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At Amazon's “Bring Your Parents to Work Day,” Jassy shared some of his father's advice, which has helped shape how he leads.
Written by Amazon Staff
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy grew up playing competitive sports. He was passionate, driven, and always wanted to win. “I think most people here would be surprised about that, because I'm pretty even,” Jassy said during a fireside chat at Amazon's “Bring Your Parents to Work Day” at the company's Seattle headquarters. “If you're hot-tempered enough, and you touch the stove enough, you learn how to be more even.”
And the lesson that helped him get to be more even came from his dad.
“My dad would always say, when he could tell when I was really keyed up about something—he would repeatedly say to me, ‘Keep your cool. Keep your cool. It's okay. It's going to be fine. Keep your cool.’”
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaking at a fireside chat at Amazon's “Bring Your Parents to Work Day” at the company's Seattle headquarters.
The advice is among what Jassy describes as “tapes” in the back of his mind, the indelible lessons that he’s learned and the things that his parents focused on as he grew up. He said he still hears those words often.
“I find myself saying that to myself sometimes,” Jassy said of the advice to keep calm in crisis. “I think people's own self-talk is pretty important. You can talk yourself out of a lot of things, or you can talk yourself into things.”
He said the advice is especially relevant right now, as Amazon navigates a period of rapid transformation across AI, robotics, and space.
“I don't think there's ever been a better time to build than today, because of the transformations happening in our world right now,” Jassy said. “But it's also so dynamic, and if you really want to pursue the opportunities, you have to make investments, aggressive investments, and bets. And there's lots of people who disagree and tell you you're going to fail all the time.”
He said he finds himself waking up some mornings to feeling the pressure building, and then he goes back to the advice.
“I find myself saying, ‘Keep your cool. Keep your cool.’ It's just a good reminder,” Jassy said. “If you can stay even, you can stay on the boat, you have a chance with a group of people to solve the problems you're trying to solve.”
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