Bill Carr’s Post

Amazon’s most innovative systems were all invented or refined during a remarkable 4-year window from 2001-2005. Here is what led to such a fruitful environment for process innovation. The processes invented during this time include Working Backwards, Single-Threaded Leaders, Two-Pizza Teams, Input Metrics, and 1-way/2-way Doors. They came about like this: First, Jeff Bezos fostered an environment where we could stand on the shoulders of those who came before us but were not beholden to existing methods. He was a relentless experimenter. This led to many innovative successes like the processes mentioned above, but it also naturally produced ideas that didn’t end up working. One example of this is the infamous "fitness function," an early attempt at a composite performance metric that seemed clever but ultimately didn’t work. However, these “failures” often pointed us in better directions. The fitness function taught us that it was necessary to analyze each metric on its own than seek to create a single, compound metric. This openness to experimentation and willingness to change course is what allowed the other systems to be developed based on observed results. Input metrics, for example, came from the realization that setting goals based on uncontrollable factors (like revenue or sales) distracted teams from investing in long-term improvements to the customer experience: more selection, lower prices, faster delivery. The Two-Pizza Team model and then Single-Threaded Leaders addressed a different kind of problem: how to maintain velocity and ownership at scale. As we grew, we saw that cross-team dependencies killed focus and speed. So, STLs, with teams dedicated to one mission, ensured steady progress towards important long-term goals. Most importantly in this inventive period, our Leadership Principles were not just words on a wall. They were reinforced through every hiring, promotion, and decision-making process. This is important because processes and culture cannot be built independently of one another. They must grow together and reinforce one another. If you want to learn about Amazon’s early culture of innovation, read the book “Working Backwards”: https://lnkd.in/gzJ4qb45