Amazon, Customer Obsession & the Stories That Aren’t in the Data w/ Pete Sauerborn

In this episode, Chris is joined by a friend, former colleague, and mentor from his time at Amazon Marketplace, Pete Sauerborn. 

Pete is a seasoned eCommerce leader with impeccable credentials: a VP at Amazon Marketplace, an MBA from Chicago Booth, stints at Apple and McKinsey, and owner of a $300 million P&L at Teleflora.

But what sets Pete apart is his customer obsession. That’s a buzzword, for sure, but there is no better phrase for what guides Pete.  

You’ll hear how Pete’s obsession with serving his customers led him to uncover stories at Amazon about real people that didn’t show up in the data. These stories ran counter to the narrative that Pete and his team were using to run the business—and ended up redefining the future of Amazon Marketplace.

Chris and Pete explore:

• The path that took Pete from reviving his brother’s failing paper route as a kid to growing Amazon Marketplace from 15 people to 4,000
• One of Pete’s biggest failures as a leader at Amazon
• How writing Amazon’s famous 1-pagers and 6-pagers forces an intense clarity of thinking
• Why pain is necessary for business transformation
• The time Chris turned himself into a robot

And much more!