QuoteProject
You want to look at what other companies are doing. It's very important not to be hermetically sealed. But you don't want to look at it as if, 'OK, we're going to copy that.' You want to look at it and say, 'That's very interesting. What can we be inspired to do as a result of that?' And then put your own unique twist on it.
Jeff Bezos
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Learn from others without imitation, adding your own creativity.

In this quote, Jeff Bezos emphasizes the importance of observing the strategies and practices of other companies to gain insights, but he cautions against outright copying their ideas. Instead, he advocates for an approach that encourages inspiration and innovation, where one takes elements from others' successes and tailors them with a unique perspective or twist to drive one's own creativity and progress.

Themes

InnovationInspirationCreativityLearningBusiness

In practice

Example use cases

In a business conference discussing the importance of inspiration over imitation.

More from Jeff Bezos

We are our choices. Build yourself a great story.
Jeff BezosRead
Work hard, have fun and make history.
Jeff BezosRead
If you're not stubborn, you'll give up on experiments too soon. And if you're not flexible, you'll pound your head against the wall and you won't see a different solution to a problem you're trying to solve.
Jeff BezosRead
But there's so much kludge, so much terrible stuff, we are at the 1908 Hurley washing machine stage with the Internet. That's where we are. We don't get our hair caught in it, but that's the level of primitiveness of where we are. We're in 1908.
Jeff BezosRead
Because, you know, resilience - if you think of it in terms of the Gold Rush, then you'd be pretty depressed right now because the last nugget of gold would be gone. But the good thing is, with innovation, there isn't a last nugget. Every new thing creates two new questions and two new opportunities.
Jeff BezosRead
When you are eighty years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices.
Jeff BezosRead

Similar quotes

Just as producers often give consumers things they want but didn't think to ask for, consumers sometimes come up with surprising uses for new inventions. When a new product appears, it can uncover dissatisfactions and desires no one knew were there.
Virginia PostrelRead
Ideas that transform industries almost never come from inside those industries.
Gary HamelRead
My definition of 'innovative' is providing value to the customer.
Mary BarraRead
Most innovative things are not obvious to other people at the time. You have to believe in yourself. If you've got a good idea, follow it even though others tell you it's not.
Frances ArnoldRead
There's a silly notion that failure's not an option at NASA. Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.
Elon MuskRead
The way innovating companies are designed leaves ambiguities, overlaps, decision conflicts or decision vacuums in some parts of the organisation. People rail at this, curse it-and invent innovative ways to overcome it.
Rosabeth Moss KanterRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.