Think Like Amazon: The Blueprint Behind One of the World’s Most Successful Businesses 🚀🚀🚀(This one is not as easy as it sounds!)
Welcome to the Think Like Amazon series – where every Monday I share insider insights from my time at Amazon and show you how to apply these leadership principles to accelerate growth in your own business. 📈
👉 Today’s principle: Insist on the Highest Standards
High standards are contagious – when leaders set them.
Amazon believes good enough is never good enough. Leaders raise the bar every day.
Here’s what that means at Amazon:
💡 Zero tolerance for mediocrity. Quality isn’t negotiable, especially when it impacts customer experience. Measure quality, not just speed – make sure your KPIs and OKRs reflect excellence, not output alone.
💡 Continuous improvement. Every process and every product can be better – and will be. Empower everyone to call out poor quality; if something isn’t up to standard, anyone can raise the flag.
💡 Leaders set the tone. Standards start at the top and cascade through every layer. Build in quality gates – peer reviews, feedback loops, and post-mortems should be routine, not reactive.
💡 Defects don’t get sent down the line. When an issue is spotted – whether in a product, process, or document – the team “pulls an andon” or stops the line. The problem is fixed at the root, not patched over.
💡 Bar Raisers in hiring. Every new hire must raise the standard of the team, not just fill a seat. Choose people who elevate performance and inspire higher standards around them.
💡 Minimum Loveable Product (not just Minimum Viable Product). Amazon launches products that delight, not merely “work.” Early releases must already signal quality and reliability because first impressions set the customer’s trust threshold.
💡 Same standards, even for partners. Third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace must meet “Prime-level” service expectations – no exceptions. If your name is attached to an experience, your standards apply regardless of who delivers it.
Amazon’s approach teaches that high standards aren’t about perfectionism; they’re about ownership and pride. When you insist on the highest standards – and model them yourself – excellence becomes a habit, not a goal. 🚀
Now think about your own organisation:
❓ Are your standards stretching your teams – or letting things slide?
❓ Are you holding only teams accountable? When leaders tolerate sloppiness, standards slide from the top down.
❓ Are your standards “good enough” because “no one complains”? Silence isn’t satisfaction.
❓ Are your teams letting deadlines override quality? Short-term wins often damage long-term trust.
If you want a culture where excellence is the norm, let’s talk. 📩
I can help you build frameworks that embed excellence into every layer of your business. DM me and let’s talk. 📩
Think Like Amazon: Ownership
Imagine if everyone in your business acted like an owner. How different would things look? 🤔 At Amazon, there’s no such thing as “that’s not my job.” Ownership means taking full responsibility for results – not just for your own tasks, but for the bigger picture. Leaders think long-term, making decisions that serve the future rather than chasing short-term wins.
