I was listening to an interview of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, who I consider not only smart, but creative and forward-thinking. You know how there are really smart people who are leaders, but can’t seem to see beyond the present day. Those leaders will languish, while the creative ones will really contribute to our future.
The whole interview was a smorgasbord of insight. Check it out here.
The snippet I really appreciated was about how he spent his summers with his grandfather. At the local library, someone had donated a collection of science fiction books and over the course of several years, he read all the books. Anyhow, these futuristic books really opened his mind up to possibilities the average person doesn’t even think about. Love that because I truly believe you have to read a lot to move ahead in life. Not surf the web or read blogs, but read books.
Also, meetings at Amazon start with all the participants reading several pages of a memo. Actual paragraphs and sentences to form a cohesive point. Not bullet points on a PowerPoint presentation. He feels that creating a story and narrative forces the person leading the meeting to fully flesh out the idea. And the meetings all begin with everyone sitting there and reading quietly.
Pretty fascinating stuff. Wish I could afford the stock!
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