Working Backwards
Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon
Author: Colin Bryar
This book is all about the “Amazon Leadership Principles” . They are the core values that drive the behavior of leaders and, consequently, all employees in the organization.
They were built when the company was scaling rapidly and it was no longer possible to rely on the CEO as the sole source of values and direction. Other leaders had to adopt the same behaviors and set the same expectations to keep the company cohesive.
Leadership Principles
Let me quote the principles listed in the book, as they’re really good ones.
Customer Obsession
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.
Ownership
Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say, “that’s not my job.”
Invent and Simplify
Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here.” As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.
Are Right, A Lot
Leaders are right a lot. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.
Learn and Be Curious
Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them.
Hire and Develop the Best
Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.
Insist on the Highest Standards
Leaders have relentlessly high standards—many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high-quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.
Think Big
Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.
Bias for Action
Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk-taking.
Frugality
Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense.
Earn Trust
Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.
Dive Deep
Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.
Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.
Deliver Results
Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.
There are actually two more principles listed on “Amazon Leadership Principles” website: “Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer” and “Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility”. As they were not in the book, I will ignore them but you can check more on the Amazon’s perspective on their website.
My rants
I didn’t have high expectations for this book. I was expecting random advice from someone who was no longer with the company. Since the authors no longer work at Amazon, I was at least partially right 😄 I was also expecting some American-style glorification, and while there was a bit of that, I was surprised by the quality of the principles themselves. I really like them and could identify with many.
There are a lot of them, but they provide Amazon’s leadership with something few companies have: a roadmap for decision-making. They’re a bit like a bible - depending on the context, you can refer to them to support your decisions. They’re straightforward and simple. I haven’t finished the book yet, but I’m sure I’ll be revisiting these principles from time to time.
Those values trigger another reference to the Amazon culture: the Vitality Curve as a performance management practice. I’m not sure if they still use it, but this wiki article describe quite well why it’s a bad system and I remember one quote from it too:
Recruiters, though, also say that other businesses are sometimes cautious about bringing in Amazon workers, because they have been trained to be so combative. The derisive local nickname for Amazon employees is “Amholes”
I’ve been working with such people, they’re not team players and sometimes it’s better to have “weaker” team, that collaborate, than one (or even worse: two) super hero who drives everything on it’s own and do not share.