14	Amazon	Leadership	Principles		     
       	
       “We	use	our	Leadership	Principles	every	day,	whether	we’re	discussing	ideas	for	new	
       projects	or	deciding	on	the	best	approach	to	solving	a	problem.	It	is	just	one	of	the	
       things	that	makes	Amazon	peculiar	[a	word	used	by	Bezos	and	most	Amazonians].”	Jeff	
       Bezos	
       	
       “So,	the	real	question	for	me	is,	how	do	you	go	about	maintaining	a	Day	1	culture?	“It’s	
       great	to	have	the	scale	of	Amazon,	we	have	financial	resources,	we	have	lots	of	brilliant	
       people.	We	can	accomplish	great	things.	We	have	global	scope;	we	have	operations	all	
       over	the	world.	But	the	downside	of	that	is	that	you	can	lose	your	nimbleness,	you	can	
       lose	your	entrepreneurial	spirit,	you	can	lose	that	kind	of	heart	that	small	companies	
       often	have.	And	so,	if	you	could	have	the	best	of	both	worlds,	if	you	could	have	that	
       entrepreneurial	spirit	and	heart,	while	at	the	same	time	having	all	the	advantages	that	
       come	with	scale	and	scope—think	of	the	things	that	you	could	do.	“So,	the	question	is	
       how	do	you	achieve	that?	The	scale	is	good	because	it	makes	you	robust.	A	big	boxer	can	
       take	a	punch	to	the	head.	You	also	want	to	dodge	those	punches.	So,	you’d	like	to	be	
       nimble;	you	want	to	be	big	and	nimble.	I	find	there	are	a	lot	of	things	that	are	protective	
       of	the	Day	1	mentality.	I	already	spent	some	time	on	one	of	them,	which	is	customer	
       obsession.	I	think	that’s	the	most	important	thing.	
       	
       	
       Customer	Obsession:	Leaders	start	with	the	customer	and	work	backwards.	They	
       work	vigorously	to	earn	and	keep	customer	trust.	Although	leaders	pay	attention	to	
       competitors,	they	obsess	over	customers.		
       	
       Ownership:	Leaders	are	owners.	They	think	long	term	and	don’t	sacrifice	long-term	
       value	for	short-term	results.	They	act	on	behalf	of	the	entire	company,	beyond	just	their	
       own	team.	They	never	say	“that’s	not	my	job.”		
       	
       Invent	and	Simplify:	Leaders	expect	and	require	innovation	and	invention	from	their	
       teams	and	always	find	ways	to	simplify.	They	are	externally	aware,	look	for	new	ideas	
       from	everywhere,	and	are	not	limited	by	“not	invented	here.”	As	we	do	new	things,	we	
       accept	that	we	may	be	misunderstood	for	long	periods	of	time.		
       	
       Are	Right,	A	Lot:	Leaders	are	right	a	lot.	They	have	strong	judgment	and	good	instincts.	
       They	seek	diverse	perspectives	and	work	to	disconfirm	their	beliefs.		
       	
       Learn	and	Be	Curious:	Leaders	are	never	done	learning	and	always	seek	to	improve	
       themselves.	They	are	curious	about	new	possibilities	and	act	to	explore	them.		
       	
       Hire	and	Develop	the	Best:	Leaders	raise	the	performance	bar	with	every	hire	and	
       promotion.	They	recognize	exceptional	talent,	and	willingly	move	them	throughout	the	
       organization.	Leaders	develop	leaders	and	take	seriously	their	role	in	coaching	others.	
       We	work	on	behalf	of	our	people	to	invent	mechanisms	for	development	like	Career	
       Choice.		
       	
              Insist	on	the	Highest	Standards:	Leaders	have	relentlessly	high	standards—many	     
              people	may	think	these	standards	are	unreasonably	high.	Leaders	are	continually	
              raising	the	bar	and	drive	their	teams	to	deliver	high	quality	products,	services,	and	
              processes.	Leaders	ensure	that	defects	do	not	get	sent	down	the	line	and	that	problems	
              are	fixed	so	they	stay	fixed.		
              	
              Think	Big:	Thinking	small	is	a	self-fulfilling	prophecy.	Leaders	create	and	communicate	
              a	bold	direction	that	inspires	results.	They	think	differently	and	look	around	corners	for	
              ways	to	serve	customers.		
              	
              Bias	for	Action:	Speed	matters	in	business.	Many	decisions	and	actions	are	reversible	
              and	do	not	need	extensive	study.	We	value	calculated	risk	taking.		
              	
              Frugality:	Accomplish	more	with	less.	Constraints	breed	resourcefulness,	self-
              sufficiency	and	invention.	There	are	no	extra	points	for	growing	headcount,	budget	size	
              or	fixed	expense.		
              	
              Earn	Trust:	Leaders	listen	attentively,	speak	candidly,	and	treat	others	respectfully.	
              They	are	vocally	self-critical,	even	when	doing	so	is	awkward	or	embarrassing.	Leaders	
              don’t	believe	their	or	their	team’s	body	odor	smells	of	perfume.	They	benchmark	
              themselves	and	their	teams	against	the	best.		
              	
              Dive	Deep:	Leaders	operate	at	all	levels,	stay	connected	to	the	details,	audit	frequently,	
              and	are	skeptical	when	metrics	and	anecdote	differ.	No	task	is	beneath	them.		
              	
              Have	Backbone;	Disagree	and	Commit:	Leaders	are	obligated	to	respectfully	challenge	
              decisions	when	they	disagree,	even	when	doing	so	is	uncomfortable	or	exhausting.	
              Leaders	have	conviction	and	are	tenacious.	They	do	not	compromise	for	the	sake	of	
              social	cohesion.	Once	a	decision	is	determined,	they	commit	wholly.	
              		
              Deliver	Results:	Leaders	focus	on	the	key	inputs	for	their	business	and	deliver	them	
              with	the	right	quality	and	in	a	timely	fashion.	Despite	setbacks,	they	rise	to	the	occasion	
              and	never	settle.	
              	
              One	more	reason	for	Amazon’s	top	innovation	score	from	the	Wall	Street	
              Journal/Drucker	Institute	study	is	their	focus	on	creating	small	teams	and	the	creative	
              power	that	is	harnessed	through	small	team	cooperation.		
              Bezos	doesn’t	like	big	and	long	meetings,	nor	does	he	like	huge	teams.	When	a	meeting	
              is	absolutely	necessary,	he	has	a	rule	that	boosts	their	productivity.	Again,	he	calls	it	the	
              “two	pizza	rule”—the	meeting	can’t	be	any	bigger	than	can	be	fed	by	two	large	pizzas.	
              When	you	contrast	that	with	other	large	corporations	that	use	a	more	bureaucratic	
              structure	that	can	stifle	creativity	and	innovation,	it’s	easy	to	see	why	Amazon	keeps	
              coming	out	on	top.		
              So	how	did	Amazon	grow	from	just	Bezos	and	a	few	developers	to	647,500	employees	
              and	maintain	their	“peculiar”	culture?		
              I	believe	one	of	the	biggest	reasons	is	they	have	tried	to	be	intentional	about	not	letting	
              success	“go	to	their	heads.”	As	I	said	in	the	beginning,	Amazon	is	not	a	perfect	company.	
              But	obviously,	they	are	doing	something	right.		
              They	have	maintained	their	culture	through	using	the	Amazon	Leadership	Principles	     
              with	every	employee	(whether	frontline	worker	or	senior	executive),	and	they	have	
              many	corporate	cues	and	reminders	that	help	them	remember	their	focus	on	Bezos’	
              highest	value—to	be	customer	obsessed.		
              They	continue	to	innovate	even	though	they	hit	$100	billion…	because	to	have	long-
              term	growth	in	business,	you	have	to	maintain	a	culture	committed	to	its	values	and	not	
              just	to	its	bottom	line.		
              	
              	
              APPLICATION		
              	
              Maintain	Your	Culture		
              	
              Q:	Can	you	articulate	what	your	company	culture	is?		
              	
              Q:	If	you	asked	the	same	question	of	your	employees,	would	their	answer	be	the	same	as	
              yours?		
              	
              Q:	What	can	you	do	to	reinforce	the	key	(positive)	elements	of	your	company	culture?		
              	
              For	more	resources,	go	to	TheBezosLetters.com