Why Netflix’s Warner Bros. acquisition could fail long term
Netflix is planning to acquire Warner Bros. for $83 billion. Since they announced plans to do so, their stock price has declined by 15%—a drop of $66 billion in market cap. Short-term stock gyrations are a lousy indicator of long-term outcomes. However, large datasets from thousands of companies over many decades are an excellent predictor. […]
by Bill Carr
The 3 Cs test for clear, concise, consistent strategy
A great corporate strategy must meet the “3 Cs test”. It must be Clear, Concise, and Consistent. Over the past 11 years, I have met with and advised CXOs at dozens of companies across a wide spectrum of industries, development stages, and geographies. One of the most noteworthy differences is how they establish their strategic […]
by Bill Carr
How readers drive decisions in Amazon narrative reviews
Once a 6-page narrative has been written on Amazon, the bulk of the responsibility shifts to the document’s readers. These readers are not passive recipients; they are decision-makers, stakeholders, builders, and owners of what happens next. The role of the readers is to extract insights, identify gaps, challenge logic, propose next steps, and help the […]
by Bill Carr
Principles for Operational Decision-Making at Scale
One of the ways that Jeff and the S-Team instilled operational excellence at Amazon was through disciplined, data-based decision-making. Most CXOs don’t have a method to ensure their organizations make high-quality decisions. Below is my take on a set of principles and processes to operationalize good decision-making: 1. Timely – “Last Responsible Moment” (LRM): The […]
by Bill Carr
Develop deep business insight with metric rich WBRs
One essential skill for executives is the ability to process complex information at speed. This skill can be developed. Amazon executives become exceptional at interpreting large, complex datasets and narratives through two core mechanisms: a) The Weekly Business Review (WBR), which covers 200–300 metrics in a single meeting b) The six-page narratives that begin many […]
by Bill Carr
How Amazon executives operate three years in the future
Jeff Bezos gave a speech for the Economic Club of Washington in 2018 where he spoke about how he and Amazon executives operate: “All of our senior executives operate the same way I do. They work in the future, they live in the future. None of the people who report to me should really be […]
by Bill Carr
How Amazon’s PR/FAQ process defines what not to build
To quote the famous economist Michael Porter, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” This idea was echoed by Steve Jobs, who famously said, “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” At Amazon, the majority of new ideas we had never became products. We would work […]
by Bill Carr
Seven tips for writing effective Amazon-style business narratives
My co-author, Colin Bryar, and I wrote, read, and reviewed thousands of business narrative documents during our combined 27 years at Amazon. Based on our experience, here are tips to follow and common pitfalls to avoid. 1. Write for a generalist executive audience. Picture your reader as intelligent but unfamiliar with the specifics of your […]
by Bill Carr
Why Amazon’s Working Backwards process demands upfront effort
Someone once asked Jeff Bezos, “Is the Working Backwards process optional? It sounds great, but it seems like a lot of work.” His answer was,” Done correctly, it is a huge amount of work. But it saves you even more work later. It isn’t designed to be easy; it’s designed to save huge amounts of […]
by Bill Carr
Best practices for feedback and review of PR FAQ documents
Writing the PR/FAQ document is just the beginning of an effective product development process. The next phase is the feedback, meeting, and review phase, where teams collaborate to iteratively improve, explore, and develop each new product or process idea. Here are some best practices for managing this phase. (Amazonians—feel free to add to this list […]
by Bill Carr