Operating Plan Mastery

PRESENTS

Unlock the secrets of Amazon’s world-class operating cadence. Through this 2-hour course, you will get the tools and frameworks to create a robust Annual Operating Plan (AOP), craft a compelling Vision Document, kick off the OP1 process and implement effective review cadences like QBRs, MBRs, and S-team Goal Reviews.

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BY THE END OF THIS COURSE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO:

Achieve a deep understanding of Annual Planning and Control
Manage each step of the process: Vision documents, guidance, setting up the plan calendar, writing effective plans,and monitoring progress towards goals
Learn best practices for writing and reading Amazon-style narrative business plans and reviews
Build Annual Planning and Control mechanisms in your organization

HERE’S WHAT THE ON-DEMAND TRAINING WILL COVER:

Lesson 1: Introduction to Amazon’s Operating Cadence
Learn why Amazon has adopted this approach to planning and control. And we will review many examples, templates and tips along the way.
Lesson 2: Vision Planning
How vision planning drives long-term thinking for your company to win in the specific segment or business unit and describes the significant steps to get there.
Lesson 3: Operating Plan (OP1) Kickoff
Learn how to use this highly leveraged stage of the process to communicate expectations, explain and teach the process, provide structure, set the calendar and eliminate costly rework.
Lesson 4: The Annual Operating Plan
Learn how well conceived operating plans enable alignment on the key metrics, initiatives, resources, and organizational structure for the company in the coming year.
Lesson 5: The OP1 Review Meeting
Learn why Jeff Bezos describes OP1 reviews as “lengthy, spirited, and detail-oriented” and the best practices to bring to your organization.
Lesson 6: Goals and S-team Goals
Learn what are Amazon S-team goals, how Jeff and the S-team select hundreds of goals each year, how progress is reviewed each month and quarter, and why the majority of goals are inputs.
Lesson 7: S-team Goal Reviews, QBRs,MBRs, and WBRs
Learn why Amazon's main control processes are S-team Goal Reviews, QBRs, MBRs, and Weekly Business Reviews (WBRs), and how each Review is written and reviewed.
Lesson 8: Conclusion
Summary of how Amazon increases their chances of consistently achieving goals year after year by defining clear initiatives, setting SMART goals, resolving dependencies early, and ensuring proper resource allocation.

YOU’LL ALSO RECEIVE:

Get Direct Guidance from Colin & Bill With Monthly Q&A Calls

Avoid getting stumped on how to make the Annual Operating Plan work for your company and see results by asking Colin and Bill your most pressing questions each month. With monthly Q&A calls exclusively for Operating Planning Mastery participants, you'll get the answers you need and gain a more thorough understanding through the questions of others going through the training.

These monthly calls offer two time slots to accommodate members in all countries, and recordings are available afterward.

For plans with more than 10 users, you can also request monthly Q&A calls for just your company to be added to your quote.

JOIN A COMMUNITY OF LIKE-MINDED PROFESSIONALS

In addition to the direct access to Colin and Bill via the monthly Q&A calls, you can also interact with them and your peers also going through Operating Planning Mastery in the exclusive Working Backwards Forum. You can discuss the training, share your tenets and operating plan, discover what others are using, and get additional guidance between calls

For plans with more than 10 users, you can also request your own private forum just for your company.

Why Learn About Leadership Operating Plan From Us?

Colin Bryar

Joined Amazon in 1998 — four years after its founding — and spent the next 12 years as part of Amazon’s senior leadership team as Amazon grew from a domestic (US-only) seller of books to a global, multi-dimensional powerhouse and innovator. For two of his years at Amazon, Colin was “Chief of Staff” to Jeff Bezos, AKA “Jeff’s shadow”, during which he spent each day attending meetings, traveling with, and discussing business and life with Jeff. After Amazon, he and his family relocated to Singapore for two years where Colin served as Chief Operating Officer of e-commerce company RedMart, which was subsequently sold to Alibaba. Colin is co-founder of Working Backwards LLC where he coaches executives at both large and early-stage companies on how to implement the management practices developed at Amazon.

Bill Carr

Joined Amazon in 1999 and spent more than 15 years with the company. As Vice President of Digital Media, Bill launched and managed the company’s global digital music and video businesses, including Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Amazon Studios. After Amazon, Bill was an Executive In Residence with Maveron, LLC, an early-stage, consumer-only venture capital firm. Bill later served as the Chief Operating Officer of OfferUp, the largest mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers in the U.S. Today Bill is co-founder of Working Backwards LLC where he coaches executives at both large and early-stage companies on how to implement the management practices developed at Amazon.

The Value of Working Backwards and Operating Plan

As a former Amazon vice president for more than a decade, 40-year veteran in the tech industry, and tech strategy consultant, one might think I had no lessons to learn from Working Backwards’ “Input Metrics Master” video training series. Nothing could be further from the truth! Bill and Colin’s masterwork provides critical background on the importance of driving business results through input metrics, refinement, and team-based learning. The series provides excellent case studies, extremely useful frameworks, and hands-on tools (including usable source code!) for implementing the time-tested Weekly Business Review (WBR) approach Amazon mastered to become the 2nd largest company in the world based on revenue. I highly recommend the series for leaders at any ambitious company.

IAN FREEDStrategy and Product Consultant, Remitly

I started executing an Amazon-style Weekly Business Review in my company in 2023, after learning it from Colin Bryar. This course was a much-needed refresher and a good reminder of the level of excellence we should aspire towards. It covers everything you need to know about running a WBR for the first time, and pays special attention to the hardest bit: coming up with good controllable input metrics! I have found that — through trial and error — you do get better at selecting controllable input metrics over time. But in truth, the frameworks that Colin and Bill teach in this course will help you get there faster.

CEDRIC CHINFounder, Postcognito

The Working Backwards training, led by Bill and Colin, has been transformational for our team at Remitly. The 'Working Backwards' methodology — especially with newly added input metrics mastery focus with templates and tools — have provided clear frameworks and actionable techniques to build customer-centric products. Bill and Colin have uniquely democratized the proven management practices and strategic rigor that underpinned Amazon's extraordinary success, making these powerful tools accessible and effective for companies like ours. At Remitly, adopting these methods has sharpened our focus, improved decision-making, and elevated our ability to deliver exceptional value to our customers.

ANKUR SINHAChief Product and Technology Officer, Remitly

Operating Plan Mastery PACKAGES:

BUY FOR YOU

(INDIVIDUAL USER)

$299

BUY FOR team

(Up to 30 Users)

BONUS: Get 2 Hours of Consulting With Colin AND/OR BILL

$4999

BUY FOR company

(More Than 30 Users)

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Our 30-Day Money Back Guarantee:

If within 30 days, you are unsatisfied with your purchase for any reason, simply request a refund using the form at the bottom of this page and you’ll receive a full refund, no questions asked.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can my company reimburse this course?

Many companies support professional development. Check with your HR or finance department about tuition reimbursement or professional development budgets.

Can I pay via purchase order (PO)?

Yes, we accept payments via PO for corporate enrollments. Contact our support team for assistance with processing.

What specific outcomes can I expect?

A good analogy for this course is a “How to lose weight” or “How to run a marathon”. After taking the course, you won’t have lost weight or ran a marathon, but you will have the knowledge and tools to do that, if you so choose. So, the outcomes you can expect are: 1) have a deep understanding of input metrics 2) have proven techniques to discover your input metrics relevant to your business, product, operation, or function 3) have the tools to build and implement a WBR at your company.

Is this course applicable to my industry?

Absolutely. The framework has been successfully applied in industries including tech, finance, e-commerce, and manufacturing.

Can this course be customized for corporate teams?

Yes, we offer customization options for teams. Contact us to discuss your organization’s specific needs.

Will I receive a certificate for taking the course?

Yes, participants who complete the course will receive a certificate that can be added to LinkedIn.

What is the time commitment?

The course contains approximately 2 hours worth of lessons and 2 hours of offline homework to complete. You can go at your own pace.