The Marketplace Magazine March/April 2022

Sharing the secrets of the world’s largest online retailer

Working Backwards. Insights, stories and secrets from inside Amazon by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr (St. Martin’s Press, 2021 286 pp, $29.99 US)

Amazon’s success has radically transformed many industries.

In Working Backwards, company veterans Bryar and Carr provide a fascinating look at the principles and practices that came to define Amazonian culture during its climb to dominance in the areas where it competes.

The book’s title refers to how Amazon develops new products and services. Work begins by defining the customer experience, writing a press release and FAQ (frequently asked questions) document, long before the first prototypes are conceived.

The company’s culture of being an “invention machine” led to the success of the Kindle book e-reader, Prime and Prime Video, and the astonishingly profitable Amazon Web Services.

Customer obsession, bias for action and ensuring that responsibility for projects is lodged with “single-threaded leaders” are among the principles the book explains. A results focus meant that executives did not receive bonuses and were instead compensated in company stock that did not begin to vest for 18 to 24 months. To benefit financially, they needed to help Amazon grow over the long term.

Amazon’s Bar Raiser approach to hiring was designed to ensure hiring teams did not end up settling for ill-suited candidates. The company’s two pizza teams — no more people on a team than could be fed with two pizzas — worked well in product development.

Company founder Jeff Bezos banished PowerPoint from meetings, requiring organizers to circulate six -page written reports instead.

The book concludes with suggestions on how to incorporate the best aspects of “being Amazonian” into other businesses. -MS