Building A Better Business By Thinking Like Amazon

**Don’t try to be like Amazon**
[Amazon](http://www.amazon.com “Amazon”) is a business like no other. Retailers might not like to hear this, but it is true. They have a spirit of innovation that looks at both software and hardware, plus they have a spirit of customer service that is tough to rival. Everyone talks about the pioneering spirit of Amazon, and it is a story that is worthy of telling. Still, people like [Avinask Kaushik](http://www.kaushik.net “Avinash Kaushik”) and I would agree that trying to be like Amazon, [Apple](http://www.apple.com “Apple”), [Google](http://www.google.com “Google”) can be hard for most (maybe even all) businesses. For a myriad of reasons. Still, there is always something that we can think about, learn from and implement to make our businesses that much better.
**How is Amazon thinking there days?**
We don’t get to hear from Amazon founder, [Jeff Bezos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos “Jeff Bezos”) nearly enough. It’s usually the odd quote, here or there. But, it’s rarely in the context of a longer and more focused interview. This past Tuesday, [Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com “Business Insider”) posted [their full fifty-minute live, one-on-one conversation](http://recode.net/2014/12/16/watch-amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-get-grilled-in-rare-public-interview-video/) between Business Insider founder, [Henry Blodget](https://twitter.com/hblodget “Henry Blodget”) and Bezos from their [Ignition – Future of Digital conference](http://www.businessinsider.com/event/ignition-2014 “Ignition”). It is very raw and direct. The questions are very probing and provocative. I have rarely seen a conversation like this, only because I found myself questioning my own business-thinking and reaching for my [Field Notes](http://fieldnotesbrand.com/ “Field Notes”) with some new ideas to jam on. I think you will too.
**What is the future of Amazon? What is the future of business? [Watch this](http://recode.net/2014/12/16/watch-amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-get-grilled-in-rare-public-interview-video/)…**