Prior to becoming the Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy had an atypical career. He served in a variety of industries, from sportscasting to coaching football, retail sales, and even investment banking. It wasn’t until he tested his talents in other professions that he discovered his calling at Amazon, where he spent more than 28 years to rise to become one of the most familiar faces in the tech industry. In a recent blog entry, Jassy discussed some of the major lessons he learned over his career that he feels are necessary to succeed. They include personal development, resilience, and adaptability.
Andy Jassy’s career trajectory shows that it is not about discovering the ideal job but about developing an attitude of appreciating passion, adaptability, and ongoing learning.
5 key career tips from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy
Jassy emphasizes the necessity of finding something that you have a passion for doing and which makes you feel fulfilled. He feels you have to work in what you are good at and love, for as he succinctly says, “Life is too short to do things that don’t make you feel good about how you spend your days.” To him, working within the line of interest can become a lot more fulfilling working existence, and the daily toil becomes a cause of pride for him.
Key takeaway: Create a career that gets you excited and inspires you for long-term satisfaction.
Another important lesson from Jassy’s career is learning to experiment, even if they do not seem to be on the trajectory of where you are headed at present. He feels that finding out what you do not want to do is just as important as finding out what you do want to do. From his own experience, changing careers is not only possible, but it is also a necessity for growth. Jassy advises you to keep yourself open to possibilities, stating, “You have the opportunity to write your own story.”
Key takeaway: Try out different careers and be open to changes since it helps to identify your real interests.
- It’s okay to fail sometimes
Jassy understands that failure is something that comes with trying and experimenting with boundaries. He understands that mistakes are lessons in the process. Learning from his own experiences, he revealed that all the valuable lessons that he learned were from things that failed. Rather than dwelling on failure, Jassy promotes resilience: “The key is not to fall apart, but to learn from what didn’t go right and apply those lessons to the next challenge.”
Key takeaway: Accept failure as a learning experience, and use it as motivation to do better and be stronger.
For Jassy, professional success is as much a matter of attitude as of talent. He is of the opinion that the right attitude will be the difference between success and failure. Hard work, reliability, team player, positive attitude – that is what it boils down to. “Do you work hard? Can people trust you? Are you a can-do person?” he asks. All these, he feels, are the keys to professional success.
Key takeaway: Develop a positive, work-oriented attitude that creates confidence and collaboration.
Jassy emphasises the need for ongoing learning throughout your career. He has discovered that those who continue to learn stay up-to-date and successful, whereas those who cease expanding threaten to fall apart. “The second you don’t learn anymore is the second you begin to come apart,” he warns. Personal growth doesn’t necessarily come with an age or title, as much as Jassy sees it—it’s a question of lifelong dedication to growing and changing.
Key takeaway: Be curious and never stop learning as this makes you competitive and adaptable in an ever-changing world.
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