A former Amazon.com Inc. AMZN executive has provided rare insights into Jeff Bezos‘ management philosophy that helped build the e-commerce giant into a $2.4 trillion company, highlighting the founder’s preference for exhaustive debates over quick compromises.
What Happened: Ethan Evans, former Vice President of Prime Gaming, shared on X that Bezos actively encouraged lengthy arguments, even when they challenged his positions.
Evans recounted a specific incident involving the Prime Attribution Model, which determined revenue allocation among Amazon’s business units.
“During one chapter of the debate, the discussion went on for so long that the CFO stepped in and asked, ‘Jeff, do you want me to end this?’” Evans wrote. “Jeff explicitly said no.”
Why It Matters: This management approach aligns with Bezos’s recently disclosed views on productivity. In a 2023 interview on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Bezos advocated for “messy meetings” without strict time constraints, believing that allowing minds to wander leads to better problem-solving.
Evans explained that while his team never succeeded in changing the PAM model, Bezos’s openness to ongoing debate ensured all perspectives were considered. This approach combined two key Amazon principles: avoiding compromise merely for social cohesion and “disagree and commit.”
The leadership style appears to have paid off. Under Bezos’s guidance, Amazon grew into one of the world’s most valuable companies, and Bezos himself now ranks second on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index with a $249 billion net worth.
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