--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At Amazon, with new initiatives, we don't…" description: "\"At Amazon, with new initiatives, we don't look at something and say, 'Okay, it needs to hit this certain metric.' Because it's impossible to know wheth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/andy-jassy-5580_amazon_at-amazon-with-new-initiatives-we-don-t_2330440.jpg" --- # At Amazon, with new initiatives, we don't look at… ![“At Amazon, with new initiatives, we don't look at something and say, 'Okay, it needs to hit this certain metric.' Because it's impossible to know whether somebody's going to respond to something really new and innovative.” quote by Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/andy-jassy-5580_amazon_at-amazon-with-new-initiatives-we-don-t_2330440.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/andy-jassy-5580_amazon_at-amazon-with-new-initiatives-we-don-t_2330440.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/andy-jassy-5580_amazon_at-amazon-with-new-initiatives-we-don-t_2330440.jpg) > “At Amazon, with new initiatives, we don't look at something and say, 'Okay, it needs to hit this certain metric.' Because it's impossible to know whether somebody's going to respond to something really new and innovative.” [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaders should avoid rigid metrics for novel ideas, embracing uncertainty and experimentation. **In simple terms:** Don't rely on fixed metrics for new things. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, test ideas. Themes innovation leadership metrics Mood cautious optimistic Type leadership strategic When to use this quote - product development - market testing - strategic planning Key Concepts risk tolerance experimental mindset Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance measurement with flexibility? - When should you prioritize intuition over data? A Different Perspective Metrics can stifle creativity if overemphasized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amazon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazon/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Impossible Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible-know-292620/) [Innovative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovative/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Metric Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metric-impossible-5602726/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [New Initiatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-initiatives-2990420/) [New Innovative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-innovative-836258/) [Okay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/okay/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) ## Related quotes > [I'm always open to new, innovative stuff and people trying to do stuff in a different way. I knew that the theatrical release would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-lee/i-m-always-open-to-new-innovative-stuff-and-people-trying-to-do-stuff/) [Spike Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-lee/) > [At Uniqlo, we're thinking ahead. We're thinking about how to create new, innovative products... and sell that to everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadashi-yanai/at-uniqlo-we-re-thinking-ahead-we-re-thinking-about-how-to-create-new/) [Tadashi Yanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadashi-yanai/) > [To design something really new and innovative you have to reject reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ive/to-design-something-really-new-and-innovative-you-have-to-reject/) [Jonathan Ive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ive/) > [We're delighted to be working with Apple to offer fans a new and innovative way to experience our wildly popular shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-iger/we-re-delighted-to-be-working-with-apple-to-offer-fans-a-new-and/) [Bob Iger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-iger/) > [The time to recognize the power of community is here again. Not as some romanticized renaissance from times past, but as a necessarily new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-hanson-lasater/the-time-to-recognize-the-power-of-community-is-here-again-not-as/) [Judith Hanson Lasater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-hanson-lasater/) > [I'm very conscious of the idea of trying to each time present something that I haven't presented before. It's a challenge to me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/i-m-very-conscious-of-the-idea-of-trying-to-each-time-present/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [Leadership is happening, but it's not coming from the leaders of the old institutions. Everywhere you look, you see these extraordinary, sparkling new initiatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-tapscott/leadership-is-happening-but-it-s-not-coming-from-the-leaders-of-the/) [Don Tapscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-tapscott/) > [Amazing how the White House, celebrities and gun control groups happen to repeatedly push for new initiatives in an organized fashion at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-pavlich/amazing-how-the-white-house-celebrities-and-gun-control-groups-happen/) [Katie Pavlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-pavlich/) > [If you built a successful company the first time, it's really important not to fall into the trap of resting on your laurels and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/if-you-built-a-successful-company-the-first-time-it-s-really/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [I really believe in clothes that are new, that are innovative - but that everybody wants to wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-zucchelli/i-really-believe-in-clothes-that-are-new-that-are-innovative-but-that/) [Italo Zucchelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-zucchelli/) > [There are lots of things about Amazon for which they deserve credit. They're innovative. There are lots of very, very happy Amazon customers. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/there-are-lots-of-things-about-amazon-for-which-they-deserve-credit/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [We'd realized in the first ten years we'd built an infrastructure competence deep in the stack - reliable, scalable cost effective data centers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/we-d-realized-in-the-first-ten-years-we-d-built-an-infrastructure/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [A lot of competitors of various Amazon businesses use AWS. We don't view that as a problem. We very consciously want any company, competitor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/a-lot-of-competitors-of-various-amazon-businesses-use-aws-we-don-t/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [We don't think at all about how the AWS business complements the Amazon business from a financial overview perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/we-don-t-think-at-all-about-how-the-aws-business-complements-the/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [“Even knowing all, being forbidden to tell. Even wanting to help, rescue is impossible. I know of no condition more painful than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clamp/even-knowing-all-being-forbidden-to-tell-even-wanting-to-help-rescue/) [CLAMP](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clamp/) ## More by Andy Jassy > [A lot of times in intense moments, you tend to play conservatively because you're just trying to avoid losing, as opposed to trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/a-lot-of-times-in-intense-moments-you-tend-to-play-conservatively/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [I think our relationship with Seattle has had ups and downs frankly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/i-think-our-relationship-with-seattle-has-had-ups-and-downs-frankly/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [We compete with very large companies. These are companies like Walmart and Target and Kroger and some very successful digital companies like eBay and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/we-compete-with-very-large-companies-these-are-companies-like-walmart/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Customers will always be nervous about lock-in, and I think the experience they had particularly with a company like Oracle, where it's a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/customers-will-always-be-nervous-about-lock-in-and-i-think-the/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Our leadership principles often have tension in them. And I think that's actually a good thing and it makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/our-leadership-principles-often-have-tension-in-them-and-i-think-that/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Everybody at the company has the freedom - and really, the expectation - to critically look at how it can be better and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/everybody-at-the-company-has-the-freedom-and-really-the-expectation/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [When you have a sitting president who's willing to publicly show his disdain for a company and the leader of a company, it's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/when-you-have-a-sitting-president-who-s-willing-to-publicly-show-his/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [The reason Netflix chose to use AWS is because they knew they'd be treated as every bit as important a customer as Amazon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/the-reason-netflix-chose-to-use-aws-is-because-they-knew-they-d-be/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Some businesses take off in the first year, and others take many years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/some-businesses-take-off-in-the-first-year-and-others-take-many-years/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [For us, employee safety is priority number one for us in our fulfillment centers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/for-us-employee-safety-is-priority-number-one-for-us-in-our/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [You have to challenge people, often people who know a lot more about a subject than you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/you-have-to-challenge-people-often-people-who-know-a-lot-more-about-a/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [I think that always our focus is gonna be the customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/i-think-that-always-our-focus-is-gonna-be-the-customers/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Before, companies and startups had to lay up all this capital for data centers and servers, and take your scarce resource, which in most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/before-companies-and-startups-had-to-lay-up-all-this-capital-for-data/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [These are serious problems in all of our major cities: homelessness, education, there are are a number of them. And they require hard thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/these-are-serious-problems-in-all-of-our-major-cities-homelessness/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) > [Even when we go back to having meetings in person, we will continue to incorporate a lot of the things we learned in virtual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-jassy/even-when-we-go-back-to-having-meetings-in-person-we-will-continue-to/) [Andy Jassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) [Explore all 100 Andy Jassy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-jassy/) ## More Amazon quotes > [“If Amazon’s dream of a world without gatekeepers becomes reality, then the company itself will become a powerful gatekeeper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/if-amazon-s-dream-of-a-world-without-gatekeepers-becomes-reality-then/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [“There was little science to Amazon’s earliest distribution methods. The company held no inventory itself at first. When a customer bought a book, Amazon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stone/there-was-little-science-to-amazon-s-earliest-distribution-methods/) [Brad Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stone/) > [I don't know anything about Amazon's culture; I've never worked there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-conrad/i-don-t-know-anything-about-amazon-s-culture-i-ve-never-worked-there/) [Parker Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-conrad/) > [“A responsible woman doesn’t see opportunities and needs and look the other way pretending not to see them rather she gets to work to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agu-jaachynma-n-e/a-responsible-woman-doesn-t-see-opportunities-and-needs-and-look-the/) [Agu Jaachynma N.E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agu-jaachynma-n-e/) > [“Jeff Bezos is famous for his “2 Pizza Rule” at Amazon: no meeting is to take place if the number of participants is too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-rogers/jeff-bezos-is-famous-for-his-2-pizza-rule-at-amazon-no-meeting-is-to/) [David L Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-rogers/) > [“The first week after the official launch, they took $12,000 in orders and shipped $846 worth of books, according to Eric Dillon, one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stone/the-first-week-after-the-official-launch-they-took-12-000-in-orders/) [Brad Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stone/) > [“ Programs has a temporary results leading to nothingness, and the Gospel the brings the result of Eternal life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommie-scott/programs-has-a-temporary-results-leading-to-nothingness-and-the/) [Tommie Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommie-scott/) > [The digital revolution is forever. They put importance on that option as well. With Amazon, you're getting the best of both worlds, with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/the-digital-revolution-is-forever-they-put-importance-on-that-option/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [The next time you're looking at a charity, don't ask about the rate of their overhead; ask about the scale of their dreams -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pallotta/the-next-time-you-re-looking-at-a-charity-don-t-ask-about-the-rate-of-2/) [Dan Pallotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pallotta/) > [“Sure we do," said Theo, swatting at a branch. "We get to the spring, Alia gets cured. We argue over the best choice for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/sure-we-do-said-theo-swatting-at-a-branch-we-get-to-the-spring-alia/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Wonder Woman isn't even American; she's an Amazon princess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lee/wonder-woman-isn-t-even-american-she-s-an-amazon-princess/) [Jim Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lee/) > [Alternative services would mean that there would be services available to compete with Google, Facebook, Amazon, Dropbox, Skype, etc., and they would be run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikko-hypponen/alternative-services-would-mean-that-there-would-be-services/) [Mikko Hypponen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikko-hypponen/) > [“I'd disagree with the characterisations of him as competitive (which I think was just misinterpretation of his ambition) or secretive (which I think is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brandt/i-d-disagree-with-the-characterisations-of-him-as-competitive-which-i/) [Richard Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brandt/) > [We got latched together and I was hoping you could separate us? (Amanda) They were made by your stepfather. Any chance you have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/we-got-latched-together-and-i-was-hoping-you-could-separate-us-amanda/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-hat-not-my-customer-hat/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) [Browse all 434 Amazon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At Amazon, with new initiatives, we don't look at something and say, 'Okay, it needs to hit this certain metric.' 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