By now, chances are you may have heard about The New York Times front page, Sunday edition exposé about what a horrible place to work Amazon can be. I love Amazon … or, I should say, I love being able to buy my Peet’s coffee K-cups from my couch and have them shipped for 2-day delivery “free.” I mean the convenience is wonderful.
I also think Jeff Bezos is crazy like a fox, and I admire his disdain for the traditional near-term corporate selling out for quarterly numbers. Do I think Bezos is smart and well-intentioned as a leader? Yes. Is he a good business person? Absolutely – heck, he’s a true visionary! Is Amazon “guilty” of bad management practices? Obviously! They made the front page for it!
So how does this happen in a business built on a core of really talented people by a really talented leader? The short answer is you can’t focus effectively on 14 things. Fourteen is the number of values – or “Leadership Principles” – published by Amazon, the definitions of which are intended to inform every aspect of the employment life cycle there. When you diffuse your focus that much, you end up with no clarity or central aim. In other words, Amazonians experience culture pandemonium; and the results suck.
Being someone who believes in failing forward, I studied this management calamity – so-called since Mr. Bezos chose to lead, in part, by throwing his management team under the proverbial bus – with an eye toward understanding how the rest of us can do better. Here’s what I came up with – recognizing that values (labeled and defined) are essential to create, grow, and sustain healthy companies.
• Study science – at least since the late 1950’s when George Miller of Harvard University published his paper on The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two, we’ve known humans can’t deal with more than nine variables. We’re much better at handling five. More recently, brain study after brain study has reiterated the brain is wired as a serial instrument – one thing at a time (some argue two), and that’s it. We can switch back and forth like crazy, but imagine doing that across 14 variables? It just isn’t efficient, and you’ll never be able to switch around well enough to actually live those values to a high standard.
• Apply what you learn – it’s great to know stuff, but until you actively use that knowledge you’re no smarter and, frankly, more troublesome than those who don’t know better. In Amazon’s case, this means they need to cut their values at least by half. In reviewing the Amazon Leadership Principles (which I highly recommend) there’s little doubt aspects of some can be rolled into others and some can be dropped all together. My first target for elimination is the principle: (leaders) “Are Right, A Lot.” Seriously? I’m building my company based on the belief that the people I hire will view themselves as needing to be right, a lot. You could write an entire book just picking that phrase apart. Other problem areas are: “Insist on the Highest Standards” (ownership) without reflecting the “how” they accomplish this, only that they do; and “Customer Obsession,” which fails to include the leader’s team in the realm of her customers.
•Own your [stuff] – Amazon defines ownership as: “[Leaders] 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.’” I think Jeff Bezos should be ashamed of himself for essentially blaming others for what he termed “shockingly callous management practices” without acknowledging they have occurred. Is pointing the finger elsewhere how you “Earn Trust” or demonstrate how you “Have Backbone” (two more of Amazon’s principles)? A true leader would own this, and acknowledge imperfections, take responsibility, and provide a commitment to be better, not merely ask for people to snitch via email.
Admittedly, I’m part of the problem. I just ordered some more coffee – though I wasn’t happy about it. I still think Amazon is an amazing business; now I want them to become a better company. Memo to Bezos: Wal-Mart is kicking your ass in terms of demonstrated employer, social, and environmental consciousness. That’s bad for you on so many levels.
You may not believe in checking out the competition, but if you’re obsessed with me as a customer, you better get equally obsessed with your people or I’m going to be filling up my shopping cart at someone else’s site.
