This series of blogs has been introducing the importance of adopting principles to guide your organisation and deliver better results. But lots of people have never heard of principles for business before. Everyone has heard of ‘vision, mission and values’. But principles?
So, let’s take a quick look at one of the most successful organisations in the world today and the principles they live and die by. Amazon’s 14 leadership principles1 drive day to day action throughout the company, helping them in their mission of becoming; “Earth’s most customer-centric company, [the] best employer, and safest place to work” (and being worth $1,8 trillion).
- Customer Obsession — Start with what the customer needs and work backwards from there
- Ownership — Act on behalf of the entire company, not just your own team
- Invent and Simplify — Look for new ideas from everywhere
- (Leaders) Are Right, A Lot — Seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm your beliefs
- Learn and Be Curious — About new possibilities and act to explore them
- Hire and Develop the Best — Raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion
- Insist on the Highest Standards — Even if people think they are unreasonably high
- Think Big — Create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results
- Bias for Action — Speed matters in business, so take calculated risks
- Frugality — No extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expenses
- Earn Trust — Listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully
- Dive Deep — Operate at all levels and stay connected to the details
- Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit — Once a decision is determined, commit wholly
- Deliver Results — Despite setbacks rise to the occasion and never settle.
So, which of these principles should you adopt? Some of them or all of them? Well, I suggest reading the next blog in this series first as I not only introduce the principles you should adopt, but the order you should adopt them in.