Jeff Bezos Says Taking the First Step Eases Stress
The Amazon founder says acting on a problem, rather than avoiding it, is the best way to ease stress, and he describes how he raised Amazon's first $1 million through 60 meetings. Other chief executives describe their own approaches to managing pressure.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says the way to beat stress is not to avoid a problem but to act on it. Speaking during a 2017 visit to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, he said that when he feels stressed, it is usually because he is not doing anything about the issue. "I'm listening to my body as a signal that something is wrong, and I find that the stress goes away the second I take the first step," he said.
Bezos, who has a net worth of $361 billion and ranks as the world's second-richest man, has reason to know about pressure. He started Amazon in a rented garage and had to take 60 meetings to raise the first $1 million in seed capital for the company in the mid-1990s. Amazon is now the No. 1 company on the Fortune 500. Rather than letting the strain overwhelm him, Bezos said he tries to work out why he feels stressed and treats the feeling as a cue to act.
To handle difficult situations, Bezos recommends talking with others and finding allies to solve problems together. He said this approach can turn an anxiety-inducing situation into an enjoyable one. "If you can find friends who are interested in similar things or want to help you solve a problem, problem-solving is inspiring for me all by itself," he said. "There's nothing more fun than getting in a room with a group of inventors and saying: 'Look, here's the problem. Let's invent a solution to it.' And as soon as you start doing that, I find that it turns from something that might create stress into something that creates fun."
Problem-solving at Amazon is also guided by Bezos's 16 leadership principles. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in the company's Leadership Principles Explained video series that the principles "are something you have to constantly work at" and that "when they're applied well, they're powerful."
Other chief executives describe different methods. Laxman Narasimhan, former CEO of Starbucks, told Fortune in a 2023 interview that he relies on three nonnegotiables to avoid burnout: daily meditation, regular exercise and protected family time. "I'm very disciplined about balance," said Narasimhan, who now serves on the boards of the Brookings Institution and Verizon.
Damola Adamolekun, the 37-year-old CEO of Red Lobster, told Business Insider that he practices emotional control so his team does not see him stressed. "Practicing emotional control means taking a moment to pause, assess the situation, and respond thoughtfully, rather than reacting impulsively," he said. "When you model emotional control, you create a stable environment where your team feels supported and motivated, even in the face of adversity."
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella takes an approach that, like Bezos's, confronts adversity directly. He has emphasized open communication with employees and flexibility in workplace policies so that people do not burn out. "The notion of having work-life harmony in a highly competitive economy is a first-class topic," Nadella once said. "You cannot have people burn out. It's bad for your company, and it's bad for society."
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