One of Jeff Bezos’s favourite phrases is ‘Gradatim Ferociter’, which means ‘step by step, ferociously’.
But what does that phrase really mean?
Although best known for building Amazon, Bezos also owns Blue Origin, a company focused on space travel, and ‘Graditim Ferociter’ is the official motto.
When you build a vehicle that will go into space, every decision you make has the potential to be life and death.
In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated and exploded 73 seconds into its flight, tragically killing all seven crew members. All because a simple component, the O-ring seals, couldn’t handle the unusually cold weather on the day of the launch.
In such an unforgiving and dangerous environment, you can’t afford to cut any corners, or skip any steps to get to the desired end results. You can’t take a shortcut around the hard work. You just have to put one foot in front of the other.
Step by step.
But what of the second part of the phrase, ‘ferociously’? It feels counterintuitive and also on the verge of being an oxymoron. If we have to go step by step, surely we should be cautious?
‘Ferociously’ means that we should attack each step in the process with passion, energy and vigour. It doesn’t matter whether we enjoy that step, or it bores us to tears. Each step is a crucial part of the process, and if it’s a part of the process then it’s essential. It doesn’t matter whether it’s fun or incredibly tedious and arduous to complete, we need to attack it anyway.
So what does that mean for business owners?
Owning your own business means getting comfortable with an incredible number of moving parts and steps that you have to take.
You have to create a product or service that’s worth paying for.
You have to create marketing assets.
You have to seek and implement customer feedback.
You have to ensure delivery.
You have to find new customers.
You have to manage employees and suppliers and deadlines.
Each step is crucial
If you miss out even a single step, eventually your foundations will crumble. Each has to be done, and done well, with energy, vigour and gusto.
Step by step. Ferociously.