Amazon Work Style Assessment: A Complete Candidate Guide

The Amazon Leadership Principles were not just written to look nice. They’re the cornerstone of the entire company. These principles allow those with diverse perspectives to come together to deliver high-quality products, while continually raising the bar in building customer trust.

Here’s a list of the 16 Leadership Principles:

Customer obsession: Leaders see the importance of customers and value them greatly.

Leaders are owners: They consider the long term and do not sacrifice long-term value for short-term gains.

Innovate and simplify: Leaders expect and demand innovation and invention from their teams, and they are constantly looking for ways to simplify. They are externally aware and seek new ideas from anywhere.

Leaders are right, a lot: Leaders have good instincts and solid judgment. They seek out different perspectives and work to disprove their beliefs.

Learn and be curious: Leaders never stop learning and always look for ways to improve themselves. They are intrigued by new possibilities and take action to investigate them.

Hire and train the best: Leaders raise the bar on performance with each new hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent and are eager to advance it throughout the organization.

Insist on the highest standards: Leaders have unwaveringly high standards, which many people may regard as unreasonable. Leaders constantly raise the bar and push their teams to produce high-quality products, services, and processes.

Think big: Leaders define and communicate a bold vision that inspires action. They think differently and look for ways to serve customers around corners.

Bias for action: In business, speed is critical. Many decisions and actions are reversible and don’t necessitate extensive investigation. We place a premium on calculated risk-taking.

Frugality: Get more done with less. Constraints encourage resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and innovation. There are no bonus points for increasing headcount, budget size, or fixed costs.

Earn trust: Leaders pay close attention, speak candidly, and treat others with dignity. They are vocally critical of themselves, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing.

Dive deep: Leaders operate at all levels, are attentive to details, conduct frequent audits, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdotes differ.

Have backbone; disagree and commit: Leaders owe their followers to respectfully challenge decisions with which they disagree, even if doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders are self-assured and tenacious.

Results: Leaders concentrate on the critical inputs to their business and ensure that they are delivered in a timely and high-quality manner. Regardless of setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never give up.

Strive to be earth’s best employer: Every day, leaders work to make their workplaces safer, more productive, higher performing, diverse, and just. They lead with empathy, enjoy themselves at work, and make it easy for others to enjoy themselves.

Success and scale bring broad responsibility: Leaders produce more than they consume and always leave things in better condition than they found them.

Note: Each one of Amazon’s Leadership Principles helps both blue-collar and c-levels analyze critical metrics that impact both customer experience and company growth. So, prepare to discuss them within your answers during the interview.