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Amazon or Ama-not

Thanks to my friend, editor, and fellow curious-as-cat member, Pam Frautschi, I was able to see Mike Goushi's interview with Alex MacGillis. MacGillis wrote a book, Fulfillment; Winning and Losing in one-click America. In the book, MacGillis frames his view of the current state of our country. He formed this opinion after a couple decades of traveling the country as a reporter.

Listening to this interview, I realized that I am one of the people who has contributed to the rise of Amazon. They have become one of the 'Tech Giants." They have, in a sense, out 'Walmarted' Walmart. They didn't have to build brick-and-mortar stores down the street from the big box stores. Instead, Amazon modernized its operations. They can deliver your order in a day or two with no shipping charges.

Anytime there is a disruption in a market, the winners and losers show up. It usually expresses itself in jobs destroyed and created. Automation is a disrupter as it often eliminates jobs. A better way to provide a service can be disruptive such as shared ride services like Uber and Lyft. Here rather than making a huge investment in limited licenses to become a cab driver. Anyone with a decent car can serve passengers, on-demand, door to door, without any cash changing hands. It's easy to criticize these disrupters. That is until you find that you prefer their approach to the market.

There's little doubt that many a retail store has closed because of Walmart and now Amazon. I was never a big Walmart guy. Given my sister was a career Walmart employee and happy to be so, I voted with my cash instead of my mouth. I was winding down my career as an automobile owner-driver when Uber and Lyft became ubiquitous in the cities across America. Because of surgery on my right leg, I could not distinguish between the gas pedal and the brake. Because I can't drive, it forced me to consider transportation as a factor in my move to Milwaukee. Not only do I have many choices of bus routes available, but I can have a shared ride at my front door in minutes.

And why am I helping Jeff Bezos increase his fortune to the tune of fifty-eight billion last year? Note that is not his value in total; that was the increase in his value. I live alone. My needs are small. During winter in Wisconsin, I risk injury by walking to the store two blocks away because of ice and snow-covered streets. I do not kid myself that I save a lot of money by ordering from Amazon. Some items I do. Some I don't. 

Here's the deal. If I could order from my local market, have them delivered to my apartment, and the bill is by Credit Card, I would. If I could summon a yellow cab with the ease that I deal with shared ride companies, I would. But those options are not open to me, so I chose the one that fits my needs.

What continues to amaze me is that the established businesses do not respond to this disruption. While the age-old admonition "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" still rings true. It's's pretty obvious if you're getting beat; complaining about it doesn't change anything. Rather "Do what they do, only better" might be good advice.

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