A Critique of the Amazon Leadership Principles, Part 5

Dennis Consorte
8 min readOct 16, 2021
Leaders have strength and fortitude. Source: Pixabay

In Part 1 of my Critique of the Amazon Leadership Principles, I covered the first two principles of Amazon’s guiding documentation: Customer Obsession; and Ownership. In Part 2, I went over three more principles: Invent and Simplify; Are Right, A Lot; and Learn and Be Curious. In Part 3, I covered these three principles: Hire and Develop the Best; Insist on the Highest Standards; and Think Big. In Part 4, I reviewed these principles: Bias for Action; Frugality; and Earn Trust. In this article, I will review these principles:

  • Dive Deep
  • Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
  • Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer
  • Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

Each section begins with a quote from the original document, followed by my critique. This is a work-in-progress and I acknowledge that my critique is subject to… critique. This is Medium, so please feel free to highlight those sections with which you agree or disagree, and leave your comments.

Dive Deep

Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.

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