Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace

By Jodi Kantor and David Streitfeld | The New York Times | August 16, 2015

SEATTLE On Monday mornings, fresh recruits line up for an orientation unlike any other. They get a crash course in the Amazon way: a culture of customer obsession, high standards, and what many describe as an unforgiving pace. They learn about Amazon's 14 leadership principles and the company's famous "working backwards" method. They hear about frugality (door desks used to be the norm there) and about Amazon's willingness to fail. What they don't often hear about are the costs of this relentless culture.

The Amazon Story

Amazon is a behemoth. From its beginning as an online bookstore, it has grown into a company that reshapes industries at will. Its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services, dominates that market. Its delivery network has forced retailers to rethink logistics. Its television studio has won Emmys. And its acquisition of Whole Foods signaled its intent to transform grocery shopping.

Alexa, its virtual assistant, sits in millions of homes, answering questions, ordering products, and even controlling household appliances. The company's market capitalization has surpassed that of traditional retailers and even tech giants, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world.

The Bruising Culture

But this growth has come with a controversial culture. Current and former employees describe an environment that demands long hours, constant availability, and peak performance. Amazon's embrace of conflict and criticism can make the workplace feel like a bruising contact sport.

The company uses a system called "Anytime Feedback," which allows employees to send praise or criticism about colleagues to management. While meant to improve performance, it can sometimes foster distrust. The annual review process uses a curve, meaning managers must rank a percentage of employees as underperformers, placing them on performance improvement plans that often lead to termination.

One former human resources director summed up Amazon's approach as "purposeful Darwinism." The environment is unsentimental. Employees who struggle are encouraged to leave. Those who persist may eventually be promoted, but the road is difficult.

The Leadership Principles

Amazon's 14 leadership principles are more than corporate values printed on posters. They're the company's DNA. Employees are judged by them, promotions depend on them, and decisions are made using them as a framework. Candidates are evaluated on each principle during interviews, receiving numerical scores from their interviewers.

These principles guide Amazon's approach to business and relationships. "Customer Obsession" reminds staff to start with the customer experience and work backward. "Bias for Action" emphasizes that speed matters and many decisions are reversible and should be made with incomplete information. "Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit" encourages employees to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, but once a decision is made, to wholly commit to its success.

The 14 Leadership Principles

• Customer Obsession: Leaders start with the customer and work backward.
• Ownership: Leaders are owners, thinking long term and not sacrificing long-term value for short-term results.
• Invent and Simplify: Leaders expect innovation and invention from their teams and always seek ways to simplify.
• Are Right, A Lot: Leaders have strong judgment and good instincts.
• Learn and Be Curious: Leaders are never done learning and 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 standardsmany people may think these standards are unreasonably high.
• Think Big: Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results.
• Bias for Action: Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible.
• Frugality: Accomplish more with less. Constraint breeds resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention.
• Earn Trust: Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully.
• Dive Deep: Leaders operate at all levels and stay connected to details.
• Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit: Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree.
• Deliver Results: Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion.

Human Costs

The human costs of Amazon's culture have been significant. Employees tell of working late nights and weekends, of answering emails at midnight, and of business trips that stretch into months. They describe constant pressure to meet aggressive deadlines and the expectation that they'll always prioritize work over personal commitments.

Some women reported instances where they felt their career progress stalled after having children, or where managers questioned their dedication when they needed to leave early for family obligations. One employee recounted having a miscarriage and being told to travel to a business meeting the next day.

Many workers say they experienced health issues related to stress, including insomnia, heart problems, and anxiety disorders. Some tell of staying up late answering emails on phones next to their beds, then driving to the office exhausted, only to repeat the cycle the next day.

"The joke in the office was that when they fire you, they walk you out to a bus so you don't take any intellectual property with you. But the real joke was that we're all going to die there anyway," said a former Amazon executive.

The Amazon Defense

Amazon officials have defended their workplace. They say the company is simply a meritocracy where high-performing employees can flourish and have impact beyond what's possible elsewhere. They point to the company's growth as evidence that the culture works, and note that many employees choose to stay for decades.

Amazon also emphasizes the benefits it provides, including competitive compensation, stock grants that have made some employees wealthy, and the opportunity to work on projects that affect millions of customers. The company says it has made efforts to improve work-life balance, noting remote work options and encouraging employees to take vacation.

In response to criticism about its performance review system, Amazon has eliminated its "rank and yank" approach, which required managers to place a certain number of employees in improvement categories. The company says its focus now is on continuous feedback and development rather than ranking.

Amazon's Impact

Despite the controversies, Amazon's impact on commerce, technology, and business practices is undeniable. Its innovations have reshaped how people shop, how businesses operate, and how technology is delivered to consumers and enterprises. The company's success has prompted other businesses to emulate aspects of its operations, from two-pizza teams to working backwards from customer needs.

AWS, Amazon's cloud computing division, has become a foundational technology for countless businesses. Prime, its subscription service, has changed expectations about shipping speed and created a loyalty program with millions of members. Alexa has pioneered the voice-activated home assistant market. And its entertainment division has become a serious player in television and film production.

Looking Forward

As Amazon continues to grow, questions about its workplace culture persist. The company faces challenges in balancing its ambitious goals with employee well-being, especially as talent competition in technology intensifies and workers increasingly prioritize work-life balance.

Under founder Jeff Bezos and now CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon remains true to its core principles while navigating an ever-changing business landscape. The company must continue to adapt not just its products and services, but potentially its culture as well, if it wants to attract and retain the talent needed to maintain its extraordinary growth.

The tension between Amazon's demanding culture and its remarkable achievements illustrates a broader question in business: Can extraordinary innovation and growth be achieved without extraordinary demands on employees? Amazon's answer has been mixed, but its ongoing evolution will likely continue to shape practices across the technology industry and beyond.

Based on reporting by The New York Times, adapted for educational purposes.