Jeff Bezos has vaulted past Bill Gates as the richest man in the world. He has taken Amazon, the online company that many people thought was doomed to failure, to a company that makes more than a $100 billion dollars a year. How did he do this? The article in Inc. magazine explained some of the ways he made Amazon such a roaring success – https://www.inc.com/sonia-thompson/jeff-bezos-says-this-is-the-reason-amazon-will-nev.html,
But the educations sector, which sometimes seems stagnant and stuck in the past, can learn a lot from the four key areas that Bezos stresses within his company to keep it innovative and always moving forward.
1st key – Obsess Over Customers – “You have to create an experience for them that makes them feel like no other option will do.”
Do we, as educators and institutions of learning, accomplish this task? This is a question every educator needs to ask themselves. Are your students engaged in class? Is their learning personalized? Does their experience “make them feel like no other option will do”? I think the data reveals that students are disengaged with their education. Students are tired of being lectured to. They want to be engaged, challenged, and have a more personalized education that will better prepare them for their lives now and after graduation.
2nd Key – Resist Proxies – “You stop looking at outcomes and just make sure you’re doing the process right. … A remarkable customer experience starts with heart, intuition, curiosity, play, guts, taste. You won’t find any of it in a survey.” Bezos believes companies must resist sitting back on their laurels and be complacent with their current practices and processes.
The problem with education is traditionally it is an institution that is stuck in past practices. Their are new and innovative practices that have shown to be revolutionary, innovative, creative, and student-centerer. But for the most part education is an institution that perpetuates itself in past practices and traditional pedagogy. How do we break away from this traditional pedagogies that keep us stuck in an out-dated and antiquated form of education?
3rd Key – Embrace External Trends – “If you fight them, you’re probably fighting the future. Embrace them and you have a tailwind.” Amazon is a constantly changing and evolving company that embraces change.
Education is rife with trends. The problem with education is that many teachers deem the trends just that – trends – that come and go. Teachers, due to education being based on past-practices, embrace a form of education that has dominated education for years. Lectures still dominate many middle-high-and post-secondary classes. Is this form of teaching best practices? Why will education embrace change? Why not try new things at all costs? Whats wrong if you try something in your class and it fails? Nothing – but it shows students that failing is okay.
4th Key – Make High-Velocity Decisions
Education makes decisions based on data. But this data takes along time to accumulate and to understand. Maybe data isn’t so important. Lets make decisions based on whats best for kids. Lets make decisions based on what makes education engaging, relevant, personalized, and awe-inspiring. Lets not make decisions on what ensures high test scores.
And don’t forget – as Jeff Bezos states – “Remember EVERY DAY IS DAY #1”
This is Day 1 for the Internet and, if we execute well, for Amazon.com. Today, online commerce saves customers money and precious time. Tomorrow, through personalization, online commerce will accelerate the very process of discovery. Amazon.com uses the Internet to create real value for its customers and, by doing so, hopes to create an enduring franchise, even in established markets. … Though we are optimistic, we must remain vigilant and maintain a sense of urgency.
Education also needs to take on this sense of urgency. If we do the institution of education will prosper, innovative, and become “the experience for them (the students) that makes them feel like no other option will do.