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> “Learn and Be Curious” - what might that cost us? Maybe focus (because it’s ok to go down rabbit holes in order to learn something). So how about “Optimise le

> “Learn and Be Curious” - what might that cost us? Maybe focus (because it’s ok to go down rabbit holes in order to learn something). So how about “Optimise learning over focus”? Maybe, maybe not. A couple of the values pulled out here are from the Amazon Leadership Principles. So there's actually an answer to this question! The opposite of "Learn and Be Curious" is "Bias for Action" and "Deliver Results". The Amazon LPs are designed to have tension with each other. You can't embody all of them at the same moment. Which ones you prioritize are contextually dependent. Which is also helpful for dealing with conflict and disagreement because so many arguments are people talking past each other not realizing that they're actually misaligned on an underlying assumption and wasting energy arguing about how to execute. "I don't think this is a good path forward, we should take our time to 'Dive Deep' and do more research"... "Ah, that's the issue. We've already agreed as a group the prioritize for 'Bias for Action' because of <reasons>"... "Hrm. In that case I can understand why this path makese sense. If you're all confident that's the right priority here then let's go."

alecbz 5y ago
Do the LPs themselves make it clear when they're supposed to be applied?
- mellavora 5y ago
  Don't worry, that is probably another one of the LPs. Maybe "Good leaders are right, alot"? So no True Scottsman^h^h^h^h good leader would ever be confused about which LP applied
- jerglingu 5y ago
  No, and it's a source of strain for many people at Amazon. There are, however, two LP's that are understood to stand well above the rest of the others: "Deliver Results" and "Customer Obsession."
- glenngillen 5y ago
  No. So while it (IMO) makes for a more productive debate (you discuss which of the LPs it’s most appropriate to prioritise), it also allows what people refer to as weaponising an LP. I know I’d had such a claim laid on me in that I’d use “Bias for Action” to justify what I wanted. Which there is some truth to. But as another reply mentioned the LPs of “Customer Obsession” and “Deliver Results” overruled all others. My bias delivered on those two so nobody seemed too concerned. As far as I can tell the system was working as designed. Most teams also have a set of tenets they embrace that are more team-local refinements of what you stand for and how you work. The group I was in had “Bias for Action” and “Earn Trust” as the things to prioritise. Make customers happy, increase their trust in you along the way, deliver results, and do it quickly… it made for a simple framework for decisions and left a lot of autonomy for working out your own plans for execution. You don’t need to reach consensus on _how_ you’re going to do it. Just do it.

alecbz 5y ago

Do the LPs themselves make it clear when they're supposed to be applied?

mellavora 5y ago
Don't worry, that is probably another one of the LPs. Maybe "Good leaders are right, alot"? So no True Scottsman^h^h^h^h good leader would ever be confused about which LP applied
jerglingu 5y ago
No, and it's a source of strain for many people at Amazon. There are, however, two LP's that are understood to stand well above the rest of the others: "Deliver Results" and "Customer Obsession."
glenngillen 5y ago
No. So while it (IMO) makes for a more productive debate (you discuss which of the LPs it’s most appropriate to prioritise), it also allows what people refer to as weaponising an LP. I know I’d had such a claim laid on me in that I’d use “Bias for Action” to justify what I wanted. Which there is some truth to. But as another reply mentioned the LPs of “Customer Obsession” and “Deliver Results” overruled all others. My bias delivered on those two so nobody seemed too concerned. As far as I can tell the system was working as designed. Most teams also have a set of tenets they embrace that are more team-local refinements of what you stand for and how you work. The group I was in had “Bias for Action” and “Earn Trust” as the things to prioritise. Make customers happy, increase their trust in you along the way, deliver results, and do it quickly… it made for a simple framework for decisions and left a lot of autonomy for working out your own plans for execution. You don’t need to reach consensus on _how_ you’re going to do it. Just do it.