In 2002, Ann Hiatt found herself sitting opposite Jeff Bezos, facing questions that were far from typical.
The Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) founder and then CEO challenged Hiatt with a brain-teaser, asking her to estimate the number of glass panes in Seattle.
This was not a typical job interview question, but rather a test of Hiatt’s analytical and problem-solving abilities. But, according to CNBC, her response impressed Bezos.
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“I outlined how I would start with the number of people in Seattle, which I thankfully correctly guessed as around 1 million, just to make the math easier,” Hiatt said. “Then I said that they would each have a home, a mode of transportation, and an office or school — all of which would have windows. So I suggested that we base the estimate on averages of those.”
And then they “did the math.”
Hiatt and Bezos explore “every possible scenario,” filling a whiteboard with numbers for what felt like hours but “actually took more like 10 minutes.”
Bezos then asked about her career goals, to which Hiatt expressed her desire for continuous learning and growth.
Seattle-based Amazon “had proven to be a company full of ambitious and passionate people,” Hiatt recalls saying. She “wanted to be like them and learn what they knew.”
Bezos proceeded to assign Hiatt a desk three feet from his own.
Hiatt emphasizes the importance of resilience, ambition, and the willingness to face challenges, qualities she deems more valuable than specific skill sets in dynamic corporate environments like Amazon.
Her experience under Bezos’s mentorship highlights the significance of adaptability and ambition in professional growth.
Hiatt said, “It took years for me to fully understand why Bezos took a chance on me and gave me that big break. He exclusively surrounded himself with people he had to hold back, not push forward. He created teams of people so ambitious, creative and determined that they made up for any expertise they lacked.”
Today, Hiatt applies these lessons in her consulting firm, aiding CEOs globally in fostering innovation and visionary leadership. Her journey is a testament to the power of determination and the pursuit of excellence.
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