Jeff Bezos

Run minimum cost experiments on reversible decisions, and let the data compound.

Experimentation Thesis

The core discipline: separate reversible from irreversible decisions, move fast on the former, move slow and careful on the latter. Customer obsession — not competitor obsession — is the compass.

Core Principles

• Learn through experience and data analysis by conducting minimum cost experiments when it is possible to make reversible decision
• Make Meetings Matter
• Flywheel Effects
• Performance Metrics

Context

• Decisions — Reversible vs irreversible as the core decision filter
• Data Flow — How data compounds into competitive advantage
• Platform — Infrastructure as leverage (AWS as the canonical case)
• Systems Thinking — Flywheel mechanics and second-order effects

Questions

What is the minimum cost experiment that tells you whether a decision is worth making at full scale?

• How do you distinguish a reversible from an irreversible decision when the stakes are unclear?
• If customer obsession is the compass, what does it look like when short-term customer requests conflict with long-term customer outcomes?
• Where does long-term thinking break down — when does it become an excuse to delay accountability?