Prepping Tips:
Come up with examples from your current or previous experience to illustrate the leadership principles.
Make sure to ask follow-up questions to clarify. You want to fully understand the problem before starting to solve
it.
Always think about the customer when you are answering any questions, whether the question is technical or not.
Amazon gives employees autonomy. Provide examples of areas where you have taken initiative without another
person’s direction or input.
Make sure that you point out your own errors/ mistakes and fix them. We want to hire candidates who can find
their own mistakes and know how to resolve them quickly.
Our Leadership Principles
Our Leadership Principles are the foundation of our culture and guide each Amazonian. Whether you are an individual contributor or a
manager of a large team, you are an Amazon leader.
Customer Obsession: Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep
customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.
Ownership: Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act
on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job”.
Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit: Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree,
even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise
for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.
Earns Trust: Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even
when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of
perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.
Deliver Results: Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely
fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.
Dive Deep: Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are sceptical when metrics
and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.
Insist on Highest Standards: Leaders have relentlessly high standards - many people may think these standards are
unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high quality products, services
and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.
Learn and Be Curious: Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious
about new possibilities and act to explore them.
Think Big: Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires
results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.
Invent and Simplify: Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to
simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here”. As we
do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.
Are Right, A Lot: Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives
and work to disconfirm their beliefs.
Bias for Action: Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study.
We value calculated risk taking.
Frugality: Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention. There are no
extra points for growing headcount, budget size or fixed expense.
Hire and Develop the Best: Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize
exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their
role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.
