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Amazon is one of the most successful companies of this century. This might be misguided, but let’s actually grapple with why, not just invent strawmen to attack

Amazon is one of the most successful companies of this century. This might be misguided, but let’s actually grapple with why, not just invent strawmen to attack. Surely, Amazon has thought this through and really believes their company will perform better in office.

disgruntledphd2 3y ago
One of the things I've learned over my career is that basically everyone is winging it, and successful companies often don't understand what makes them successful. Also, unless you are a saint, your reports are lying to you because of the power imbalance. These two factors combined are the cause of lots of incredibly boneheaded business decisions.
AlexandrB 3y ago
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Amazon of ~7 years ago was a great customer experience. Second to none in online retail. I happily had a Prime subscription. I avoid 2023 Amazon like the plague because of multiple bad experiences with their shipping and lack of trust that what I receive will be genuine and fit for purpose. It's basically AliExpress with faster shipping. I think Amazon (at least their retails arm) is largely coasting on its past success at this point. If another retailer came along and offered the 2023 Amazon shopping experience they would crash and burn instead of becoming the dominant e-commerce website.
cragfar 3y ago
Jassy and Zuckerberg have both said that new employees (even experienced hires) are underperforming compared the workers who were in an office setting at some point. With a couple of years of turnover, that can compound quite a bit.
- InitialLastName 3y ago
  Thinking back to when I started working, I somewhat buy that. I would have had a much harder time getting up to speed (both technically and institutionally) in a remote environment, where the barriers to learning from your peers are higher and the feedback processes (especially in a company formed around in-person work) are slower.

disgruntledphd2 3y ago

One of the things I've learned over my career is that basically everyone is winging it, and successful companies often don't understand what makes them successful. Also, unless you are a saint, your reports are lying to you because of the power imbalance. These two factors combined are the cause of lots of incredibly boneheaded business decisions.

AlexandrB 3y ago

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Amazon of ~7 years ago was a great customer experience. Second to none in online retail. I happily had a Prime subscription. I avoid 2023 Amazon like the plague because of multiple bad experiences with their shipping and lack of trust that what I receive will be genuine and fit for purpose. It's basically AliExpress with faster shipping. I think Amazon (at least their retails arm) is largely coasting on its past success at this point. If another retailer came along and offered the 2023 Amazon shopping experience they would crash and burn instead of becoming the dominant e-commerce website.

cragfar 3y ago

Jassy and Zuckerberg have both said that new employees (even experienced hires) are underperforming compared the workers who were in an office setting at some point. With a couple of years of turnover, that can compound quite a bit.

InitialLastName 3y ago
Thinking back to when I started working, I somewhat buy that. I would have had a much harder time getting up to speed (both technically and institutionally) in a remote environment, where the barriers to learning from your peers are higher and the feedback processes (especially in a company formed around in-person work) are slower.