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HBR On Strategy

Lessons from Amazon’s Early Growth Strategy

Apr 22, 2024
Harvard Business School professor Sunil Gupta discusses how Amazon's strategy and founder Jeff Bezos disrupted traditional business strategies, emphasizing customer obsession and long-term thinking. Topics include diversification, customer focus, innovation, and leadership. Explore the keys to Amazon's success and lessons for companies of all sizes.
28:35

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Amazon's success lies in diversifying products for various users, not a narrow focus.
  • Customer obsession and long-term thinking are crucial strategies for companies to emulate.

Deep dives

Amazon's Unusual Strategy Approach

Amazon's standout strategy involves diversifying into multiple products to serve various end users instead of a narrower focus. Harvard Business School professor Sunil Gupta highlights Amazon's unique strategy, emphasizing customer obsession and long-term thinking as key elements that companies, both large and small, should adopt. Gupta suggests that Amazon's strategy of connecting products and customers revolutionizes traditional corporate strategies by focusing on broader connections in the digital economy.

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