Former Amazon Exec John Rossman Talks About The Amazon Way - Businessweek

Insights from an Amazon alumnus who just self-published a book about Amazon

"But what are your thoughts on Amazon making it more difficult for customers to buy or preorder books from Hachette in the midst of difficult contract negotiations with the publisher? How do you square that with customer obsession?

Amazon is flexing its muscle and negotiating with a supplier. It happens every day by every company in every industry. One can argue that “getting improved terms” benefits the customer, as this allows Amazon to pass price improvements and other terms on to the customer. The flip side is also true: The negotiation, in the short term, impacts customers and makes it harder to easily access the Hachette selection and Amazon features such as Prime and preorders.

Customer obsession is a very real value at Amazon, but it is not the only one. That’s the great benefit of having stated and well thought-out principles, which sometimes might not be in alignment—they help you think through all the considerations. Another Amazon value is ownership, which is defined as “thinking long term and not sacrificing long-term value for short-term results.” By pursuing favorable terms and increasingly using their leverage in the market, Amazon is balancing long-term benefits to customers and shareholders with immediate customer impact."

Former Amazon Exec John Rossman Talks About The Amazon Way - Businessweek