What Can You Learn About Scaling from the Very Early Days of Amazon?
In this episode, Bill sits down with John Rossman, former Amazon executive, author, and expert in leadership strategy, to uncover the secrets behind Amazon’s remarkable scalability. From launching the Amazon Marketplace in 2002 to writing The Amazon Way, John shares leadership lessons and operational principles that any business can adopt. This conversation is a masterclass in customer obsession, high standards, and building mechanisms that scale.
Topics explored in this episode:
(02:00) Playing Bigger is Actually Safer
*How John Rossman went from traditional consulting to shaping one of Amazon’s most successful platforms.
*The unique operating tempo and mindset inside Amazon.
*Why high standards are scalable, and low standards are not.
(11:20) Scaling Is Just a Series of Experiments
*You never want to have all your eggs in one basket.
*If you’re trying to juice your business for -today’s profitability-, you’re setting yourself up for a big risk.
*After being let down by Fedex during the holidays, Amazon knew they had to take their delivery network in-house.
(19:00) Stay in the Problem-Solving Headspace a Little Longer
*Find small ways to test solutions to big customer problems.
*Don’t go all-in or spend big $$ on customer problems without testing the available options.
*Study history and past patterns from other companies to understand how problems get solved in a smart way.
(31:15) Reinventing the Business Model: The Amazon Way
*John shares examples of Fortune 500 companies and how they failed to scale.
*How Amazon out-thought competitors with better models, not bigger teams.
*The mindset shift leaders must make to scale.
(39:15) Leadership Isn’t a Trait. It’s a System.
*Don’t wait for a profit decline. Amazon doesn’t.
*Don’t leave your leadership up to chance.
*How to build culture by design, not by accident.
Thanks to John Rossman for being on the show!
Learn more about The Amazon Way: https://the-amazon-way.com/
Connect with John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rossman/
Bill Gallagher, Scaling Coach and host of the Scaling Up Business podcast, is an international business coach who works with C-Suite leaders to achieve breakthrough growth.
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