In the last class Professor Sweet briefly referenced the Amazon “empty chair” principle which I wanted to explain in a little more detail.
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO if Amazon is the number one CEO in America. Bezos has take the famous Marshall Field slogan “The customer is always right” and applied it to the digital world in an unprecedented way. “In an era when high-flying tech companies outdo each other with worker perks, no-frills Bezos is proving the potency of another model: coddling his 164 million customers, not his 56,000 employees” (Inside Amazon’s Idea Machine, Forbes).
“The empty chair” is when Bezos periodically leaves one seat open at a conference table – a chair that is “occupied” by their customer who is ALWAYS “the most important person in the room.” At Amazon, “the empty chair is the ultimate boss and “Bezos is its billionaire enforce,” (Forbes). There are lots of stories about Bezos’ “obsessive focus” on the customer. But that is what sales is all about! It is crucial to know your customer and find out exactly what they want. Bezos’ emphasis on the customer is a huge part of what got him to where he is today, what got Amazon to where it is today.
BoweryJE22
I had never heard of the empty chair concept. To see what it is and how it was explained was amazing. I had no idea the thought that went into that simple task. Economically speaking, you are providing for the consumer whatever they desire, so to see the CEO of Amazon taking the time to set up that chair so that the entire team in the meeting is aware of who they are trying to please. Not him, but the customers. Truly humbling and interesting.
It is indeed vitally important to focus on the customer. Bezos’ idea of physically having the customer “present,” in the empty chair during meetings is a very powerful metaphor. It not only shows his personal dedication to the customer, but how he wants his employees to view the customer, as well.
It is so important to set up visual reminders of things we want to prioritize, in business and in everyday life. “Out of sight, out of mind” is a powerful and often true idea. In an age as fast and distraction-ridden as ours, it matters a lot to set up triggers that keep our top focuses at the forefront of our minds. Amazon does a great job with that. Awesome post!