Look Forward, Not Sideways

Amazon Most companies look sideways at their competition. We look forward at our customers. It is easy to get distracted by what others are doing. To obsess over market share, features, and stock prices. But the "Competitor Focus" trap only leads to imitation, not innovation. At Amazon, we start with the customer and work backward. We don't build to beat the other guys; we build to serve you better. That is the difference between chasing the market and defining it. Are you watching your rivals, or are you watching your customers?