Amazon’s culture of innovation | London Business School

Summary

Molly Dobson, head of European business industrial and scientific supplies at Amazon, discusses the company's innovative culture. She emphasizes 'Day 1' mentality, customer obsession, and data-driven decision-making. Amazon encourages calculated risk-taking with 'two-way door' decisions and accepts failure as a learning opportunity. Leadership principles like ownership and delivering results are crucial for success at Amazon.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Amazon is recognized as one of the most innovative companies globally, continuously developing new businesses and products.
• 📅 The 'Day 1' philosophy is central to Amazon's culture, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a startup mindset to drive innovation.
• 🔍 Amazon's approach to innovation is data-driven, with decisions and business cases grounded in data analysis.
• 🛍️ Customer obsession is a key principle, with Amazon striving to understand and predict customer needs and desires.
• 📈 The 'Working Backwards' process involves writing internal press releases to visualize and validate new business ideas.
• 🚪 Amazon differentiates between 'one-way' and 'two-way' decisions, allowing for quick, reversible decisions that promote calculated risk-taking.
• 📉 Acceptance of failure is part of Amazon's culture, with the belief that learning from failures leads to better future innovations.
• 🔄 The iterative process of failure and learning is encouraged, with the aim of improving upon initial ideas.
• 👥 Molly Dobson's leadership style reflects Amazon's leadership principles, emphasizing ownership and accountability.
• 💼 Amazon seeks individuals who align with its leadership principles, valuing customer obsession, bias for action, and delivering results.

Q & A

What is Molly Dobson's role at Amazon?

Molly Dobson is the head of European business industrial and scientific supplies at Amazon.

How long has Molly Dobson been in her current position at Amazon?

Molly Dobson has been in her current role for about a year.

What is the significance of the phrase 'it's still day one' at Amazon?

The phrase 'it's still day one' signifies Amazon's commitment to maintaining a startup-like mentality, striving for innovation and avoiding complacency.

What does 'day two' represent according to Jeff Bezos?

'Day two' represents stasis, irrelevance, decline, and death, which Amazon aims to avoid.

What is the core principle behind Amazon's customer obsession?

Amazon's customer obsession involves understanding and anticipating customer needs, making high bar promises, and consistently delivering on them.

How does Amazon approach new business ideas that require funding?

Amazon starts with a business case supported by data, and if it's a significant idea, they write a working backwards press release to paint a picture of the future.

What is a 'working backwards press release' at Amazon?

A 'working backwards press release' is an internal document that outlines the future vision of a product as if it's being launched in the future, to motivate investment in the idea.

What is the concept of one-way versus two-way doors in decision-making at Amazon?

A one-way door decision is irreversible, while a two-way door decision is reversible. Amazon encourages calculated risk-taking by making decisions that can be reversed if they don't work out.

How does Amazon handle failures in innovation?

Amazon views failures as learning opportunities, encouraging employees to learn from mistakes and improve in the next iteration.

What leadership style does Molly Dobson employ?

Molly Dobson's leadership style reflects Amazon's leadership principles, emphasizing ownership, accountability, and a bias for action.

What are the Amazon leadership principles?

Amazon's leadership principles include customer obsession, ownership, deliver results, and thinking big, among others.