Effectively Leaving Amazon

Today is my last day at Amazon after 7 years and 10 months, or 2,867 Day 1's, as some say. I have mixed feelings, but I am mostly filled with gratitude. As you probably know, I am passionate about learning, and I am thankful for the opportunity to learn from a company that many find inspiring.

I have summarized my main learnings below in a way that can be applicable to anyone in any company. I hope you find it useful.

7 Learnings from 7+ years at Amazon

1."Ruthlessly Prioritize": When I joined Amazon in 2016, I asked everyone I met for their #1 tip, and most said this. “Ruthlessly” means “without pity or compassion for others” so initially, I was worried; however, as I found the environment to be mostly friendly and collaborative, I realized that it's about being "ruthless" towards our other priorities. Prioritizing implies leaving some tasks behind, even if it’s hard.

2.The Power of a Well-Written Doc: At Amazon, new roles are being created all the time, and I have been approached by many who think their job is pointless. I've seen them take four routes: (1) Complain to others, (2) Just do as they’re told, (3) Leave their team, (4) Demonstrate why they shouldn’t do what they’re told and suggest an alternative. Aim for #4. Write a 1-2 page document with data and anecdotes explaining why you should pivot and how it will benefit the team. Circulate it, get buy-in, and present it to the decision-maker. If it doesn’t work, consider #3, but *never* do #1 or #2.

3.Work Backwards from Personal Goals: Like Amazon works backwards from business objectives, do the same with personal goals. For example, if you want a promotion, understand the process, the required documentation, and who makes the decisions. Then, work backwards to meet those requirements. For instance, get exposure to those part of the decision committee and ask for your "best reason not to promote" (a part of the process). Then, address proactively.

4.Have a Sounding Board: Beyond having a mentor or sponsor, benefit from a peer sounding board. This person can be within or outside your team, someone you can be vulnerable and authentic with, share ideas, get an external perspective, or to just get something off your chest to then address matters calmly.

5.Focus on Mechanisms: Many leaders credit mechanisms for Amazon’s success. A Mechanism transforms inputs into outputs (view its parts here). My main learning is that we should all aim to master our mechanisms both at work and personal lives. Most people mistake outputs for inputs (e.g., Losing 10 kg/lbs. is actually an output). Many set the wrong incentives for encouraging adoption (what is referred to as "make it attractive" in Atomic Habits). Focus your time and energy on setting the right mechanisms (systems) for your desired goals, "You don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."

6.Being Dispensable vs. Indispensable: While being dispensable is risky (especially as we enter the "Age of AI"), being indispensable also limits career progression. I have seen it time and time again with very talented employees. It’s hard to give new opportunities to indispensable people because no one else can do what they do. Empower and train others to learn to do what you do or to be your potential successors. If you are busy all the time, and only you can do certain tasks, then you are not scalable and will likely remain where you are.

7.Don’t reveal 100% of what you know: This is extremely important as we

More personal thoughts

I hope you all got my joke with #7 haha. My seventh tip is actually to “Be yourself”. It’s hard when you’re different inside and outside of work. I actually like telling jokes (good or bad) and believe these do have an impact on our work, mostly by earning trust. There was a time when I thought that being myself at work wasn’t "professional," but you know what? Being someone else is exhausting.

Wondering what's next for me? I'll announce it soon. It involves creating new ways to share content that I've seen help thousands become more effective. Please use the referral link below to recommend this newsletter so others can also stay tuned. [You can consider this as giving me a first push!]

Cheers to a new "Day 1,"

Jorge Luis Pando

“Good intentions never work, you need good mechanisms to make anything happen. This is why mechanisms are so important.” - Jeff Bezos