Some have questioned the wisdom of Jeff Bezos purchasing Amazon and wondered if he will be an owner instead of a director. Is this like leaving a corporation as an independent owner rather than a partner or employee? Although I do not believe in the separation of church and state, I do agree with this quote by Walter Haas in his book, “Confessions of an Invisible Banker” (Chicago Review Press, 2020): “Bezos has no intention of becoming an active part of the company; he’ll work as an investor, but not as a shareholder.”
This makes sense to me. Even though he controls over seventy percent of the shares and controls most of the board of directors, it does seem like Jeff Bezos is the type of person who would be an interested, albeit interested only in indirect company matters and not in direct control of the company. I am not sure if that means anything but what it says, which is that Jeff Bezos does not want to wield too much power.
Despite this, Bezos remains the market leader of the industry and the largest share holder. Does that mean that Bezos can do whatever he wants as far as the company goes?
I cannot say I am concerned that Jeff Bezos may exert undue influence on the company, but I do believe that Bezos will listen to what the rest of the company has to say about strategic decisions. The employees have a great deal of say in management, but the directors cannot directly intervene in strategic matters unless they have been given a position of authority and veto power.
Jeff Bezos wants to develop a long-term vision for the company. He wants the vision to be integrated with the employees’ work and a lot of time is spent devising strategies and goals for the company. These are key factors to determining the direction and strategy of the company.
Jeff Bezos has made it clear that he has a lot of confidence in the people at Amazon. His main objective is to make sure the company stays profitable and on the path of doing its best to compete in the retail industry. When the situation calls for some type of shift in the direction of the company, or when some tactical plan or strategy changes are needed, the Amazon CEO has a say.
However, I believe that the benefits of working with Jeff Bezos are many and manifold. People who work there are able to build their own paychecks, and the company continues to expand.
In conclusion, I hope this article will give the Amazon Corporation and Jeff Bezos some perspective. It is important to work with your hands instead of the guns.
