and mental) that you could do.
The Key To Happiness Is To See Beauty in Everything (Even Ugly Things)
“A person who can see that same three hour flight delay as a chance to enjoy life, to people watch, to remind themselves how lucky they are—this is a person who really lives. And lives well while they are alive.”
I’m sure we could all improve on this area. Sometimes things that we think are problems or annoyances are actually opportunities—all we have to do is change our perspective.