Review by Myra Salzer
This exploration began when more than one of our clients asked that Steve avoid investing in Amazon.
I thought, “What’s wrong with Amazon?! Jeff Bezos is my hero! Has been for many, many years.” It started in the ‘90s when all he sold online were books. At the time, it was a novel approach to selling anything. Despite an early bumpy ride, Jeff stayed focused on customer satisfaction and kept adding services to make the experience swifter, easier, and less expensive – all at the expense of immediate profits for shareholders. That’s what capitalism should reward, and it did. It’s no secret that Jeff Bezos is now the richest man in the world.
Then TWC’s Steve Henningsen pointed out to me some of the arguments against Bezos: how Amazon is squeezing out the small manufacturers and merchants by undercutting their access and pricing, and how Amazon is manufacturing its own labeled products. I shot back with how Amazon has made it possible for the little guy to sell online without having to endure the cost and hassle of a brick-and-mortar store. Steve and I could have gone back and forth a few more times (Steve, of course, being more knowledgeable than I am). Instead, I decided to dig a little deeper into the issues he raised.
I downloaded Bezonomics, by Brian Dumaine. [By way of Apple’s bookstore, not Amazon’s.] I found it to be a thorough, well-researched, well-written, current, and objective book about Jeff Bezos. It turns out, both Steve and I were correct. Bezos is a complex, driven person. I feel as though I know him a bit after reading the book.
Here’s my take, in summary: He is doggedly focused on building a company that serves individual consumers faster, easier, better, and cheaper than his competition.
Bezos has a reputation for eliminating blue-collar workers’ jobs – yet he employs over one million of them. He’s also bashed for abusing his workforce and not compensating them well, in spite of the fact that he was the first corporation to implement a minimum wage of $15 per hour. Yes, he is spearheading AI, which will ultimately eliminate many blue-collar jobs, but he’s not alone in that endeavor, and if he were not doing so, he wouldn’t stay competitive. The truth is, change always comes with positive and negative ramifications. I don’t think it’s fair to blame Bezos for all the negative changes without also acknowledging the positive.
As a society, we need to accept that perfect personal privacy is largely a thing of the past. We can’t expect to remain anonymous while we work and function in an online society. The ubiquitous presence of Alexa is one example – but, golly, Alexa is just one of many. With everyone carrying cell phones that can easily make visual and audio recordings, not to mention citywide cameras and cell towers and cars with GPS, we have to accept the compromise of personal privacy. Yes, Amazon is collecting data on us – some more than others, thanks to Prime memberships and Prime credit cards and Prime streaming and music. Then again, our bankers, credit-rating services, insurers, medical providers, social-media platforms, etc. are all collecting our data, too.
My mother often said, “Any virtue carried to excess becomes a vice.” Bezos certainly is an excessive-compulsive creator. I have to wonder, though, if he is a vice. In my mind, he is more hero than villain. He certainly has made my life a lot easier. I would be hard-pressed to go back to going Amazon-less, and hope I never have to… unless there is a quicker, easier, cheaper alternative…