The New York Times - USA (2020-07-31)

A2 Y THE NEW YORK TIMES, FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2020

A quarter-century ago, Jeff Bezos was a finance nerd with a tiny bookselling website. You

know what happened next. Mr. Bezos’s career arc tracks the shift of technology from a

relatively fringe industry into a central force in the world. And that’s exactly why

Mr. Bezos, of Amazon, and the chief executives of three other American tech stars testi-

fied Wednesday at a congressional panel investigating possible abuses of their power.

They faced sharp-edged questions from lawmakers about practices in their own market-

places and acquisitions of smaller competitors. The congressional hot seat shows how far

the industry has come. I talked to Karen Weise, my colleague who covers Amazon, about

how Mr. Bezos thinks and the meaning behind the scrutiny of Amazon. SHIRA OVIDE

How much of Amazon is Jeff Bezos?

He’s far less hands-on than most people

realize, at least he was until recently. But

Amazon is a reflection of Mr. Bezos. It’s

built on his ideals and ideas, and Mr. Bezos

has a clarity of thought about what the

company should be.

Amazon is also structured around a

set of principles and mechanisms that

Mr. Bezos created. These “Jeff-isms” can

sound like meaningless corporate-speak to

an outsider, but many employees com-

pletely buy into them, and the principles

are infused into everything.

What are some notable Jeff-isms?

One is this idea of “one way” versus “two

way” doors. The first are irreversible deci-

sions that should be made with care, ver-

sus changeable choices that can be made

fast. People who worked at Amazon said

they used that framework to make life

decisions, too. Another Bezos principle is

orienting every decision around what the

customer wants. It’s an obsession that

makes Amazon what it is. The downside is

acting in the best interests of shoppers can

sometimes justify actions that pressure

Amazon’s workers or marketplace sellers.

What about the reverse: Is Jeff Bezos

inextricably linked to Amazon?

Well, he’s trying to create a broad image of

himself separate from Amazon. He might

want to be the guy with a big mansion in

Washington, charitable foundations, a

space travel company, and The Washington

Post. The reality is that Amazon is the

source of his power, wealth and stature.

What’s the significance of Mr. Bezos and the

other tech executives testifying to Congress

on potential abuses of power?

For a long time these companies thought

they didn’t need to concern themselves

with policy, politics and regulation.

Mr. Bezos certainly didn’t. That’s changing

now because of the growing influence of

technology everywhere.

Several of the most valuable companies

in the world are tech companies. Mr. Bezos

is the world’s richest person. Amazon is

the second largest corporate employer in

the United States. My coverage of Amazon

touches on retail, transportation, labor,

economics, consumer electronics and the

functioning of cities.

Americans generally don’t trust technology

companies, but Amazon has a good

reputation.

Yes, and the company has had a sense that

customers’ love and trust would carry it

through everything. But people can love

shopping on Amazon and not love its

record on politics, labor or the envi-

ronment. We saw that in Amazon’s home-

town, Seattle, where the company put a lot

of money into City Council races last year,

and it completely backfired. People felt

that the company was trying to buy the

vote. In New York City, there were people

who believed that Amazon was trying to

bully its way into building a big corporate

campus.

Does Amazon understand that people may

love the product but mistrust the company?

It understands it intellectually. I don’t think

it does emotionally. Mr. Bezos has said he

believes powerful institutions like Amazon

should be subject to scrutiny, and he said

Amazon welcomed that. But at their core,

Amazon believes it’s acting in the best

interests of customers, so why wouldn’t

customers like the company?

Inside The Times

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Jeff Bezos testified remotely at an antitrust hearing in Washington on Wednesday.

POOL PHOTO BY MANDEL NGAN

How Amazon Reflects Its Founder

This interview was adapted from the On Tech

newsletter, which is delivered every weekday. To

sign up, go to nytimes.com/newsletters.

July 31, 1908. The only American team rolled into Paris as the winner of the New York-to-

Paris automobile race. The 1907 Thomas Flyer Roadster and its three-man crew were

greeted by shouts of “Vive le car Am é ricain!” as they traveled the streets of the French

capital, The Times reported. It took the Americans 169 days to complete the race, which

began at Times Square with six contestants from four countries. George Schuster, the

primary driver for the winning team, estimated the Flyer was driven over 13,000 miles,

plus traveled thousands more aboard ships. Only three cars finished the race.

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