The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google by Scott Galloway

Notes

  • Amazon = distribution + logistics as destiny (the warehouse is the product; the flywheel is the moat).

  • Apple = brand + vertical control (hardware-software-services trifecta; margins as a design choice).

  • Facebook (Meta) = attention brokerage (identity graph; micro-targeting; network effects that refuse to die).

  • Google = intent capture (default positions + index scale → money printer with research attached).

  • ROI > rhetoric: cost of capital, margin structure, LTV/CAC (Lifetime Value / Customer Acquisition Cost), and the boredom of ops; that’s where the money hides.

  • Moats are built, not announced: distribution, data, and operations compound; “brand” is just the exhaust from promises kept (over and over).

  • Incentives explain behavior: ads, defaults, CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) in logistics. Change the incentives; change the outcomes.

How I’ll use it

  1. Ship distribution first
    1. Before features, secure channels: search rank, partnerships, logistics, default positions (distribution beats clever).
  2. Design flywheels, not dashboards
    1. Behavior → feedback → ranking → conversion → cheaper acquisition
    2. Loops that learn without extra hands.
  3. Brand = operational promise
    1. Speed, reliability, after-purchase support
    2. Position less, deliver more.
  4. Default or die
    1. Be the easiest acceptable option (one-click, auto-fill, “arrives tomorrow”)
    2. Convenience compounds.
  5. Start with incentives
    1. Align payoffs to desired behavior
    2. Document guardrails
    3. Assume policy will trail success.