Creating an impact doesn't always make you feel accomplished, and feeling accomplished doesn't necessarily mean you're creating an impact. This is about the dopamine trap of getting things done.
The concept of Thinking Big is not about having big ideas. It's about charting a path to accomplish great and challenging things.
Designing processes and software to scale is expensive but necessary. I'll walk through why scaling by definition (basically always) leads to a loss of agility.
Upward feedback is a gift from an employee to a manager. How to politely give the gift of feedback to anyone, but particularly your manager.
AI is great for some things. Not all things. Join me as I take on this experiment.
All interview processes are imperfect. But I think the Amazon Bar Raiser program is a brilliant differentiator.
Complaining about co-workers is an immature and dangerous temptation.
What unexpected things happen when your scope increases, almost everything is ambiguous, and results (not effort) are all that matter.
Staying calm in a crisis is a necessary component of leadership.
The Amazon Leadership Principles are awesome in driving behaviors within Amazon. Why don't other companies manage this type of behavior influence?
Getting past the euphemisms - this is what “performance management” looks like from the manager chair.
A bit of this and that.
Managing Up
Why most career asks fail (if you even ask) and how making your requests smaller, clearer, and time-bound dramatically increases your odds of getting a good response.
Late Career
Your natural tendencies work brilliantly in the right context, but real growth comes from learning when to flip them.
Career Growth
A few hard-earned lessons about people, politics, consistency, and the parts of work we pretend aren’t part of the job. But really are.
Late Career
You don’t need permission to lead. You just need to look, sound, and act like a person others instinctively follow. Because, yes, we're all sheep.
Managing Up
Doing your work absolutely matters. But you can easily sabotage yourself by saying the wrong thing. These are a few phrases that quietly sabotage your reputation.
Managing Up
Levels in an organization garble communication. A skip-level meeting is an opportunity to communicate clearly. Most importantly, it helps low-level employees see past their blinders.
Early Career
Being a good student might make you a poor worker. Here are a few habits and behaviors that might serve you well in the classroom but poorly in the workplace.
Organizations
Investments in operations should be at a minimal level that maintains the systems in an acceptable state forever. Poor operations are clearly bad news. But perfect operations are a waste of money.
Mid Career
How bad is the worst-case scenario of your systems? I suspect it's not as bad as the DynamoDB system.
Early Career
The better you get, the more work finds you. These skills help you survive success without losing your mind. Plus an early life lesson from my Dad.
Organizations
Amazon is decentralized and has a strong focus on ownership. This causes various positive and negative impacts. Let's walk through those impacts, and how you can navigate them successfully.
People Managers
The management job comes with interesting people challenges. Here are four I've run into more than a few times and what to do when they land in your lap.