Why Did Jeff Bezos Only Give Criticism?

Ethan Evans says Jeff Bezos was not mean, but he was demanding, and he almost never said anything good. He would hear an idea and name the three things to fix. Whatever results a team brought him, they got a nod and then the corrections. The feedback was only criticism.

Evans watched him try to change that after he hired an executive coach. In one meeting Bezos spent about an hour on everything the team had missed, stood up to leave, then turned back and said, "Oh, yeah, but good job. You're doing great." Evans could see him checking the coach's list. The praise was an item on the list, not a habit. His taste was still usually right. He fought the right battle on Kindle, and he fought the right battle on Prime as two-day shipping became one-day shipping. Teams would prepare for days, sure they knew the business, and he would find the hole in about two minutes.