Amazon's Leadership Principles
Principle 1: Customer Obsession
Description: Prioritize customer needs above all else, ensuring every action enhances customer satisfaction and delivers exceptional value.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate customer focus by actively seeking user feedback, measured through the number of customer interactions and incorporation of feedback into product improvements.
Team leads exhibit customer obsession by aligning team objectives with customer needs, measured through project goals that directly address customer requirements.
Developers show commitment to customers by promptly resolving issues affecting user experience, measured through response times to customer-reported bugs and improvements in customer satisfaction metrics.
Principle 2: Ownership
Description: Take responsibility for your work and think long-term, acting on behalf of the entire company beyond just your own role or team.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate ownership by proactively identifying and fixing issues, measured through initiation of improvements without direct assignment.
Team leads exhibit ownership by being accountable for team deliverables, measured through transparent reporting and taking responsibility for outcomes.
Developers show ownership by maintaining code quality over time, measured through contributions to reducing technical debt and supporting legacy systems.
Principle 3: Invent and Simplify
Description: Innovate and simplify processes and solutions, driving efficiency and fostering creativity in all endeavors.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate innovation by proposing creative solutions, measured through the number of new ideas implemented and their impact on efficiency.
Team leads simplify workflows by streamlining processes, measured through reduced steps in procedures and increased team productivity.
Developers show inventive thinking by automating repetitive tasks, measured through the deployment of tools that save time and reduce errors.
Principle 4: Are Right, A Lot
Description: Make high-quality decisions with strong judgment, seeking diverse perspectives and being open to learning.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate sound judgment by making accurate technical decisions, measured through the success rate of implemented solutions and peer feedback.
Team leads exhibit being right by effectively predicting project risks, measured through risk mitigation plans that prevent issues.
Developers show good instincts by selecting optimal technologies, measured through performance improvements and resource optimization.
Principle 5: Learn and Be Curious
Description: Continuously seek to learn and improve, staying open to new ideas and exploring opportunities to expand knowledge.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate curiosity by exploring new technologies, measured through participation in training and application of new skills in projects.
Team leads foster learning by encouraging professional development, measured through organizing knowledge-sharing sessions and supporting team growth.
Developers show a learning mindset by soliciting and applying feedback, measured through adjustments made based on reviews and willingness to experiment.
Principle 6: Hire and Develop the Best
Description: Attract and cultivate top talent, helping team members reach their full potential and raising the performance bar with every hire and promotion.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers contribute to hiring by participating in interviews, measured through involvement in recruitment activities and quality of candidate assessments.
Team leads develop team members by providing mentorship, measured through mentee progress and skill advancement.
Developers show commitment to team growth by sharing expertise, measured through contributions to training sessions and onboarding materials.
Principle 7: Insist on the Highest Standards
Description: Uphold uncompromisingly high standards for products and processes to ensure excellence and continuous improvement.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate high standards by delivering quality code, measured through code review feedback and low defect rates.
Team leads enforce standards by ensuring best practices are followed, measured through compliance audits and process adherence.
Developers show commitment to quality by thoroughly testing their work, measured through test coverage metrics and successful quality assurance outcomes.
Principle 8: Think Big
Description: Approach challenges with bold vision and creativity to find transformative solutions that drive significant impact.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate big thinking by proposing ambitious projects, measured through ideas that significantly enhance products or processes.
Team leads encourage thinking big by inspiring the team to set high goals, measured through achievement of stretch objectives.
Developers show visionary thinking by identifying innovation opportunities, measured through contributions to strategic initiatives and long-term plans.
Principle 9: Bias for Action
Description: Value speed in decision-making and execution, recognizing that many decisions and actions are reversible.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate a bias for action by quickly implementing solutions, measured through task turnaround times and responsiveness to issues.
Team leads promote swift action by reducing delays, measured through efficient meeting practices and timely approvals.
Developers show initiative by proactively starting work, measured through tasks initiated without prompting and progress on pending items.
Principle 10: Frugality
Description: Achieve more with less by optimizing resources and finding cost-effective solutions without compromising quality.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate frugality by optimizing code for efficiency, measured through reduced computational costs and lower resource usage.
Team leads manage budgets effectively, measured through cost savings in project execution and efficient resource allocation.
Developers show resourcefulness by reusing components, measured through minimized redundancy and leveraging existing tools.
Principle 11: Earn Trust
Description: Build trust through honesty, transparency, and respectful interactions, actively listening, and communicating effectively.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate trustworthiness by communicating openly, measured through timely updates and transparency about challenges.
Team leads earn trust by leading with integrity, measured through consistent ethical behavior and fair decision-making.
Developers show respect by valuing others' opinions, measured through constructive feedback and collaborative work.
Principle 12: Dive Deep
Description: Operate at all levels, staying connected to the details, and audit frequently to understand the root causes of issues.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate depth by thoroughly investigating problems, measured through comprehensive analyses and effective troubleshooting.
Team leads dive deep by reviewing critical work, measured through involvement in code reviews and technical discussions.
Developers show attention to detail by understanding system intricacies, measured through accurate documentation and knowledge sharing.
Principle 13: Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Description: Challenge decisions respectfully when necessary and fully commit to final decisions for team success.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate backbone by voicing concerns, measured through participation in discussions and constructive dissent.
Team leads encourage debate by fostering an open environment, measured through team feedback and diversity of ideas considered.
Developers show commitment by supporting decisions once made, measured through alignment with plans and actions toward implementation.
Principle 14: Deliver Results
Description: Focus on achieving key objectives with high standards, overcoming obstacles to consistently deliver quality outcomes.
Evaluation Criteria:
Engineers demonstrate results orientation by meeting deadlines, measured through on-time task completion and milestone achievement.
Team leads deliver results by effectively managing projects, measured through successful project delivery and stakeholder satisfaction.
Developers show persistence by overcoming challenges, measured through resolved blockers and adaptability to changes.
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