Recently, a longtime “Amazonian” software developer decided to leave our company. On his last day, he sent me a very personal note. He thanked me for some things, and then he offered a piece of incredibly valuable, sincere advice. He noted that in the early days, we were small enough that I communicated regularly and informally with the entire corporate staff. As we grew, they saw less and less of me, to the point where now some new engineers joked that I might not actually exist.
FULFILLMENT CENTER Logistical planning at Amazon permeates every level of management, down to individual depart- ments at the company’s warehouses. Here, Amazon employees take customer orders from ware- house shelves. (Photo courtesy of Amazon)
optimistic environment. We’ve found that individuals with a military back- ground do incredibly well at Amazon in a variety of roles. Our company’s leader- ship principles match up closely with our nation’s military. As a result, for years, we’ve actively recruited members of the military into roles at Amazon, whether they are retired from the active military or reservists.
Q. Tell us about CRAP—or “can’t real- ize any profit”—which seems almost as much about streamlining customer expe- rience as it is about unprofitable items. What can the Army learn from the phi- losophy behind CRAP?
CRAP came from observations Jeff Bezos and I made while working on the shop floor in Kentucky one Christmas. We were spending too much time (to the great pleasure of the associates watching us!) building custom boxes to hold fold- ing chairs offered as that day’s big deal. Tere was no way, even with well-trained, productive employees (versus us), that we were making money on these items.
We committed ourselves right there to find other similar items and either make them profitable or
stop selling them.
Most of the time, our vendors have been able to work with us to make such items profitable, including by changing the packaging.
Q. You and
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos used to go out and spend a week each year visiting Amazon distribution facilities, even fulfilling orders. What benefit, in your view, would it be to Army brass—both military
ian—to spend time working at the ground level a week each year the way you did?
A. I think a significant portion of leadership is showing up, in person, to listen, say thanks, and “walk the talk.” As our jobs get bigger, it can seem harder to find the time to visit. Certainly at many times in my career, I’ve fallen prey to this mistake. But I know that face time matters. Associates notice. I suspect our Soldiers and civilian employees notice when leadership takes the time to visit.
He had a simple suggestion: Pick some lunch areas randomly and occasionally, and just show up with little announce- ment. Engage in Q&A with whoever happens to come. Tough I probably haven’t done it frequently enough, I implemented his suggestion and have been pleasantly surprised with the atten- dance, questions and, most importantly, the opportunity to preserve our special culture by tying my answers to our lead- ership principles backed up by a few stories from our past.
and civil-
Q. Jeff Bezos is fairly well-known for his vision and ability, and part of that vision was hiring someone like you to rationalize and make that vision work. What’s
the best part of your supporting that vision?
A. I believe that the field of operations matters. Too often companies, govern- ments and other entities build great programs and products, only to have them fall short of their potential impact because the underlying operations just don’t scale. At Amazon, we understand that process, technology and especially leadership make a huge difference in our success or failure. I love working at a company that’s proud of its operations.
job in
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