10 Lessons from Working At Amazon
And how to apply them to get ahead in any job.
I was 24 when I started working at Amazon. Even for a Data Scientist, Amazon strikes you as intensely data-driven.
It felt like we were just getting started in India and Amazon was hungry for success, having seen little of it in China.
I was the youngest kid on the block with the most smartest people I had ever met. Inspired by their brilliance and grit, I soaked in everything I could learn.
I worked in 2 roles, 2 countries and across 7 markets over 4 years.
4 years later, here are the 10 lessons I’ve adapted for you to get ahead in any job (more on that in #10):
1. Finding a North Star
Amazon had a devious way to push teams towards their best. Partnering teams often had competing goals and sparred over the best course of action.
More often than not, the customer was the only necessary winner.
But you had to make a case for it (more on that in #4).
2. Implementing Customer-Centricity
If I had a penny for every time I heard this one… but stay with me.
We’re living in an era of such abundant phygital stimulation that you have little chance of catching or sustaining customer’s attention, whether they’re B2B or B2C.
Refrain the urge to market at customers rather than for them. De-jargonize every customer-facing touchpoint.
Let this be in your muscle memory: Pin down your customer’s pain-points, agree on them with your partner teams before even trying to articulate your value proposition.
For the product minded, here’s Peter Yang reflecting on this but really, it applies to anyone talking to a customer. To quote Tony Fadell, co-creator of the iPhone, from his book ‘Build’:
“The messaging is the product. The story you’re telling shapes the thing you’re making”.
Read that again: The Messaging. Is The Product.
3. Keeping Your Stakeholders Happy
Your customers aren’t just the ones you market to, your customers are everyone you work with, every day.
The more they’re happy, the higher the chances of your success.
Assess whether your daily priorities are supporting your key stakeholders’ goals. If not, you will struggle to get things done (more on that in #7 and #8)
4. Making Better Choices
I built AI models in 2014, a time when AI was so uncool that I made the questionable decision to leave it behind as a career path.
Even as the generative AI era unfolds around us a decade later, I’d argue data analytics — AI’s predecessor — is still an under-represented skill.
I re-emphasize it now because analytical proficiency lends itself to objective synthesis, which will always improve your decisions.
Maybe AI is taking over the world but a human will have to interpret the answers, make the hard choices and get them right.
Brandon Cosley’s take on why Data Science is not dead from 2021 is similarly relevant even today.
5. Compelling Humans To Act
Beware of death by data.
Too often, I patted myself on the back for coming up with the most compelling data points to support my case. Ironically, it was at Amazon that I was forced to think that there is such a thing as too much data.
Data can inform your thinking but stories move people to believe, to act — and it’s an art worth crafting.
The best use of data is to craft a compelling story, any more than that is a brain drain.
6. Thinking like the Main Character
You may be more ready to own things than you know — embrace it. You’re allowed to be the main character.
Your lived experience is uniquely yours and it does amount to expertise — that only you can bring. Bring it.
Besides, intrapreneurship is risk-free entrepreneurship. At its best, it will lead to growth. At its worst, it’ll likely lead to growth.
As Barack Obama recently said, be the person who’s willing to say “let me take care of that” and it will get noticed. Enjoy more of his wonderful advice here.
7. Getting Stuff Done.
That said, nobody likes a person who behaves like they’re the main character. You will likely need to work harder on collaborating with people than on actual problem solving to achieve long-term results.
Take feedback on your ideas from day 1, identify common interests and solve for mutual wins.
Don’t let your opinion get in the way of getting stuff done.
Regardless, you will still have conflicts and that’s okay (more on that in #9).
8. Getting Stuff Done Repeatedly.
If I had a penny for every time, I heard the term “operational siloes”… after quitting Amazon.
Amazon is really the GOAT in organised scale, in my opinion.
We come to the infamous “Weekly Business Reviews” or WBRs. They were excruciating but in hindsight, they were goddamn operational perfection.
Siloes are the enemy of scale. So yeah, OKRs are cool but having a consistent, inter-connected measurement system is great.
Teams must have KPIs that ladder up to a larger goal(s). They must be collectively reviewed to identify blockers and facilitate quick cross-functional interventions.
At its best in Amazon, I’ve seen this mechanism improve a team’s ability to spot potential issues even before they occur.
On the other hand, I’ve heard of companies adopting the WBR system but of few getting it right.
You can’t measure what you can’t track but you can’t do better just because you measure (refer back to #1 through #7).
9. Working with Conflicts
Helping your team get to the best possible outcome is different from helping them make a decision — IYKYK.
If you’re not in a position to push your team towards the best possible outcome, things start to get complicated.
First, ask yourself if the conflict affects your success. If it doesn’t, move on. Immediately.
Don’t let your ego come in the way of your time .
If it does affect your success, you could:
- Become friends with the opposing person and earn their confidence.
- Find an ally — a leader or an expert whose word will carry weight.
- If all else fails, take a deep breath and move on anyway. Knowing when to do so is underrated — you will have other problems to solve.
10. Making It Work Outside Amazon
Finally, you really can’t “Amazonify” a company that’s not Amazon and you shouldn’t.
I’ve heard how WBRs, OPs and PRFAQs have been inorganically implemented in companies without considering the prevailing grass-root problems or ethos.
It’s people that run companies and if you don’t get their buy in, don’t hope to win.
It’s People. Process. Tech. Not the other way around.
Learn from the people. Identify gaps in the process, demonstrate progress with incremental changes and tech. Repeat.
A Bonus Tip to Leave You With:
All things considered, my most joyous professional moments have been when I helped others succeed. So whatever you do, don’t overlook the joy of mentoring the next generation of your own your unique self.
