From the comments posted so far, it sounds like the author put a very bright spotlight on a few bad cases and blew certain things out of proportion. That said,

From the comments posted so far, it sounds like the author put a very bright spotlight on a few bad cases and blew certain things out of proportion. That said, it does sound like Amazon is very different, bottom-to-top, from other tech companies -- especially those that got their start in the Valley. Right or wrong, Amazon is trying something different. Every company in the Valley just mimics each other and clones their "corporate values" from each other as well as practices, benefits, etc. That said, there are some refreshing things I read in the article. It's nice to hear there are tech companies where you're not required to be everyone's friend and sing kumbaya. I currently work at one where one of the company's ideals is "extreme respect" -- meaning you must respect every employee even if they have never earned such respect and have done several things to make them lose respect in your eyes. Criticizing bad ideas is extremely difficult to do because someone's feelings might get hurt and then they'll tattle on you to a manager than you're not respecting them. Never mind the fact that their idea was a bad one that would have cost the company money, caused setbacks, or lost customers. In the founder's mind, everyone is going to get a gold star and the company will succeed with this idea of respect, not the best decisions. I think I'm stuck at the other end of the spectrum from Amazon, and I'll leave shortly after working out financing to sell my options via warrants to a third party. Extreme respect and gold stars for everyone, but how dare you try and sell your precious shares to the unwashed?