Amazon Leadership Principles

Amazon is one of the few company in the world that have grown as rapidly in the past two decades. What started in founder Jeff Bezos’s garage in Bellevue, Washington, back in 1994 has expanded to cover every corner of the world. 

Amazon’s net revenue now reaches nearly 400 billion dollars every year, and the company has the most brand value worldwide, even more than Apple, Google, and Microsoft. 

A lot of customers rely on Amazon’s services, hence many companies want to imitate Amazon's success. 

For this companies and organizations to imitate Amazon they try as much as possible to study the Amazon leadership principles touted by the company. 

In this article, learn about those leadership principles, what they could mean for you, and if they’re a good fit for everyone.

Amazon use there Leadership Principles every day, whether discussing their ideas for new projects or deciding on the best approach to solving a problem. 

This is just one of the things that makes Amazon peculiar among others.

The Amazon Leadership Principles

• 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.

Customers and work go hand in hand because buyers are the lifeblood of any company. If a business doesn’t focus on them, they’re far more likely to flounder.

• 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."

Leaders need to think of themselves as owners of what they do. Every action they take, both big and small, reflects on the company in some way. Act as a representative and avoid taking the easy road.

• 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.

Leaders need to think of themselves as owners of what they do. Every action they take, both big and small, reflects on the company in some way. Act as a representative and avoid taking the easy road.

It’s easy to get stuck in the same patterns and methods that have proven effective in the past. Leaders should use an innovative approach to find better techniques and strategies.

• Are Right, A Lot (Have Good Judgment)

Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.

Leaders need to practice effective decision-making for their teams. That takes a complete knowledge of their industry and familiarity with the people on their teams. They should also show confidence in what they do and be welcoming of new ideas from team members.

• 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.

Leaders must have an inquisitive mind to stay on top of a rapidly changing business world. Their curiosity should drive them to become better and more informed. People who don’t seek to learn will quickly find themselves falling behind. Make time during the day to learn something new by reading news articles or listening to podcasts.

• 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.

Through interview questions and the entire hiring process, look for individuals who bring significant value to your organization. Once they’re on board, help them develop their talents and leadership qualities. 

Development should be an ongoing process with the goal of helping people reach their full potential. An organization consisting of leaders and high performers will become highly successful.

• 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.

Expectations matter in business. A leader who expects little of their team members will get little in return. Set a high standard that will force people to stretch.

• 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.

Along with setting expectations, set goals and objectives that inspire people to work harder. Get creative in showing people the way to go and communicate it clearly. 

Team members should feel excited when thinking about the future and may even create goals for themselves. If you’re not thinking big, you’re not providing direction to your team.

• Bias for Action

Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking. 

Many companies tend to avoid making quick decisions or to act on behalf of senior leaders. Instead, they choose to study the issue extensively first. 

While that’s a wise approach in some circumstances, leaders should have the confidence to be decisive and take quick action. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake here and there as long as you own up to it.

• 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.

Don’t stray too far from the details. Having a lofty goal can be helpful, but if you lose track of the little things, those goals become much more difficult to reach. 

If you notice discrepancies, take the time to figure out where the issues originate. The best leaders don’t ever feel like they’re above everyone or too important to handle smaller tasks.

• 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.

At the end of the day, it’s all about the results. As always, you’ll encounter numerous challenges and obstacles along the way, but with the right preparation and a good team, you can overcome them. Always meet your deadlines and ensure you deliver a product you can be proud of. 

• Strive to be Earth's Best Employer

Leaders work every day to create a safer, more productive, higher performing, more diverse, and more just work environment. They lead with empathy, have fun at work, and make it easy for others to have fun. Leaders ask themselves: Are my fellow employees growing? Are they empowered? Are they ready for what's next? Leaders have a vision for and commitment to their employees' personal success, whether that be at Amazon or elsewhere.

• Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

We started in a garage, but we're not there anymore. We are big, we impact the world, and we are far from perfect. We must be humble and thoughtful about even the secondary effects of our actions. Our local communities, planet, and future generations need us to be better every day. We must begin each day with a determination to make better, do better, and be better for our customers, our employees, our partners, and the world at large. And we must end every day knowing we can do even more tomorrow. Leaders create more than they consume and always leave things better than how they found them.

Do Amazon Leadership Principles Work for Everyone?

Jeff Bezos established Amazon’s Leadership Principles to work for his company, hence it doesn’t make them a perfect fit for every organization. 

Companies that have the intentions to mimic Amazon’s success may feel like all they need to do is copy those principles. Once you imitate the best, so the thought process goes, you’ll experience the same levels of achievement.

You should not just copy and paste these principles into your own organization’s values. Instead, study them and see what works the best for your company, then change them to fit what you need. 

The key to success is letting your own principles guide you. 

Create a vision statement that’s unique to you. You can pick and choose what you want to include. Focus on what matters to you and your organization. Again, the leadership principles Amazon supports can act as a template, but you don’t have to imitate it word for word.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would advise you to Follow Your own Leadership Principles.