Jeff Bezos Doubled Productivity At Amazon In Its Infancy By Simply Buying A Table: 'The Most Brilliant Idea I've Ever Heard'

Jeff Bezos, once disclosed, how in the early days of Amazon.com, a straightforward suggestion from a tired employee dramatically increased the company’s productivity.

What Happened: During a discussion with Economic Club president David M. Rubenstein on Sept. 13, 2018, Bezos recounted an incident from Amazon’s infancy. 

The former CEO and founder of Amazon stated that he spent the first month of the company's existence, he and his employees used to pack boxes on their hands and knees on hard cement floors. 

See Also: Jeff Bezos Once Picked Up The Phone And Called Amazon Customer Support To Make A Point And Set Off ‘Whole Chain Of Events’: Here’s Why

One day, Bezos looked up and said, "We could really use some knee pads," because his knees were hurting, after which the person kneeling next to him promptly said, "Actually, we could really use a packing table." 

While recalling this encounter in 2018, Bezos said, "I was like that’s the most brilliant idea I’ve ever heard and the next day I went and bought packing tables. It like doubled our productivity."

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Why It Matters: Founded on July 5, 1994, Amazon currently has a market cap of $1.939 trillion. The company went public on May 15, 1997, with shares initially priced at $18 each.

In April, Amazon reported its first-quarter result, with net sales of $143.3 billion, up 13% year-over-year, beating the Street consensus estimate of $142.5 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Last week, a leaked internal document indicated that Amazon’s original business of selling books, which dates back to its founding in 1994, has seen a resurgence, with sales reaching $16.9 billion in the first 10 months of 2022.

Bezos, who resigned as Amazon's CEO in 2021, is currently ranked second on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index with a net worth of $209 billion.

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