Great transcript with Jeff Bezos on innovation – right on the money:

…First of all, I think we have gotten pretty lucky recently. You should anticipate a certain amount of failure. Our two big initiatives, AWS and Kindle — two big, clean-sheet initiatives — have worked out very well. Ninety-plus percent of the innovation at Amazon is incremental and critical and much less risky. We know how to open new product categories. We know how to open new geographies. That doesn’t mean that these things are guaranteed to work, but we have a lot of expertise and a lot of knowledge. We know how to open new fulfillment centers, whether to open one, where to locate it, how big to make it. All of these things based on our operating history are things that we can analyze quantitatively rather than to have to make intuitive judgments.

When you look at something like, go back in time when we started working on Kindle almost seven years ago….  There you just have to place a bet. If you place enough of those bets, and if you place them early enough, none of them are ever betting the company. By the time you are betting the company, it means you haven’t invented for too long.

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Great movie and worth a watch: Florence Welch: Letter from LA – NOWNESS.

The winds of change are blowing again in the world of the The Larks.

The news is now out that I am fulfilling a long-standing goal to give Sophia, Zach and Kristen the experience of living down-under. We were literally packing to make this move almost four years ago when I got a call to see if I would be interested in coming back to Dell as Michael embarked on our transformation journey.

As I said to our team today, it has been an exciting four years and I leave enormously proud of all we have achieved together. Dell has an incredible marketing team and the marketing engine is firing on all cylinders. Most importantly, we are back in growth mode, have momentum and are taking share. It’s an awesome thing to see and be part of.

I am passionate about defining what you want from life and going for it – searching out opportunities where you can make a difference and create. And it’s that same view that has guided me in this decision. I love Dell and started working with Michael and the team almost 19 years ago. So know that as excited as I am about the journey we are about to embark on as a family and in our careers, I’ll do so continuing to support Dell as a raving fan and customer.

In July I’ll be joining Commonwealth Bank as their chief marketing officer. Helping lead one of the most important brands down-under is both exciting and a privilege. Commonwealth is one of the largest and most profitable banks in the world, the largest down-under and like us, growing nicely. They have more satisfied customers (see, you can’t escape NPS) than their two largest competitors combined. Their marketing team is strong having launched a terrific brand campaign. And best of all they are a Dell customer.

We will based out of Sydney, clearly much closer to our family in New Zealand.

I’ve learned an amazing amount from the team here at Dell along with the customers and partners – both vendors and our agencies — with whom I’ve worked.

I feel blessed to have had the privilege of working with so many great people – and know that an equal dose await me in Sydney.

Kia Kaha! Andy