14 Leadership principles from Amazon

John Rossman's "The Amazon Way" offers invaluable insights for anyone striving for

modern leadership excellence. By embracing these core principles, businesses can cultivate a culture of success, drive innovation, and achieve remarkable growth. Here are the 14 leadership principles from the book, along with my take on how to integrate them into your leadership journey.

Obsess Over the Customer

This principle is the bedrock of Amazon's phenomenal success. True customer obsession means consistently delivering world-class value and understanding that the customer is always right. While acquiring new customers is important, sustained growth hinges on delighting existing ones and consistently outperforming the competition to foster repeat business.

A great way to achieve this obsession is by continuously gathering customer feedback. Go beyond mere surveys and engage in direct observation, meaningful conversations, and analysis of user behavior. The deeper your understanding of their pain points, the more effectively you can tailor solutions. True obsession means an unyielding focus on creating value, even anticipating needs customers haven't yet realized they have.

Take Ownership of Results

Accountability is a hallmark of strong leadership. As Harry Truman famously said, "The buck stops with me." A true leader avoids blame and takes complete ownership of outcomes, which naturally earns the respect of their team.

Ownership also involves foresight—proactively identifying and solving problems before they escalate. Leaders who show initiative, flag risks early, and consistently ask, "What more can I do?" foster a culture where everyone feels empowered to take responsibility. When ownership is deeply embedded at every level, execution becomes a seamless process.

Invent and Simplify

Steve Jobs's pursuit of simplification at NeXT highlighted its power. While inventing great products is crucial, ensuring a wonderful and slick user experience is equally vital. Users have limited time and shouldn't struggle to understand or use what you offer.

Simplification isn't about cutting corners; it's about refining complexity into essential elegance. Whether it's a product or a process, the most powerful solutions are intuitive and frictionless. Leaders should encourage their teams to continually challenge assumptions and ask: "How can we make this easier, faster, better?"

Leaders Are Right – A Lot

Effective leaders are inherently curious, but they also possess the keen judgment to often make correct decisions. While being right is valuable, it must be balanced with genuine curiosity. This curiosity embodies a beginner's mindset, ensuring you never believe you've learned everything. Continuously read, learn, and expand your horizons by diversifying your information sources. Connect with experts in your field, read their work, listen to their podcasts, and meticulously document your learnings.

Being right isn't just about luck; it's the culmination of rigorous thinking, learning from past failures, and developing pattern recognition over time. Great leaders surround themselves with strong, diverse thinkers and aren't afraid to course-correct. Their judgment is a blend of intuition and data-driven insights.

Hire and Develop the Best

Earning your team's respect hinges on fairness and avoiding politics. Treat everyone well and apply the principle of "radical candor" – caring personally while challenging directly, as Kim Scott suggests. As Jim Collins advised, "Get the right people in the bus, in the right seats, then drive the bus."

Great leaders invest profoundly in their people, not just through hiring but through consistent coaching, mentoring, and providing challenging growth opportunities. They swiftly identify high-potential talent and cultivate an environment where individuals can truly thrive. Developing others is a long-term multiplier for organizational success.

Think Big

For me, leadership involves three key elements: first, dreaming big and articulating an audacious vision—the leader is uniquely responsible for envisioning the future. The other two are the ability to inspire others and lead by example.

Thinking big isn't merely about possessing a bold vision; it's about dismantling mental barriers and expanding what people believe is possible. Leaders who think big ignite movements, not just manage teams. They inspire others to commit to a cause larger than themselves and courageously challenge the status quo.

Have a Bias for Action

Action is paramount; truly great leaders consistently act to achieve their desired outcomes. Not every decision will be perfect, but leaders ensure they make their decisions "right" through follow-through and adjustment. Always maintain momentum and seize opportunities as they arise.

In dynamic environments, excessive analysis can paralyze progress. Leaders with a bias for action experiment, iterate rapidly, and learn from quick failures. They understand that velocity often outweighs perfection, and that course corrections are an inherent part of the journey.

Practice Frugality

To build a company that not only achieves "unicorn" status but also possesses the resilience of a "phoenix," frugality is essential. You simply cannot afford excessive spending. All effective leaders operate a well-oiled, tightly run organization.

Frugality often ignites innovation. When resources are constrained, teams are compelled to think creatively and prioritize what truly delivers value. It also instills crucial financial discipline, ensuring long-term sustainability and bolstering resilience during economic downturns.

Be Vocally Self-Critical

This principle is about doing what's right, even when it's difficult. Always be truthful and resist the temptation of shortcuts for short-term gains. Be tougher on yourself than anyone else, maintaining higher standards for yourself than what others might expect.

Leaders who are self-critical foster psychological safety within their teams. When a leader admits, "I got that wrong," it paves the way for honest conversations, continuous improvement, and a culture where learning from mistakes occurs without fear of reprisal.

Earn the Trust of Others

Ultimate success hinges on teams that possess absolute trust in one another. Therefore, always be transparent and readily share information that helps build this trust. Candor is the cornerstone for building an organization where trust acts as a lubricant, significantly reducing friction.

Trust is forged in countless small moments—keeping your word, giving credit where it's due, showing empathy, and acting consistently. High-trust environments operate with greater speed because there's less second-guessing and more unified effort toward shared objectives.

Dive Deep

As Bob Iger highlighted with his three priorities for Disney, great leaders understand the power of focus. They know when to say no and typically limit themselves to 3-4 key priorities. While this knowledge is common, the true challenge lies in implementation and sustained focus. By concentrating on a few core priorities, you can dive deep into each and achieve genuine excellence.

Diving deep means thoroughly understanding the underlying mechanics when necessary—not micromanaging, but grasping the critical details. This is how leaders quickly identify misalignments, provide more effective coaching, and maintain credibility with their teams.

Disagree and Commit

While a culture of inclusion is vital, it doesn't mean the absence of disagreement. Healthy debate should be encouraged. However, once a decision has been made, everyone must fully commit to that decision, regardless of initial reservations.

This principle fosters alignment and unity. It allows for robust debate, ensures every voice is heard, and then reinforces a collective commitment once a path is chosen. It also teaches individuals that disagreement is a part of strong decision-making, not a sign of disloyalty.

Deliver Results

Results are where strategy meets reality. They are everything. No one cares about strategic plans unless they are validated by tangible outcomes. Maintain a constant focus on delivering results. The key is to establish strategic checkpoints to measure progress against defined standards. Most impactful leaders set ambitious standards and consistently deliver exceptional results.

Delivering results builds credibility, generates momentum, and earns the permission to lead even larger initiatives. High-performing leaders are meticulously focused on execution, skillfully balancing short-term wins with long-term impact. They measure what truly matters and celebrate progress along the way.

These 14 leadership principles offer a powerful framework for anyone on their journey to becoming a more effective leader. By integrating these insights, you can foster a thriving environment and achieve significant success.

The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.