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Amazon recently joined Apple among the elite when it joined the Cuatro Commas Club a few weeks ago by being just the second company to reach a $1 trillion market cap— an achievement Russ Hanneman can only dream of.
I doubt Jeff Bezos would have ever guessed he’d be worth as much as all of the Bitcoin in circulation when he set up shop in his garage and started selling books online but he certainly did something right.
It’s doubtful Amazon would have become the behemoth it is today without Bezos at the helm, but in order to reach the level of success the company has, the CEO has had to surround himself with people with a similar vision and the drive to eventually rule the entire planet.
Bezos recently sat down with Air Force General John Raymond to talk about a wide variety of topics ranging from his path to world domination and his quest to pioneer space travel as well as offering a little bit of insight into the hiring process at Amazon.
During the chat, Bezos shed some light on what he looks for when hiring and promoting employees and you probably won’t be shocked to hear he wants “people who like to invent” and who possess a “pioneering spirit.”
It’s easy to surround yourself with yes-men who will do your bidding without question but Bezos said he has no problem taking on employees who don’t necessarily conform to his vision:
“Maybe they’re also a little bit annoying because they might be a little bit radical or rebellious. They’re not always the easiest people to get along with but you want them in your organization. They may be mavericks.”
However, he did admit he only views these people as good in small doses:
“They’re a spice. I wouldn’t recommend having 90 percent mavericks.”
Bezos might look a lot like the commander who chewed out Maverick and Goose at the beginning of Top Gun but it appears he’s much more tolerant of people who metaphorically buzz the tower.