Email from Jeff Bezos to employees • Hacker News Board

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#61

Post by acomjean » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:29 PM UTC

mssundaram wrote: post #24

mc32 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe he’ll take a cue from Bill Gates and get involved in philanthropy. Alternatively he might get more involved in Blue Origin?

Perhaps Bill Gates truly has developed compassion for the less fortunate, however moving his money into the foundation is a very convenient tax strategy, and I suspect he enjoys the challenges and influence he has, and less so the warm fuzzies from helping people. (I anticipate this comment will not go over well, as it seems I must just not see the truth that Bill Gates is a perfectly benevolent being who has ascende…

Bill Gates was a ruthless business man, but through the influence of his wife/father/Warren Buffet or some combination, he's soften a bit and seems to have decided to give a lot away and convince others to do so as well.

https://givingpledge.org/About.aspx

There's lots of weirdness in society about having the wealthiest having influence starting to approach government program status, but here we are. (perhaps they're trying to blunt the income inequality complaints, but maybe they really have come around to caring...)

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#62

Post by Avalaxy » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:29 PM UTC

mssundaram wrote: post #24

mc32 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe he’ll take a cue from Bill Gates and get involved in philanthropy. Alternatively he might get more involved in Blue Origin?

Perhaps Bill Gates truly has developed compassion for the less fortunate, however moving his money into the foundation is a very convenient tax strategy, and I suspect he enjoys the challenges and influence he has, and less so the warm fuzzies from helping people. (I anticipate this comment will not go over well, as it seems I must just not see the truth that Bill Gates is a perfectly benevolent being who has ascende…

What does Bill Gates care about optimizing tax? He is old, isn't planning on giving his money to his children and he has so much money he wouldn't even be able to spend it if he wanted to. It makes no sense. Im pretty sure he does care about his legacy on the other hand.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#63

Post by wiremine » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:30 PM UTC

Crazy, he's one of those guys that you think will just be at the top forever. Hopefully the transition for Amazon is as (seemingly) seamless as the Steve Jobs/Tim Cook transition was for Apple.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#64

Post by akhilcacharya » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:30 PM UTC

darth_avocado wrote: post #29

enraged_camel wrote: post #3

End of an era. I wonder what he'll do next.

run for president, seems like a thing for Billionaires these days.

He’d be better at it than the last guy, a low bar though.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#65

Post by DoctorNick » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:30 PM UTC

astrojams wrote: post #20

I worked for AWS for a few years under Andy. He's a good pick for CEO of that company.

Will he stop immiserating the warehouse workers that work for them?

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#66

Post by ksec » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:30 PM UTC

From https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/email-from-jef...

>Fellow Amazonians:

>I’m excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO. In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.

This reads to me as Jeff Bezos doesn't want the boring job of running AWS and Amazon anymore. He want something new,

>As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions.

There are plenty of Growth left in Amazon and AWS. But that is not as exiting as Blue Origin or Funding other initiative via Day 1 Fund.

I still remember when Amazon was only selling Books. People laughed, Media Laughed, and I guess most of us laughed.

Amazon is now a ~$1.6 Trillion Dollar Company.

What an era.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#67

Post by libria » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:31 PM UTC

paxys wrote: post #52

It was public knowledge that Bezos stopped running Amazon day-to-day a while ago. It was headed by the two execs under him (Andy Jassy for AWS and Jeff Wilke for retail). Jassy even had the CEO (of AWS) title. With Wilke announcing his retirement a few months ago, Jassy was the clear frontrunner to take over from Bezos. In hindsight I guess Wilke retired because Jassy was picked over him. The timing of the announceme…

Yes, a bit of shakeup at the top. Jassy now CEO, Dave Clark stepping into Jeff Wilke's role as head of retail. I assume Charlie Bell will step up as head of AWS.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#68

Post by mssundaram » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:31 PM UTC

acomjean wrote: post #61

mssundaram wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps Bill Gates truly has developed compassion for the less fortunate, however moving his money into the foundation is a very convenient tax strategy, and I suspect he enjoys the challenges and influence he has, and less so the warm fuzzies from helping people. (I anticipate this comment will not go over well, as it seems I must just not see the truth that Bill Gates is a perfectly benevolent being who has ascende…

Bill Gates was a ruthless business man, but through the influence of his wife/father/Warren Buffet or some combination, he's soften a bit and seems to have decided to give a lot away and convince others to do so as well. https://givingpledge.org/About.aspx There's lots of weirdness in society about having the wealthiest having influence starting to approach government program status, but here we are. (perhaps they're…

I can get behind the idea of his wife helping him to soften, but not his father, who was just as ruthless in his own profession

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#69

Post by rainhacker » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:31 PM UTC

I feel it can be an uncertain transition when a founder/entrepreneur steps down, and an employee of the company takes the place. Looking forward to how Amazon will evolve under the new leadership.

Re: Email from Jeff Bezos to employees

#70

Post by ignoramous » Tue, Feb 02, 2021, 9:32 PM UTC

> This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name.

Jeff's pitch at the time (1997); so on point, so precise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWRbTnE1PEM

> The question I was asked most frequently at that time was, “What’s the internet?” Blessedly, I haven’t had to explain that in a long while.

Here's Jeff explaining the Internet (at a TED talk): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMKNUylmanQ

> Invention. Invention is the root of our success. We’ve done crazy things together, and then made them normal... If you get it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. And that yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive.

Jeff speaking about innovation, invention (based on first principles), making data-driven decisions (and also when to not trust data), learned helplessness at Stanford (2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhnDvvNS8zQ

> When times have been good, you’ve been humble.

Heh. Reminds me of this 2008 lecture where Jeff is selling AWS to startup school students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nKfFHuouzA Classic.

> Amazon couldn’t be better positioned for the future. We are firing on all cylinders, just as the world needs us to.

Not sure about that last part, Jeff.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.