MANAGER SURVIVAL MODE
The unofficial fuel behind approximately 87% of early-morning operations meetings.
coffee
This Amazon Leadership Principle reminds us that the customer is where everything begins.
What is Customer Obsession?
If someone says “AA,” they probably aren't talking about batteries.
What is an Associate?
An associate tells you, “My station isn't working.” Your first move shouldn't be sending five Slack messages. It's this.
What is go observe / investigate the issue?
An AA proposes a change that sounds ridiculous.
Instead of immediately explaining why it won't work, the manager says: Interesting. Show me
Learn and be curious
A meeting scheduled for 15 minutes somehow reaches the 47-minute mark. This phrase can finally save everyone.
What is “Let's take this offline”?
Before Amazon became the “Everything Store,” this was its original product category.
What are books?
These three letters can suddenly become the most important thing in the building when a shipment deadline approaches.
What is CPT?
Your line goes down and associates are standing idle. This si the first thing you owe them before troubleshooting equipment
Redeploy them to another station/process path.
Amazon's first Leadership Principle alphabetically.
Are Right, A Lot
Your laptop is at 3%, you're presenting next, and you forgot this item at your desk.
Charger
The year Jeff Bezos founded the company in a Bellevue garage
1994
The 10-character code that identifies every product in the catalog
What is an ASIN?
Your OM asks why you missed plan. “We had a bad day” probably won't survive this Amazon concept.
Root-cause analysis
Your team's solution works, but creates unnecessary complexity. Which LP should make you uncomfortable?
Invent and Simplify
The most dangerous Slack message an Operations Manager can receive: “Hey, quick _____.”
question? 😂
The robotics company Amazon bought in 2012 for $775m
Kiva Systems
You're standing at SOS and someone says, “We have 15 call-outs.” This is probably the first thing you're recalculating.
What is the staffing/labour plan?
Two associates in your area both request the same VTO slot, and only one can be released without dropping the path below minimum staffing. This is what an AM does instead of picking a favorite
Sign-up sequence or FCFS
You make a decision with ~70% of the information because waiting would cost more than being wrong.
Bias for Action
The two things that always break down.
Conveyor and printer
$79
Borrowed from Toyota, this lets an associate halt a defective process
What is the Andon Cord?
An associate reports a near-miss with a PIT driver. This is your first action, before any investigation
Stop the work and secure the area.
Added in 2021, this LP covers building a safe, productive, diverse workplace.
Strive to be Earth's best employer