Single-threaded leadership metrics and operations | 2min snip from Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth

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Unpacking Amazon’s unique ways of working | Bill Carr (author of Working Backwards)

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

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Single-threaded leadership metrics and operations

The company has transitioned from a project orientation to a program orientation. Instead of focusing on individual projects, teams now work holistically on specific areas, such as search. They define their own roadmap, prioritize tasks, and work with the resources they have. This reduces resource contention and allows teams to focus on building and achieving their own goals. It also eases management's burden of constantly refereeing every item on the product roadmap. While there may be a need for more resources, teams have the freedom to petition management for additional support. This new approach empowers teams and encourages them to sprint ahead in their work.

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Bill Carr is the co-author of Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon. With a background at Amazon of over 15 years, Bill played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s global digital music and video ventures, including Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Amazon Studios. After Amazon, Bill was an Executive in Residence with Maveron, an early-stage, consumer-only venture capital firm. He later served as the chief operating officer of OfferUp, the largest mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers in the U.S. Today he’s the co-founder of Working Backwards LLC, where he helps companies implement Amazon’s time-tested management strategies. In this episode, we discuss:

• What exactly “working backwards” is, and how you do it

• Why having “single-threaded leaders” is so effective

• Inside Amazon’s intense product review process

• How to actually follow the “disagree and commit” principle

• The thinking behind the principle “Leaders are right, a lot”

• Input vs. output metrics

• Fostering a culture of risk-taking and innovation

• The role and responsibilities of a “bar raiser” in your hiring, and how it significantly improves the success rate of new hires

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/unpacking-amazons-unique-ways-of-working-bill-carr-author-of-working-backwards/

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Where to find Bill Carr:

• X: https://twitter.com/BillCarr89

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-carr/

• Website: https://www.workingbackwards.com/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/