Pt 3 - 9 Lessons From Jeff Bezos' Only Podcast Appearance
- Matt Symes
- May 28, 2024
- 2 min read
Lex Fridman recently interviewed Jeff Bezos on his first-ever podcast appearance. The episode is a masterclass on decision-making, overcoming human nature's inherent flaws, and the art and science of leading high-performing organizations.
We've explored the first 6 takeaways so far, here is the final part:
9 Lessons From Jeff Bezos' Only Podcast Appearance
Part 3/3
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7. Disagree and Commit
Disagreement doesn’t mean we have to quell action.
I can disagree and commit. This is particularly powerful on two-way door decisions. We can walk those back easily and we should be supportive of the individuals we go to battle with.
One-way door decisions are a little more intense. The stakes are higher. Untangling failure here will hurt more.
And yet, “disagree and commit” is more important here.
There are three ways to leave a meeting where a big strategic decision has been made:
I agree and I commit
I disagree and commit (you have my support, I hope this works, and you will never hear me say “I told you” so if it fails).
Here is my resignation letter.
Is your organization suffering from the “I told you so” virus? What can you do to instill this principle?
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8. Lean into Hunches, Anecdotes, and Intuition (But Don’t be a Slave to Them)
“A lot of our most powerful truths turn out to be hunches, they turn out to be based on anecdotes, they’re intuition based. And sometimes you don’t even have strong data, but you may know the person well enough to trust their judgment. You may feel yourself leaning in. It may resonate with a set of anecdotes you have, and then you may be able to say, something about that feels right. Let’s go collect some data on that. Let’s try to see if we can actually know whether it’s right. But for now, let’s not disregard it. It feels right.
Notice he trusts enough to follow it but wants to find a way to see the data to further illuminate a pathway forward.
What are you doing to listen to and analyze the pervasive stories?
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9. You Have to Give Yourself Permission to Wander
“[R]eal invention, real lateral thinking requires wandering, and you have to give yourself permission to wander.”
Lateral thinking is a problem-solving technique that involves looking at a situation or problem from a new or unique perspective.
I run often. And for the last year, I’ve been running with a voice recorder. The ramblings sometimes amount to nothing. But often with my feet moving and my mind wandering, I have better thoughts. It has worked best of all in new environments where the surroundings seem to inspire new pathways.
Are you giving yourself the break and space to wander?
