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Jeff Bezos on long-term thinking and regret: interview summary

Jeff Bezos, CEO and Founder, Amazon

The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. · Sep 20, 2018 · about 71 min

Uploaded Sep 20, 2018 · 1.9M views (as of Oct 30, 2026)

Good value given

Bezos says each quarter's results were set about three years earlier.
He left his job to start Amazon to minimize future regrets.
He says most regrets are things we didn't try.
He was not looking for a newspaper when he bought the Washington Post.
He calls Earth the best planet and sees space as a way to protect it.

Why does Jeff Bezos say a good quarter was decided years earlier?

When people congratulate him on a strong quarter, he thinks that quarter was baked about three years before. He says leaders should be working two or three years ahead, because today's results come from choices made long ago.

Worth watching?Good value given. A classic, wide-ranging talk with David Rubenstein. Bezos covers long-term thinking, regret minimization, the Washington Post, Prime and Blue Origin.

ActionableLessons

Actionable

Write down what you're doing now that will show up in results in three years.
Picture yourself at 80 and ask which choice you'd regret skipping.
Start your next project small, with a few people.
Invite teammates to invent together on your hardest problem.

Lessons

Results lag decisions.
Regret of omission lasts longer.
Big things start small.
Team invention beats solo genius.

Quick answer

Jeff Bezos sat down with The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. for this interview, published Sep 20, 2018. Here's our summary in our own words: a verdict, the answer to the big question, 5 takeaways, Actionable and Lessons tabs, then the stories, frameworks and how to use them.

What 125x is: 125x is a web app at 125x.app. You connect your YouTube subscriptions, and it gives you a feed of the latest videos from the channels you follow, each with a summary: a verdict, the 5 key takeaways, and the spoiler, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips. You read that and decide what's actually worth opening.

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Watch the interview

Watch on YouTube: Jeff Bezos, CEO and Founder, Amazon

Channel: The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.. Published Sep 20, 2018. About 71 minutes.

Who is Jeff Bezos?

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and was its CEO at the time of this talk. He also founded Blue Origin.

This is a long interview with David Rubenstein at The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

Key stories from the interview

He explains the regret minimization idea behind leaving his job.
He tells why he bought the Washington Post.
He describes how Prime came from team inventing.
He jokes that people who want to live on Mars should try the top of Everest first.

Frameworks and ideas

Regret minimization: act on what you'd regret skipping.
Three years ahead: work on future quarters.
Day one: start small.
Team inventing.

In their words (paraphrased)

That quarter was baked three years ago.
Most of our regrets are acts of omission.
Everything I've ever done has started small.

How to apply this

List one idea you'd regret never trying.
Write a plan for something that pays off in 2 to 3 years.
Start one project this month with a very small team.

Read the biography

Want the longer story? Read our Invent and Wander summary.

A note on this summary

This page reports what was said in the interview, in our own words. Lines under 'In their words' are paraphrased from the transcript, so check the video for exact wording.

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FAQ: questions people ask

What is Jeff Bezos's regret minimization idea?

Picture yourself at 80 and minimize the things you'd regret not trying.

Why did Bezos buy the Washington Post?

He says he wasn't looking for a newspaper, and came to see it as important to democracy.

Is the Jeff Bezos Economic Club interview worth watching?

Good value given. Clear and full of stories.