Working backwards Insights, stories, and secrets from inside Amazon

Colin Bryar

Book - 2021

Bryar started at Amazon in 1998; Carr joined in 1999. Here they reveal and codify the principles and practices that drive the success of one of the most extraordinary companies the world has ever known. They also offer practical steps for applying those principles at your own company, no matter the size. -- adapted from publisher info provided

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Subjects
Published
New York : St. Martin's Press 2021.
Language
English
Main Author
Colin Bryar (author)
Other Authors
Bill Carr, 1967- (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
xviii, 286 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 275-278) and index.
ISBN
9781250267597
  • Introduction
  • Part 1. Being Amazonian
  • Introduction to Part One
  • 1. Building Blocks: Leadership Principles and Mechanisms
  • 2. Hiring: Amazon's Unique Bar Raiser Process
  • 3. Organizing: Separable, Single-Threaded Leadership
  • 4. Communicating: Narratives and the Six-Pager
  • 5. Working Backwards: Start with the Desired Customer Experience
  • 6. Metrics: Manage Your Inputs, Not Your Outputs
  • Part 2. The Invention Machine at Work
  • Introduction to Part Two
  • 7. Kindle
  • 8. Prime
  • 9. Prime Video
  • 10. AWS
  • Conclusion: Being Amazonian Beyond Amazon
  • Appendix A. Interview Feedback Examples
  • Appendix B. Sample Narrative Tenets and FAQs
  • Appendix C. Timeline of Events in the Book
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Bryar and Carr, both former Amazon executives, take a detailed informative firsthand look at the company's "unique principles and processes." The authors reveal founder the four core pillars established by founder Jeff Bezos to make up Amazon's culture: customer obsession, long-term thinking, eagerness to invent, and operational excellence. The authors then outline the 14 "Leadership Principles" crafted to achieve those four goals; these include frugality ("constraints breed resourcefulness"), earning trust (by "being vocally self-critical"), and focusing more on customers than competitors. This last point leads the authors to discuss Bezos's approach for programs such as the Kindle e-reader and e-book store and Prime Video: the company used a "Working Backwards" process that began with the desired customer experience and then designed products to achieve it. While the writing can be entertaining, the authors' personal anecdotes of working at the company get to be repetitive and--combined with their habit of referring to Bezos by his first name--often feel like they are used to highlight their access. Still, they deliver an information-packed guide to Amazon's success. Readers are sure to extract lessons applicable to organizations large and small. (Feb.)

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