How high-growth companies create unique career opportunities
Before working at Amazon, I worked for Procter & Gamble. Creating impact at Amazon was much easier because it was a young, rapidly growing company. This meant there was a lot of low-hanging fruit to make changes and fuel my career. At P&G, things ran well. The processes were mature, the systems had been optimized, […]
by Bill Carr
Balancing speed and functional excellence with single-threaded teams
Single-threaded teams (STTs) created enormous benefits at Amazon: speed, ownership, and accountability. But every org model optimizes for one set of benefits while sacrificing others. The downside of STTs is the loss of functional excellence. Here’s why: In the most extreme example, a company that is strictly organized by STT means that there is no […]
by Bill Carr
Trust but verify as a principle for effective management
Trust, but verify. This is a Russian proverb (“doveryay, no proveryay,”) that Ronald Reagan frequently quoted to Mikhail Gorbachev during their Nuclear Treaty discussions. Some of the best leaders at Amazon, like Jeff Wilke, used this phrase too. In Amazon’s case, it may have been something similar (“Trust but Audit”?? Early Amazonians — tell us […]
by Bill Carr
The myth of quick wins and the power of sustained success
Yesterday, The Economist published an article called “The alluring fantasy of a quick win in Iran.” It takes aim at the flawed belief that limited military interventions can produce durable outcomes. I see the same flawed belief in business all the time. The piece argues that the “swoop in, swoop out” approach dramatically oversimplifies the […]
by Bill Carr
Using the PR FAQ process to drive truth-seeking leadership
You cannot persuade an Amazon executive by simply selling the benefits of your idea. You earn their support by demonstrating your ability to seek truth, look around corners, and identify why your idea deserves support in spite of weaknesses and challenges. This mindset is also embedded in the leadership principles. Leaders are expected to be […]
by Bill Carr
Why innovators must be willing to be misunderstood long term
When Jeff Bezos started Blue Origin, people asked, “Who does he think he is?” 25 years later, Blue Origin rockets fly to space. Amazon Web Services (AWS) received similar criticism and doubt early on. Truly big ideas always sound crazy at first. AWS was ridiculed internally and externally as an overreach; they said Amazon was […]
by Bill Carr
How honest reviews maintain a high-performance culture
As a manager, the easy thing to do is to give everyone a great performance review. This avoids conflict, but it is short-sighted. At Amazon, we believed that a high-performance culture required honesty even when it was uncomfortable. The company put systems in place to make sure that happened. One example was the promotion process. […]
by Bill Carr
Why working at high-growth companies accelerates careers
You are better off being in the 60th percentile at a high-growth company than in the 99th percentile in a low-growth environment. When a company is growing fast, opportunity comes to you. When it’s not, you spend time trying to force it. Early in my career, I worked for Procter & Gamble. It was a […]
by Bill Carr
How Amazon links performance with leadership principles
At Amazon, performance ratings had two equal components: what you accomplished (results) and how you did it (leadership). They were weighted 50/50. This ensured that people were measured both on their performance and their leadership. The first part of the rating was straightforward. It looked at your goals and whether or not you reached them. […]
by Bill Carr
How Jeff Bezos’s slowing down drives better decisions
One of Jeff Bezos’s most surprising and effective habits was his willingness to slow things down. He often referred to himself as the “Chief Slow-Down Officer” in meetings where he thought we were rushing an important, “one -way door” decision. This approach was seemingly at odds with our fast-paced environment. There were several instances where […]
by Bill Carr