A former executive assistant to Jeff Bezos said that she waslentless and unforgiving, but that the Amazon founder invested in people once they proved themselves.
Bezos hired Ann Hiatt in 2002 and she spent three years doing everything from organizing his schedule to booking helicopter flights. She was the chief-of-staff to EricSchmidt when he was the CEO of the company. Hiatt has written a book about her experience helping the leaders of Big Tech.
Hiatt told Insider that he waslentless working for the Amazon founder.
An obsession with customers is one of the reasons that Amazon grew from a small online bookstore to a company worth more than a trillion dollars.
Relentless was one of the names considered by Bezos for his e- commerce site. The domain name Relentless.com leads to Amazon.
The company has been criticized for its ruthless approach to staff, as well as its close monitoring of delivery drivers and staff in its distribution centers.
In her experience, the environment could be "unforgiving" but working closely with Bezos had its upsides.
Hiatt said that he would never spend 15 hours a day with other people.
He teaches you to think like he does when he invests in an employee. Hiatt said to question and to envision and to demand more from yourself than anyone else would.
Hiatt said that Bezos has a similar hiring philosophy, which is to hold back not push forward.
Once you have earned your keep, the reins are off and he will let you hang yourself with it.
He will let you know if he thinks you have not done your homework.
He will turn an idea presented by an employee into a job and prompt the person to explore it further.
When she was asked to help Bezos write his first Ted Talk, Hiatt shared an example.
Bezos wanted to compare the dawn of the internet to the gold rush or the discovery of electricity. He wanted to know if people were scared by these moments.
Hiatt had recently graduated from college and had a library card, so he was tasked with searching archives of old newspaper articles for examples of people being frightened by electricity.
She reported back that she couldn't find anything. Bezos wouldn't accept her answer.
She recalls him saying that it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.
It was hard to give feedback to an employee who had worked all weekend. Hiatt realized that Bezos was correct. She could not have covered all of the information in two days. She found an article.
Hiatt has spent four years coaching CEOs, and previously told Insider that Bezos and other billionaire CEOs share the same trait of curiosity. She said resilience is the other one.
The secret sauce that set Bezos apart was his management style, along with the systems he put in place, such as clear leadership principles and strict instructions for crafting the perfect memo.
His decision making could be replicated and his influence extended beyond his presence.
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