Jeff Bezos

"I definitely believe that innovation is the competitive advantage."

"When you receive criticism, take it seriously, but don't take it personally."

"We want to make our employees feel that working here is the best decision they ever made."

"We believe that a fundamental measure of our success will be how much we improve the lives of others."

"The metrics change, but the commitment to excellence never does."

"You have to maintain a culture of consistency because values are hard-wired."

"Our power comes not from our technology, but from our people."

"A peculiar aspect of retail is that cows know they're cattle."

"If you are going to do something, do it well."

"We don't focus on the optics of things. We focus on substance."

"The balance of power is shifting toward consumers and away from companies."

"We've had three big ideas at Amazon: we started with books, we moved to try to become a general store, and now we're going into the services business."

"We're willing to spend money, and we're willing to take risk, but we won't jeopardize the company."

"Your culture is your management system."

"If you're already invested in it, you should do everything you can to make it work."

"We realize there's a lot of unmet needs that internet and web services and the web could address."

"The one thing I want to make sure of is that I'm very responsive to suggestions."

"I think our culture of continuous improvement might be our most prized possession."

"People like fast delivery, a large selection, and low prices. Most people don't want all three."

"If you're focused on competitors, you're likely reactive instead of proactive."

"Advertising is the price you pay for having an unremarkable product or service."

"We have a culture of builders here at Amazon."

"The future hasn't been written yet. Everyone should be excited about the future."

"When you launch a new business, you need patience and you need to be thoughtful."

"We will continue to focus relentlessly on our customers and innovate on their behalf."

"We're obsessed with things like price, selection, and availability."

"The difference between something difficult and something impossible is hard work and determination."

"I've learned that it's far more efficient to change direction than to reload."

"Our job every single day is to make every important aspect a little bit better."

"If you're not willing to fail, you're not going to do anything transformative."