Jeff Bezos said what we’re all thinking: “Blue Origin needs to be much faster”
Introduction
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos gives very few interviews, but he recently sat down with computer scientist and podcast host Lex Fridman for a two-hour interview about Amazon, Blue Origin, his business practices, and more.
Blue Origin Needs to Be Faster
In the conversation, Bezos openly acknowledged that Blue Origin needs to be faster, which is one of the reasons he stepped down as CEO of Amazon a few years ago. He said, “I wanted to come and Blue Origin needs me now. Add some energy and some urgency. We need to move faster. And we will.”
How Will Blue Origin Speed Up?
Bezos said, “We’re going to become the fastest company in the world in any industry. We will get really good at taking the right technological risks and making decisions quickly. We know how to be bold in these matters. And we need the right culture to support that. People need to be technically ambitious. If there are five ways to do something, we’ll consider them, but let’s go through them quickly and make a decision. We can change our minds at any time.”
Comparing Blue Origin and SpaceX
When discussing Blue Origin, it’s hard to avoid comparing the company to SpaceX, which also has a wealthy founder, Elon Musk. Bezos’s remarks on decisive decision-making are striking because it’s one of the secrets of SpaceX’s success. During technical meetings, Musk will make a decision and take responsibility for it when it comes to key questions. Then, without hesitation, the company moves in that direction until it finds success or realizes it has taken the wrong path and adjusts course.
The key is to make a decision, try something, and move forward. Indecision is the complete opposite of how many companies make decisions, with multiple layers of middle management, or government agencies and their endless meetings.
A Focus on Decisive Decisions
Bezos recently got rid of Bob Smith, who had been the CEO of Blue Origin for half a decade. Smith’s tenure was marked by indecision. Now that Bezos has hired Dave Limp, a former Amazon executive, to run Blue Origin, this shift towards decisiveness could help Blue Origin move faster.
The company may finally be on the verge of achieving tangible results. During the interview, Bezos said he is optimistic about reaching orbit finally. Blue Origin’s massive rocket “New Glenn” is close to readiness, and Bezos did not try to downplay expectations. He said, “I’m very optimistic that the first launch of New Glenn will be in 2024.” This reflects the comments made by Ars about another official at Blue Origin, Lars Hoffman, earlier this week. What does he think about Musk?
Bezos said, “I don’t know Elon very well. I know his public persona. But I know you can’t really know someone through their public persona. It’s impossible. I mean, you might think that, but I guarantee you that you don’t know him. As far as assessing him based on results, he must be a very capable leader. You can’t have Tesla and SpaceX without being a capable leader. It’s impossible.”
In the end, it seems Blue Origin is striving for tangible progress. The company is expected to be on the brink of reaching orbit with the help of decisive decisions and swift moves. Bezos may be the person who can lead the company to success in this arena.
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