The Top 5 Amazon Leadership Principles I Still Use in Business

Throughout my career and personal journey, I have been most grateful for the opportunities afforded to me to observe, learn from, and connect with incredible leaders.

At an early age, I connected with school teachers who proved to be lifelong shepherds; I crossed paths with colleagues who grew into trusted mentors. And quickly, I realized that leadership had very little to do with a title. If you’re using your title as a crutch, that’s likely a sign that you’re a manager, not a leader.

Through personal experience and meticulous observation, I identified the leadership tactics that I found to be one-dimensional, contrived, and calculated. Thankfully, I have also seen what leadership should be: inspiring, vulnerable, and strong-willed. After all, Clark-Atlanta cultivated my leadership foundation, teaching me that one must “find a way or make one.”

Long before landing at Twitter, I worked at Amazon as their Director of Operations. I led the global strategy and framework development for Amazon’s Customer Care and was a stakeholder voice on projects such as the Kindle e-Reader. As obvious as it may be for a once-startup tech leader in SF to say this, it’s true: it was a wild time to be at Amazon during those years. The passion and enthusiasm whiffed through the air, always, but somehow it was something employees never got used to. We were pushed to innovate like never before, dive deeper in scopes of work like never before because we were doing something that had never been done before.

At Amazon, I built without limits, failed with finesse, and was introduced to the famous 14 principles of leadership. And though all of them deserve their glory, I want to focus on the top 5 I still carry with me — nearly ten years later.

Customer Obsession

The large majority of my career has been in operations and customer experience, and reimagining how a consumer connects with their product. From the bombastic to the benign, how easy and effortless an exchange or return influences a person’s relationship with a company. Amazon has gotten many things right as it’s the go-to option for billions across the globe.

In addition to pouring myself and my teams into elevating the customer experience, I spend an excessive amount of time thinking about the customer. Frankly, I see the person as someone with a background and aspirations who sees the purchased products as tools to make their dream a reality. That said, I must consider what accessibility currently looks like and what it could be. It’s a blessing that not every Amazon consumer seems the same or thinks the same; as a leader, it was my responsibility to honor that.

Now that I’m at Twitter, I continually think about the conversation being facilitated online. For millions, Twitter is more than entertainment and microblogging; it’s a news source, a place to release their art, the only safe space they have to connect with like-minded individuals outside of their small town. Because of this, my team is relentless in the pursuit to amplify voices and suppress hate speech.

Further, by having a customer obsession, I am empowered and have the space to work at the intersection of innovation and empathy. And I can bring that same spark to leading my team. Just as I learn our users’ stories, I understand my team’s stories. And it is those stories that inspire real change in the technology industry.

Ownership

A defining characteristic of any leader is their ability to “own it.” Own their mistakes, own their responsibilities, and own their results. At Amazon, I learned it was not enough to think about quarterly results or quick wins. Real success and revolution are built over a long period of time; it’s a marathon. I learned to lead my team to success and create a lasting impact; ownership is a key component.

Ownership has shown up in various ways throughout my time as a professional. Most notably, I have found that to truly lead, I must personally commit myself to each team member’s professional development. I invest time and thought into their career aspirations. I find out what they feel is their purpose-driven mission and help them see how their work is tied to their larger plan. When they share a goal, it’s my job to coach them to the finish line. When they confide in me about a professional problem, it’s my job to help them resolve it. When they make a mistake on a project, it’s my job to hold them accountable and get to the root of the issue.

Learn and Be Curious

Working in tech, there’s no other option but to be inquisitive and observe everything around you. I think I spend more time in my head, just pondering different ideas and possible solutions to problems than I do in the present.

By learning, leaders and individuals can evolve and nurture a growth mindset. Despite countless hurdles over the last few decades, I’m proud to see expectations in the workplace shift to be more inclusive, more open to change, and more futuristic. However, the push for progression couldn’t have happened without examination, listening, and learning. Curiosity and the humility to fully discover something new is the essence of an impactful leadership style.

Recently, I’ve been able to learn the power of speech and social reform through social media. My employment at Twitter allows me to see advocates use their platforms for good and change. As a dad to two pre-teens, I am in awe of how poignant this younger generation is. As a spectator, I am soaking in the experience to challenge my ideologies and the status quo and using it as fodder for greater change within the organization.

Insist on High Standards

Whether cultivating a legacy or developing a new product, there is always room for excellence. At Amazon, I was challenged to strive for better, every time. And though that challenge and expectation can come with added pressure, its rewards are abundant.

Socially, we are holding our public figures and leaders more accountable for their actions and influence. We’re dismantling the idea that “boys will boys” and that things “are just the way they always have been.” We are insisting on higher standards because our people need better outcomes.

Professionally, I am not staying within the sandbox that some want to box me into. I don’t see my expertise, skin color, or upbringing as boundaries, barriers, or reasons to settle for good enough. The legacy I plan to leave is a lineage of Black excellence and a message to define your own life and live it to that standard each day.

Deliver Results

This principle, in all its brevity, speaks for itself. It’s important to set expectations and deliver on your word.

I often think about the idea of “failing up” when I talk on the topic. As I explained in a previous article, if we reward those undeserving, we are only pushing the harmful narrative that earnest enthusiasm, relentless hard work, and operating from a system of ethics and principles is unrewarding and the wrong way to succeed. It hurts other employees, the company, and the one who is failing up.

When we underdeliver, we settle for lower standards, a regressed reality, and begin to strive for “just good enough.” My boss is just good enough. My marriage is just good enough. My mental health is just good enough. No, we find a way, or we make one.

Though I learn something new about leadership and myself at every job, I am particularly grateful for the principles instilled in me nearly a decade ago at Amazon. I’m still evolving today as a leader, leading with empathy and compassion. But the amazon principles here still serve as my foundation. I would love to start a dialogue and hear the most helpful advice you’ve learned from former employers.