Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon
by Colin Bryar & Bill Carr · 2021
In a nutshell
An insider's breakdown of Amazon's approach to culture, leadership, and best practices from two long-time Amazon executives. Colin Bryar and Bill Carr reveal and codify the principles and practices that drive the success of one of the most extraordinary companies the world has ever known.
Overview
Working Backwards reveals the inside story of how Amazon operates and how its distinctive corporate culture and leadership principles have enabled it to become one of the most innovative, customer-focused companies in history.
About the Authors
Colin Bryar joined Amazon in 1998—four years after its founding—and spent the next 12 years as part of Amazon's senior leadership team. For two of his years at Amazon, he served as "Chief of Staff" to Jeff Bezos, also known as "Jeff's shadow."
Bill Carr joined Amazon in 1999 and spent more than 15 years with the company. He launched and managed the company's global digital music and video businesses, including Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Amazon Studios.
Key Content
With twenty-seven years of Amazon experience between them, much of it in the early aughts—a period of unmatched innovation that brought products and services including Kindle, Amazon Prime, Amazon Studios, and Amazon Web Services to life—Bryar and Carr offer unprecedented access to the Amazon way.
The authors illuminate how Amazon's fourteen leadership principles inform decision-making at all levels of the company. They detail the unique Amazon practices such as:
- The six-page narrative memo instead of PowerPoint presentations
- The "working backwards" process for product development
- Two-pizza teams and single-threaded leadership
- Customer obsession as a core principle
Leadership Principles
The book provides insight into Amazon's 14 Leadership Principles that guide every decision at the company, from hiring to product development.
Reception
An essential resource for entrepreneurs and leaders seeking to understand how Amazon achieved its remarkable success and how to apply those lessons to their own organizations.
Publication Details
Published by St. Martin's Press.
Reference
Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon — publisher / official page. Summary adapted from the Awesome Startup Books collection.
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