Hi all –
In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins’ flywheel represents the way processes help build momentum and structure towards consistent success. Amazon has done this well.
With the help of Jim Collins, Jeff Bezos was able to develop and identify their flywheel so they could see where to invest their energy and most importantly, what to say no to.
Let’s take a look at Amazon’s flywheel:
You can see every piece of the process comes back to customer experience and picks up momentum from there.
Because they offered a wide selection and convenience to the customer, Amazon’s customer experience was amplified comparatively to other competitors until it became the company’s sweet spot. Higher traffic led to delighted sellers and the momentum continues on.
No singular step or team provides the biggest push; they all work together to accumulate momentum.
In his book, Collins says,
“No matter how dramatic the end result, good-to-great transformations never happen in one fell swoop. In building a great company or social sector enterprise, there is no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment. Rather, the process resembles relentlessly pushing a giant, heavy flywheel, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.”
If you’re curious, here’s the link to Good to Great along with an additional reading specifically on the flywheel effect.
What’s your company’s flywheel? Text me at +1-212-380-1036.
– DC
P.S. Here’s what I’m reading right now
The Qualified Sales Leader: Proven Lessons from a Five Time CRO
Author John McMahon, five time CRO, and board member at companies including Snowflake and MongoDB, shares actionable advice every sales leader or rep will want to put to work immediately. Get a copy here.
How To Use FOMO To Increase Conversions
FOMO can be a powerful tool, especially in marketing and product adoption. This article explores four ways to use FOMO when designing digital experiences. Read more here.
Introducing The American Dream Podcast
Drift’s co-founder and CTO, Elias Torres, is out with a brand new podcast highlighting stories from underrepresented leaders in tech. Listen to the trailer and subscribe here.