How amazon transformed its auction failure into marketplace success
In 1999, Amazon launched an online auctions business to compete with eBay. At the time, eBay was larger than Amazon and growing fast. It seemed logical for Amazon to enter that market. But the truth is, we couldn’t compete. eBay had already achieved a powerful network effect. Many buyers and sellers were actively using it. […]
by Bill Carr
Improving feedback and expectations to drive employee success
If someone is surprised by the feedback they receive, this is a management failure. After witnessing multiple instances of this failure at Amazon, we realized our feedback mechanism was deeply flawed. So, we fixed it. In order for the organization to perform at its highest, employees need to know not only what is expected of […]
by Bill Carr
Amazon’s foundational processes that drive innovation and scale
Between 2003 and 2006, Amazon went through a period of concentrated process invention. During those years, Jeff Bezos drove the development of a set of foundational operating practices that became the spine of Amazon’s culture and execution. When people think of Amazon, they often think of groundbreaking services like 1-day delivery or innovative products like […]
by Bill Carr
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
Preventing project delays by identifying dependencies early
A plan is not a real plan if it includes things you “hope” to accomplish. You have to be able to foresee blockers and dependencies. At Amazon, we built systems to ensure all plans included this. As John Doerr wrote in “Measure What Matters”: “Unanticipated dependencies are the number one blocker of projects.” At Amazon, […]
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