Let's be honest: you've read the "leadership principles" plastered on the walls of fancy offices. They're vague, feel-good, and do nothing to help you on a Tuesday afternoon when your project is late and your team is frustrated. Then there's Amazon's version.
I worked with Amazon leaders for years, and at first, I thought their principles were just corporate jargon. Then I saw them in action. They're not inspirational posters; they're a brutally effective operating system for making decisions, shipping results, and yes, skyrocketing careers—whether you're at Amazon or not. They work because they're tools, not platitudes.
Forget the vague advice. Here's how you actually use them.
The Core Mindset: It's About Mechanisms, Not Magic
Amazon doesn't believe in charismatic "genius" leaders. They believe in building repeatable processes (they call them "mechanisms") that force good leadership behaviors. You can steal this mindset.
The Secret Weapons (And How to Wield Them)
- "Customer Obsession" is a Discipline, Not a Slogan
- The Amazon Take: Start with the customer and work backwards. Write the press release for the product first, before a single line of code is written.
- How You Use It: Before you start any project, write the "Internal Press Release." Answer: "What problem does this solve for our customer (internal or external)? What's the headline? What are the key benefits?" If you can't write this, you don't understand the "why." This single document aligns your team and kills projects that don't have a clear customer benefit. It makes your work instantly more strategic.
- "Ownership" Means Thinking Like a CEO of Your Scope
- The Amazon Take: Leaders are owners. They think long-term and don't sacrifice long-term value for short-term results.
- How You Use It: In every decision, ask the "Regret Minimization Framework" (credited to Jeff Bezos): "When I'm 80 years old, looking back on my life, will I regret not doing this?" This pushes you to make bold, long-term bets on your career and projects. Apply it to: taking that challenging assignment, having the hard conversation with your boss, or proposing an innovative idea everyone else thinks is risky. Owners take calculated risks.
- "Insist on the Highest Standards" – The Bar Raiser Ritual
- The Amazon Secret: They have a formal role called the "Bar Raiser." An objective, trained interviewer from outside the hiring team whose sole job is to assess candidates against the leadership principles and protect the hiring bar. They have veto power.
- How You Use It: Create a personal "Bar Raiser" council. Identify 2-3 trusted, smart colleagues or mentors. Before you make a major career decision (accept a promotion, take a new job, launch a big project), run it by them. Give them explicit permission to ask hard, objective questions: "Does this role really leverage your strengths? Are you just taking it for the title? What's the downside you're ignoring?" Let them protect your personal standards.
- "Bias for Action" – The 70% Rule
- The Amazon Take: Speed matters in business. Many decisions are reversible and do not need extensive study. If you have 70% of the information you wish you had, you should probably make the decision.
- How You Use It: Stop waiting for perfect information. It's a career killer. On your next stalled project, ask: "Is this a one-way or two-way door?"
- A Two-Way Door: If you're wrong, you can easily reverse it (e.g., trying a new meeting format, testing a marketing channel). Make the call with 70% info. Now.
- A One-Way Door: Hard to reverse (e.g., firing someone, a major financial commitment). Be more deliberate.
Most decisions are two-way doors. Acting with 70% confidence makes you a mover, not a bottleneck. You'll be wrong sometimes, but you'll learn and advance faster than those stuck in "analysis paralysis."
- "Dive Deep" & "Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit" – The Art of the 6-Page Narrative
- The Amazon Secret: They ban PowerPoint in senior meetings. Instead, they write 6-page narrative memos that are read silently at the start of the meeting.
- How You Use It: For your next important proposal or business case, write a narrative memo, not slides.
- Why it Skyrockets Your Career:
- It forces clarity of thought. You can't hide fuzzy thinking in bullet points.
- It surfaces your logic for scrutiny, which is where real "diving deep" happens.
- It creates a forum for respectful disagreement ("I disagree with point 3 because...") based on the written argument, not the presenter's charisma.
- Once debated, everyone commits to the decision.
You become known as someone who thinks deeply, argues respectfully, and commits fully.
- Why it Skyrockets Your Career:
Your First Step: Install One Mechanism
Don't try to do all of this. Pick one principle and build one personal mechanism around it this month.
- Option A (For a new project): Write the "Internal Press Release" before you do anything else.
- Option B (For a stuck decision): Apply the 70% / Two-Way Door Rule. Make the call by Friday.
- Option C (For your next meeting): Send a 1-page narrative summary instead of a slide deck.
These aren't secrets because they're hidden. They're secrets because they're disciplines that most people find too rigorous to implement. They cut through politics, ego, and indecision.
Your career skyrockets when you stop trying to act like a leader and start installing the mechanisms that make leadership inevitable. Start with one.
FAQs
Q: Isn't Amazon's culture known for being harsh? Do I have to be cutthroat to use these?
Not at all. The principles are neutral; your application gives them tone. "Insist on the Highest Standards" can be done with respect and coaching. "Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit" is about arguing ideas, not people. The mechanisms are designed to depersonalize conflict and focus on what's best for the customer and the business. You can implement them with empathy.
Q: Will this really work in a slow, bureaucratic company?
It works especially well there. You become an agent of positive change. Start small and informally. Use the "two-way door" concept to justify a quick experiment without layers of approval. Use a narrative memo to bring clarity to a muddy, political discussion. You'll stand out as someone who gets things done with intelligence, not just compliance.
Q: What's the most important principle for an individual contributor (not a manager)?
"Ownership." Think like an owner of your projects, your team's goals, and your career. Don't wait for permission to improve a process. Don't say "that's not my job." Use the "Regret Minimization Framework" to guide your own career choices. Owners get noticed and get promoted.
Q: How do I handle pushback when I try to introduce a new meeting format (like silent reading)?
Frame it as an experiment (a two-way door!). "Team, I read about a meeting practice that aims to deepen our discussions. Can we try it for this one meeting? We'll spend the first 15 minutes silently reading a brief memo I've prepared, then we'll discuss. I'd love your feedback afterward." Most people are open to a one-time experiment, especially if it promises more efficient, substantive meetings.
Q: I'm not a writer. Is the 6-page memo really necessary?
The length is less important than the discipline of structured narrative writing. Start with 1 page. The goal is to connect ideas with logical flow, not bullet points. It's hard because thinking is hard. The effort is the point. It sharpens your communication more than any other practice, and clear communicators are fast-tracked.
