AMAZON’S LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES (The Wall Street Journal)

AMAZON’S LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES

The company’s 14 principles, with condensed descriptions:

• Customer Obsession: Leaders start with the customer and work backwards.
• Ownership: Leaders are owners.
• Invent and Simplify: Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify.
• Are Right, A Lot: Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts.
• Learn and Be Curious: Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves.
• Hire and Develop the Best: Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion.
• Insist on the Highest Standards: Leaders have relentlessly high standards—many people may think these standards are unreasonably high.
• Think Big: Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Bias for Action: Speed matters in business.
• Frugality: Accomplish more with less.
• Earn Trust: Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully.
• Dive Deep: Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ.
• Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit: Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting.
• Deliver Results: Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion.