311: Former Amazon VP on Character and Leadership

Over the course of his career, Ethan Evans reviewed 10,000+ resumes, conducted over 2,500 interviews, and made more than 1,000 hires. He knows a thing or two about finding, onboarding, AND developing the right people. 

In this high-energy conversation, Ethan shares the qualities he looked for and the aspects of character he believes are most important for leaders. You’ll find great value in reflecting on the lessons he learned from a big mistake he made at Amazon that got him in trouble with CEO Jeff Bezos. 

Ethan is a former Vice President at Amazon. During his 15 years there, he helped invent many of the offerings that we take for granted today, like Prime Video, Amazon Video, and the Amazon App Store. Prior to Amazon, Ethan spent 12 years at 3 startups.  

In September of 2020, Ethan retired from Amazon and made the decision to pay it forward. He devotes time to teaching leaders to become true executives through courses he offers and the free content he provides on LinkedIn and his website. 

You’ll discover: 

• How Ethan added to the Amazon Leadership Principle of Ownership
• What Ethan looks for when interviewing a candidate or considering someone for a promotion
• The five steps in Ethan’s Magic Loop for managing up
• What leaders can do to build trust quickly
• A big mistake Ethan made at Amazon and the lessons he learned from it

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