????過(guò)去16年中，如果非要總結(jié)一下亞馬遜（Amazon）教會(huì)了我們什么，那答案就是絕對(duì)不要低估它。自從1994年杰夫?貝佐斯創(chuàng)立亞馬遜之后，這家電子商務(wù)巨頭已經(jīng)一再證明，它有能力進(jìn)軍新領(lǐng)域并成為其中的主導(dǎo)者。如今，大批消費(fèi)者在亞馬遜采購(gòu)物美價(jià)廉的電子書(shū)和各種商品，而且在次日甚至當(dāng)天就能收到購(gòu)買(mǎi)的貨物；而企業(yè)界則紛紛采用亞馬遜的云計(jì)算服務(wù)維持日常運(yùn)營(yíng)。

????價(jià)格低廉、種類(lèi)繁多、快速送達(dá)，這些或許能解釋為什么公司銷(xiāo)售額能以每季度40%的速度增長(zhǎng)。同時(shí)，這也意味著，從長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)來(lái)看，亞馬遜雄心勃勃的擴(kuò)張計(jì)劃終將帶來(lái)回報(bào)，雖然外界仍對(duì)它的低利潤(rùn)率和一部分賠錢(qián)賺吆喝的商品（比如Kindle Fire平板電腦）存有疑慮。正如杰夫?貝佐斯所言，公司是在投資未來(lái)。

????但在西雅圖市中心占地170萬(wàn)英尺的亞馬遜總部，運(yùn)籌帷幄的并不是貝佐斯一個(gè)人。本文將隆重介紹亞馬遜的各位重量級(jí)人物。

杰夫?貝佐斯

首席執(zhí)行官

????1994年，杰夫?貝佐斯創(chuàng)立亞馬遜時(shí)，公司只是一家網(wǎng)上書(shū)店；之后，公司逐步發(fā)展壯大成為一個(gè)龐大的虛擬商場(chǎng)。

????全球運(yùn)營(yíng)與客戶(hù)服務(wù)（Worldwide Operations and Customer Service）高級(jí)副總裁馬克?奧尼托在一所大學(xué)演講時(shí)回憶道：“當(dāng)時(shí)，公司網(wǎng)站建設(shè)已經(jīng)花掉了原始投資人的大量資金，但杰夫卻決定向競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手開(kāi)放我們的網(wǎng)站?！?雖然貝佐斯的決定最初遭到了各方的批評(píng)，但奧尼托卻深信，正是這一決定使亞馬遜成為目前年收入340億美元的行業(yè)巨頭。

????最后，貝佐斯決定對(duì)云計(jì)算服務(wù)采取同樣的措施，將數(shù)據(jù)存儲(chǔ)和計(jì)算能力出租給消費(fèi)者。通過(guò)電子書(shū)閱讀器Kindle，貝佐斯顛覆了現(xiàn)代的書(shū)籍模式。僅去年12月份一個(gè)月，公司便賣(mài)出400萬(wàn)臺(tái)Kindle，而據(jù)巴克萊銀行（Barclays Capital ）預(yù)測(cè)，明年，亞馬遜電子書(shū)閱讀器的銷(xiāo)量將達(dá)到2,100萬(wàn)臺(tái)。

????If there's one lesson we can take away from Amazon over the last 16 years, it's not to underestimate it. Since CEO Jeff Bezos set up shop in 1994, the e-commerce giant has proven repeatedly it can enter a new space and dominate it. Consumers flock to Amazon now for aggressively priced e-books and goods, then have those goods shipped two-day or same day; companies use the company's cloud-based services for day-to-day operations.

????Low pricing, a wide catalog and fast delivery explain why sales continue to rise 40% on average each quarter. It also means Amazon's aggressive expansion could pay off in the long run, despite concerns over low margins and items like the Kindle Fire, which are sold at a loss. The company is, as its CEO would argue, investing in its future.

????But Bezos isn't alone in calling the shots from the company's 1.7 million square-foot headquarters in downtown Seattle. Here's a "who's who" of Amazon's top brass.

Jeff Bezos

CEO

????Amazon's CEO launched Amazon as an online bookstore in 1994, then turned it into a massive virtual mall.

????"One day after spending quite a lot of money of our original investors' in building our web site, Jeff decided to open that web site up to our competitors," recalled Marc Onetto, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations and Customer Service, during a college lecture in 2009. Though Bezos' decision was first met by criticism from some corners, Onetto believes it helped make Amazon the $34 billion-a-year business it is today.

????Eventually, Bezos would do the same thing with cloud computing services, letting customers rent out data storage and computing power. And with the Kindle, he essentially helped transform the modern-day book. Last December alone, the company sold upwards of four million Kindles, and Barclays Capital predicts Amazon could sell 21 million of its e-readers next year.