Consider how you’ve applied the Leadership Principles in your previous professional experience.

Customer Obsession
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although
leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.

Ownership
Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf
of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job".

Invent and Simplify

Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are
externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here". As we do new things,
we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.

Are right, A Lot

Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to
disconfirm their beliefs.

Learn and Be Curious

Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and
act to explore them.

Hire and Develop the Best

Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move
them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on
behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.

Insist on the Highest Standards

Leaders have relentlessly high standards - many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are
continually raising the bar and driving their teams to deliver high quality products, services and processes. Leaders
ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.

Think Big
Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They
think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.

Bias for Action

Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value
calculated risk taking.

Frugality
Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention. There are no extra points
for growing headcount, budget size or fixed expense.

Earn Trust
Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so
is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark
themselves and their teams against the best.

Dive Deep
Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and
anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.
Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or
exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a
decision is determined, they commit wholly.

Deliver Results
Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite
setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.
1. Customer Obsession

Customer obsession is a fancy way of saying: do you put the customer first?

Amazon is obsessed with delighting and satisfying customers. Here's how Amazon defines this leadership principle:

Leaders start with the customer and work backward. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although
leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers. There is a belief at Amazon that if you can correctly
identify a customer need, you can build the right solution and always innovate.
Going further, Jeff Bezos is quoted as saying:

The number one thing that has made us successful by far is obsessive-compulsive focus on the customer.
Bezos hates generic, one size fits all customer policies. He feels that could lead to ignoring customers' needs. Instead, he
pushes his teams to customize solutions for customers, based on the situation.

Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate a candidate's customer obsession:

For Individual Contributors

1. Tell me a time where you directly impacted customer satisfaction.

2. How have you gone about measuring customer satisfaction in the past?
3. Tell me about a time you worked backward on a customer problem. How did you solve it?
4. Have you ever said no to a customer request? Why?
5. Tell me about a time you had to compromise in order to satisfy a customer.
6. How do you get to an understanding of what the customer’s needs are?
7. Give me an example of a time you used customer feedback to drive improvement or innovation. What was the
situation and what action did you take?
8. Give me an example of your most difficult customer interaction and how you worked through it. What was the
outcome?
9. Tell me about a time a customer wanted one thing, but you felt they needed something else. How did you
approach the situation, what were your actions, and what was the end result?
10. Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty for a customer. Why did you take the
action you did? What was the outcome?
 11. Most of us at one time or another have felt frustrated or impatient when dealing with customers. Can you tell
us about a time when you felt this way and how you dealt with it? When do you think it’s appropriate to push
back or say no to an unreasonable customer request?
12. Can you give me an example of when you’ve been able to see around the corner to meet a customer's need or
delight a customer with a solution or product they didn’t yet know they needed/wanted?
13. To try to meet the high expectations of our customers, we sometimes promise more than we can deliver. Tell
me about a time when you overcommitted yourself or your company. How did you resolve the issue?
14. Tell me about a time when you had to balance the needs of the customer vs. the needs of the business. How
did you manage this situation?
15. Tell me about a time when you had to balance the needs of local customers with the global need for
standardization. What did you do?
For People Managers

1. In your opinion, what is the most effective way to evaluate the quality of your product or service to your
internal /external customer? Give an example of a time when you used these measures to make a decision.
2. What changes have you implemented in your current department to meet the needs of your customers? What
has been the result?
What is Amazon looking for?
Amazon believes one of its biggest strengths is its customer relationship. Who hasn't been thrilled when Amazon
delivers products almost instantaneously, provides quick refunds, and offers a seemingly bottomless array of products?

Your typical corporate employee is focused on the competition, so Amazon is looking for employees who are more
focused on customers.

Here are a few concepts to remember when it comes to customer obsession:

Focus on customers, not competitors

Understand customer value and how that translates to business value
Keep in mind the concepts of customer acquisition, retention, and satisfaction
Inspiration: How Amazon obsesses over customers
Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is a well-known example of their customer obsession. Back in 2005, free 2-day delivery was unheard of
when Amazon launched its Prime program. And it was unlimited -- as long as customers paid the membership fee.

Other companies did not understand 2-day shipping should be offered in this manner. They felt 2-day and 1-day
shipping was a special luxury reserved for the select few who were willing to pay a premium.

Bezos believed it would please customers, and it did. Most Amazon customers have Amazon Prime today. In addition to
quick shipping, Prime members get other benefits including access to a video library.

How to answer this question

A good customer obsession answer includes one (or more) of the following components:

Dealing with emotional customers. When dealing with customers, naturally we think of angry customers. Interviewers
may assess whether you have experience dealing with angry customers and how you resolved their problems in an
elegant, diplomatic way.
Solving problems. Customers have all sorts of unique problems. But here's the most common situation: the customer
demands to have their problem solved immediately, but you can't whether it is due to the company or your own
priorities. The interviewer wants to hear how you managed to resolve this seemingly no-win scenario.
Judgment. Customers can issue all sorts of requests. Do you have a story that shows how you thoughtfully and
accurately prioritized one customer request over another?
Customer insight. Most employees simply copy features and services that competitors offer. Better ones strive to
extract and understand some little-known customer insight and turn it into a billion-dollar business. Do you have an
example where you capitalized on such insight?
Example
Let's walk through a customer obsession question example. Tell me about a situation where you directly impacted
customer satisfaction.

The first step is to brainstorm your most relevant example and then apply the STAR method. You can outline your star
method (see below) before crafting a more detailed response.

Situation: Customers were unhappy with the long wait time for orders, this meant that they may go somewhere else
and it is bad for the brand.
Task: Reduce order placement time, increase payment receipt time, improve invoice generation time
Action: Worked with customer service and operations team to shorten the order placement time
Results: Reduced order placement time by 50% in 3 months
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.

A few years ago when I was back at my job at x company, I started noticing a trend in declining orders. To get to the
bottom of why this was happening, I decided to look at the data and perform customer research studies. The customers
I was able to talk with let me know that one of their main concerns about ordering a product from our company was the
long time it took to place an order. When I looked at our data, it confirmed their thoughts. Our data for order placement
time showed it was taking much longer than it needed to for page loading, receipts, and invoice generation. The next
step in my process was figuring out a way to reduce the order placement time. I worked with our customer service and
operations team to shorten the order placement time by implementing faster loading of our pages, heightened data
storage which allowed us to generate invoices faster and improved UX/UI design for a more pleasant experience. After
these changes, we noticed significant results, order placement time was reduced by 50% in three months. These
changes have continued to have a great effect on building our streamlined ordering process.
2. Ownership

Here's how Amazon defines the Ownership Leadership Principle:

Leaders are owners. They think long-term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf
of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job."
Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate the Ownership Leadership Principle:

For Individual Contributors

1. Tell me about a time when you took on something significant outside your area of responsibility. Why was it
important? What was the outcome?
2. Give me an example of a time when you didn't think you were going to meet the commitments you promised.
How did you identify the risk and communicate it to stakeholders? What was the outcome?
3. Tell me about a time you made a hard decision to sacrifice short-term gain for a longer-term goal.
4. Give an example of when you saw a peer struggling and decided to step in and help. What was the situation?
What actions did you take? What was the outcome?
5. What steps do you take to ensure projects you complete get transitioned effectively to new owners? Give an
example where you elected to re-engage on a project that you had already transitioned to someone else. What
was the situation, and why did you feel it was important to re-engage?
6. Tell me about a time when you had to make an important decision without input or approval from your boss.
7. Describe a time when you took ownership of a problem that was not the focus of your organization.
8. Has there ever been a time when you dealt with a situation and saw a bigger opportunity than what your
manager had requested?
For People Managers

1. How do you ensure your team stays connected to the company vision and the bigger picture? Give an example
of when you felt a team or individual goal conflicted with the company vision. What did you do?
2. Tell me about an initiative you undertook because you saw that it could benefit the whole company or your
customers, but wasn’t within any group’s responsibility so nothing was being done.
 What is Amazon looking for?
Amazon looks for employees that can take initiative and call the shots. They want employees that can own the outcome
too.
It is one thing to be good at continually making hard decisions and another to take responsibility when things don't pan
out as expected.

Inspiration: How Amazonians show ownership

Two Pizza Teams: Keeping it small
At other large companies, employees can get into the habit of delegating either work or responsibility to another
department or individual. You've probably heard the following:
Delegating work. "We can have the tech lead run the SQL query. But oh wait, she's on vacation for the next two weeks."
Delegating responsibility. "I can technically change the website text. But that's not my responsibility. That's a front-end
change. I'm not a front-end engineer."
Amazon came up with a clever way to drive individual ownership: small teams. By intentionally keeping teams under-
resourced and holding individuals (not an ambiguous department) responsible for results, there's no choice but to get
things done on their own. That do-it-yourself, "I'm responsible" mentality is the essence of ownership.
There's a popular saying that reminds Amazon to keep teams small and preserve ownership: two-pizza teams. It
reminds employees to keep teams to just 8 to 10 people, which just happens to be the maximum number of people that
can be fed with two pizzas.
By keeping teams small, Amazon enjoys the speed of execution, innovation, and creativity -- something most companies
their size struggle to duplicate.

How to answer this question

A good answer includes one (or more) of the following components:
 Humility
 Initiative
 Leadership
 Accountability
 Ability to make decisions, especially when there's no clear-cut answer
Example
Let's go through an ownership question example:

Tell me a time when you demonstrated ownership.

Brainstorm examples that could answer the question and then delve deeper by going through the STAR method. It is a
good idea to outline your response beforehand and then fill in more details once you decide on an example you would
like to share.

Situation: At a book supply company, delivery costs were way too high
Task: Asked the team for data and tested it out to find out what was going on
Action: Ordered 2 books to my home to determine the time and cost, found the costs to be overpriced, worked with the
delivery company, and uncovered input errors
Result: Reduced delivery costs by 20%
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.

In one of my previous roles, I was working for x book supply company. As our orders were not increasing at the trend we
had predicted previously, I took the initiative to figure out why. For that quarter, we had expected 3x as many delivery
orders as we received. This meant big losses for our overall profit that year and my job security relied on getting this
right. After doing some research and talking to customers about why they did not finish their ordering process once they
had started, we got answers. You see, customers were continually filling their carts with an order and abandoning it. I
found that they were hoping to make these orders but when they became aware of the delivery costs associated, they
changed their minds.

My next step was to work with my team to gather the data on the process and test the product myself to see what
delivery costs the customers were receiving. I ended up ordering two books to my home to determine how much the
delivery cost would actually be. I found the cost to be way overpriced and came to understand the less-than increase in
sales we had experienced that quarter. While working to solve this problem, we worked with the delivery company as
they were a big player in the delivery costs. After some investigating, they found an input error in their system. This was
the problem behind the overpriced delivery costs. We immediately went to work fixing the error with the delivery
company and were happy with the 20% reduction in delivery costs for customers that ensued.
3. Invent and simplify

Here's how Amazon defines the Invent and Simplify Leadership Principle:

Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are
externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here." As we do new things,
we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.
Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:

For Individual Contributors

1. Tell me about a time when you invented something.

2. What improvements have you made at your current company?
3. Tell me about a time when you gave a simple solution to a complex problem.
4. Tell me about a time you had to think outside the box (think creatively) to close a sale or sell your product.
5. What is the most innovative project you’ve worked on?
6. Tell me about the most innovative thing you’ve done and why you thought it was innovative.
7. Tell me about something you’ve done you feel was truly revolutionary.
8. People often say the simplest solution is the best. Tell me about a particular complex problem you solved with
a simple solution.
9. Tell me about a time you were able to make something significantly simpler for customers. What drove you to
implement this change?
10. Describe a challenging problem or situation in which the usual approach was not going to work. Why were you
unable to take the usual approach? What alternative approach did you take? Was it successful?
11. Describe a challenging problem or situation in which the usual approach was not going to work in a global
locale. Why were you unable to take the usual approach? What alternative approach did you take? Was it
successful?
12. Give an example of a creative idea you had that proved difficult to implement. What was the idea and what
made it difficult to implement? Was it successful?
13. Tell me about an out-of-the-box idea or decision you made that had a big impact on your business.
14. Give me an example of how you have changed the direction or view of a specific function/department and
helped them embrace a new way of thinking? Why was the change needed?
For People Managers

1. How do you draw new thinking and innovation out of your team? Give an example of how your approach led to
a specific innovation.
 2. Tell me about a time when you have enabled your team or a team member to implement a significant change
or improvement.
What is Amazon looking for?
Amazon is always pushing for continuous improvement. As consumers, we see Amazon always pushing for:
 Better selection
 Faster delivery
 Behind the scenes, Amazon is always looking to streamline processes and cut costs.

Amazon wants prospective employees who:

 Aren't satisfied with the status quo
 Are curious about better (or at least new) ways of doing things
 Have creativity to come up with new solutions
 Willpower to turn creative ideas into reality

Inspiration: Amazon's third-party sellers

On the Amazon website, you'll notice that they sell products themselves. But other times, their website lists products
that third-parties sell.

Allowing competitors to list products next to their own would be absurd to traditional retailers. You can imagine them
saying: "Why let competitors make a sale when we can make the sale ourselves?" From there, the naysayers can
continue with their criticism:

Won't our customers get confused?

How can we ensure our third-parties are selling legitimate products?
What if the third-parties have poor shipping times or bad customer service?
Amazon didn't dwell on the flaws. They went ahead and committed to third-party sellers. Why? It gave what customers
wanted: more product selection. Even in instances where the company carried the same product, Amazon felt those
competitors could push everyone to offer better prices Amazon included.

And for certain top-selling products, like a hot Christmas toy, third-party sellers could help ensure that customers could
get their hands on the product, in the instances where Amazon did not have inventory themselves.

Instead of getting discouraged by the flaws, Amazonians came up with clever ways to handle the concerns including
creating new businesses that handled the following third-party needs:
 Warehousing
 Shipment
 Customer service
 Advertising
These third-party services turned into massive multi-billion dollar businesses for Amazon. Bezos' team is so proud of
Amazon's third-party seller innovations that they brag that over 60% of Amazon's sales come from their third-parties.

How to answer this question

Retell instances where you did one or more of the following:
 Took initiative to change the status quo
 You created a unique solution to a problem.
 Executed to turn the solution into reality
 Achieved results
Most candidates fail because:

Concocted a solution that was a common industry best practice. (Not unique or impressive.)
Took action only because the boss, executive, or team told them to do so. (Doesn't demonstrate initiative).
Didn't do anything with the proposed idea. (Thinker not a doer.)
Didn't make an impact on the business. (Expects to get awarded for effort, not results.)
Keep in mind that Amazon is okay with solutions that aren't flashy. They're okay with solutions that are dull as long as
they make a big impact.

Example
Let's go through an Invent and Simplify answer example. Describe a process that you made better by using a simple
solution.

The first step you should take is brainstorming a list of possible example answers. After this choose your favorite and
give the answer more detail by using the STAR method. You can outline your response (see below) before diving deep
into the detailed version.

Situation: Busy start up, weekly project goals. People were frustrated with Monday meetings. Hurt productivity and
team morale.
Task: Deciding if we should move the meetings or keep them the same? Meetings could be moved to later in the day, or
the next day.
Action: Made the recommendation to move meetings to Tuesdays, built consensus after some push back from
teammates
Result: The change was implemented, project goals were getting done 10-15% faster
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.

Right out of college my first job was at a pretty fast-paced start-up named called Origin. As a team, we had weekly
deadlines and project goals to meet. These were important to keep the team on track and make progress in advancing
our software build. It came to my attention that a large part of the team as unhappy with the Monday morning
meetings. They believed that the early in the week meetings didn't give the team enough time to productively get their
goals together beforehand. This would then lead to team morale being down because people weren't feeling prepared
for the meetings that were often rushed into right after the weekend. I tasked myself with deciding and pitching the
idea of moving the meetings to later in the day or the next day. Later in the day would provide more time in the
morning for the team to prepare and moving to the next day would allow the team to have a productive Monday and
get their goals started to better present them on Tuesday. Eventually, I made the recommendation to the team that we
move the weekly meetings to Tuesday. Although there was a little push back at first because Monday morning meetings
had been the norm for so long, I was able to build a consensus within the team for the change. After the results were
implemented, we quickly saw great results. When the team had more time to prepare, get organized, and review their
last week on Mondays, they came into the Tuesday meeting prepared and ready to run the week. We found that our
project goals were getting completed 10-15% faster.
Are Right, A Lot

Here is how Amazon defines the Are Right, A Lot Leadership Principle:
Amazon defines this leadership principle as this. Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts.
They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.
Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:

For Individual Contributors

1. Give me an example of when you had to make an important decision without the data to back it up. What was
the situation and how did you make the decision?
2. Tell me about a time when someone openly disagreed with you. How did you handle this?
3. Tell me about a time when you were the outlier on a group decision. What was it? Why did you feel differently
about it than the rest? How did you deal with it?
4. Tell me about a decision for which data and analysis weren’t sufficient to provide the right course and you had
to rely on your judgment and instincts. Give me two to three examples. They don’t have to be big strategic
decisions – could be big or small.
5. Tell me about a time you made a difficult decision and how you knew it was the right solution. (Be prepared to
discuss what input you received, how you evaluated the options, and what data you reviewed.)
6. Give me an example of when you have to make an important decision in the absence of good data. What was
the situation and how did you arrive at your decision? Did the decision turn out to be the correct one? Why or
why not?
7. Tell me about a time when your view on something important was significantly changed by someone that came
from a different perspective? What was your reaction? What made you change your mind?
8. Tell me about a time where you sought out perspectives other than your own to make a
product/service/project better.
9. Tell me about a time when you made a bad decision and the learning from the experience enabled you to make
a good decision later. What did you learn that you were able to apply?
10. Tell me about a time when you have been faced with a challenge where the best way forward or strategy to
adopt was not “clear cut” (i.e. there were a number of possible solutions). How did you decide the best way
forward?
 11. Tell me about an error in judgment you made in the last year or two, what it was, and the impact of it.
12. Tell me about a business model decision or key technology decision or other important strategic decision you
had to make for which there was not enough data or benchmarks. In the absence of all the data, what guided
your choice and how did you make the call?
For People Managers

1. What are the top strategic issues you’ve had to face in your current role? What decisions did you end up
making?
What is Amazon looking for?
For this Leadership Principle, Amazon is emphasizing two key things:
 Judgment
 Willingness to be wrong
Judgment
Amazon expects all of its employees, not just the managers, to be experts. And experts have good judgment. They can
tell the difference between right vs. wrong decisions.
It's easy to say Amazon wants people with good judgment. But there's a nuance here. Corporations are filled with
individuals who avoid providing judgment. When asked to give their opinion (aka judgment), they defer to their boss. Or
they say things like, "At my pay grade, I'm not the person to make those decisions or provide those opinions."
Alternatively, they might hedge with a noncommittal "I'm not sure" or "It depends."
These are the people Amazon is trying to avoid.
It takes courage to give one's opinion. Those brave enough to do so can be wrong. Being wrong can be embarrassing.
Being wrong means being blamed for failure. Amazon wants folks who aren't afraid of being embarrassed or being
responsible for failure.

Willingness to be wrong
Being wrong doesn't feel good. It's an attack on one's ego. It's no wonder that most of us work hard to preserve our self-
esteem by avoiding situations where we can be wrong.
Here Amazon isn't content to settle for candidates who are willing to acknowledge that wrong. They want individuals
who proactively prove themselves wrong. That's why they emphasize the willingness to seek out diverse perspectives
and behavior to disconfirm deeply held beliefs.

Inspiration: How Amazon shows judgment and being right

Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods is a good example of this Leadership Principle.
At the time, Amazon's acquisition was panned by critics. They noted:
 The Acquisition Price. It was ridiculously expensive.
 The Poor Culture Fit. Amazon's hard-charging culture seemed at odds with Whole Foods' mission-driven ethos.
 Brand Mismatch. Whole Foods, at the time, was perceived as expensive. Amazon seemed to be the opposite: the
inexpensive retailer.
When Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017, many thought it was a big risk and were unsure where they were going
with it. Amazon though, with its history of making calculated decisions and learning from past mistakes knew exactly
what they were doing. This purchase wasn't an immediate decision but one with timely and calculated decision-making
to back it up. Amazon had learned previously that to be continuously right didn't run parallel to doing the same thing
over and over again. Continuously being right meant stepping into new arenas and looking for what their customer
desired before they probably even knew it themselves. Jeff Bezos saw an opportunity to provide customers with even
more value by jumping into the highly profitable food industry. He knew there were ways to better execute and simplify
the processes and has been doing that ever since.
Now at first, this principle may sound overwhelming and you may ask yourself, "How in the world can I make sure that I
am right all of the time? That sounds impossible." Well, Amazon has kept it on their important leadership principles list
for some time now and there is a good reason. Leaders continually reveal their good judgment and decision-making
skills by asking the right questions and honing in on their instincts to make the right judgments.
Remember these five essential skills to this leadership principle-
1. Good business instincts and judgment
2. Comfortable making decisions with imperfect information
3. Asks good questions
4. History of success in business decision making
5. Ability to gain consensus and enroll others
How to answer this question
To answer this question well, your response should have one or more aspects:
 Courage. Willingness to champion or support an unpopular opinion.
 Judgment. Demonstrate deft judgment and nuanced insight that most people miss.
 Open to new beliefs and interpretations. Show a willingness to disconfirm beliefs.
 Growth mindset.
Example
Let's practice a question around the "Are Right, A Lot" principle. Give me an example of a time when you had to use
your negotiating skills.

Start with analyzing the situation using the STAR method. After that, either write down an outline or mentally prepare
(see outline below).

Situation: In a previous job I had to negotiate with the supervisor

Task: I wanted to change a process, it seemed like we were wasting resources
Action: Drafter a proposal on my own time, gave it to supervisor
Results: Changes were implemented with $500K savings and 20% quicker delivery
Below is a longer, more detailed version of this answer outline.

In my previous job, I had to negotiate with my supervisor about a process I wanted to change on one of the teams I was
a part of. The process was that all departments in the company ordered their supplies from the same manufacturer, and
the supplies were sent to a central warehouse and then distributed by our company to the appropriate departments.

This process seemed like a waste of our company's resources, but that was how it was done in the past so that
inventory could be taken for each department. I knew that if I just went to my supervisor with a verbal proposal to
change this process, I would probably not be successful. In my own time, I wrote a proposal on how we could change
this. I researched and outlined the benefits of changing the process in terms of time, money, and employee workload in
the proposal.

When I gave it to my supervisor, he read through it and took it to the other departments. After a few meetings where
they brought me in to ask some questions, the process was changed and the departments were happier because they
saved $500,000 and received their deliveries 20% faster.
Learn and Be curious

Here's how Amazon defines the Learn and Be Curious Leadership Principle:
Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and
act to explore them.
Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:
For Individual Contributors
1. Tell me about something new that you have learned recently.
2. Have you ever had to teach someone a new skill? Did they go about learning it differently than you did?
3. What is the most surprising thing you have ever learned? Why?
4. What is the coolest thing you have learned on your own that has helped you better perform your job?
5. Tell me about a time when you realized you needed to have a deeper level of subject matter expertise to do your
job well?
6. When we enter into a new role or problem space, it is common to come in and see things with a fresh perspective.
Tell me about a time when you realized that you might have lost that fresh perspective? What ended up
happening?
7. Tell me of a time when you took on work outside of your comfort area and found it rewarding?
8. Tell me about a time when you didn’t know what to do next or how to solve a challenging problem?
9. Example of a time when you pushed the existing boundaries beyond what was normal and expected for your space
and explored new territory?
10. Tell me of a time you worked on a project of global scope.
11. What did you learn from working with colleagues in diverse geographies?
12. How have you kept up to date with market and competitor trends, and used that information to improve your
company’s products or services?
13. Give me an example of a time when you challenged the notion that something had to be done a certain way
because it had always been done that way?
14. What are you working on to improve your overall effectiveness at work?
For People Managers
1. Tell me about a time when you challenged your team to push the envelope and go beyond existing standards and
expectations.
2. Give a specific example of where you realized your team had not been as effective as it could have. What feedback
mechanisms do you use?
3. Tell me a time when someone on your team challenged you to think differently about a problem? What was the
situation, how did you respond?
4. Tell me a time where your team was unable to achieve a goal or milestone but the information gathered during the
project enabled future success.
5. Tell me about a time when a member of your team contributed significantly to a project outside the scope of their
role. What motivated you to encourage their participation?
What is Amazon looking for?
Learn & Be Curious seems to be in line with Ownership and Invent & Simplify. That is, Amazon wants employees to be
curious enough to make things better (aka ownership and accountability). They also want employees to explore new
possibilities with the hope of creating the next product or service innovation.
But there's more to this than just innovation, ownership, learning, and general self-improvement. A critical focus of this
Leadership Principle is self-empowerment.

When problems arise or tasks need to be done, your typical corporate employee can get into the routine of relying on a
boss to plan a solution or a colleague to complete a task.

Amazon is different. Amazon keeps teams understaffed, despite being a large company with billions in the bank.
So this is the nuance behind Learn and Be Curious. When faced with a new and unfamiliar problem, do you throw up
your hands and say "I give up. I wasn't trained to do this." Or do you keep your mind open to this unfamiliar domain and
learn what you need to do to achieve the intended objective?
Amazon wants people who are the latter.

Inspiration: Learning to build consumer hardware

Amazon was founded in 1994. Amazon's founding doesn't scream consumer hardware company, but surprisingly then
started building consumer hardware in 2004 with the founding of their Lab126 subsidiary.
Lab126 released the Kindle in 2007. In hindsight, it seemed like a very natural move. The smartphone revolution was
around the corner which meant the digitization of books would soon follow. If Amazon didn't have a digital reading
solution, they would be helpless in watching their physical book revenue melt away.
After shipping the Kindle, Amazon didn't stop. They went on to build other consumer devices inspired by their learnings.
This included:
 Kindle Fire tablet (built from Kindle learnings)
 Kindle Fire TV (built from Fire tablet learnings)
 Kindle Fire Phone (also built from Fire tablet learnings)
 Amazon Echo
Some of the products were duds (Fire Phone). Others were successes. But there's no doubt that by learning and being
curious, Amazon amassed incredible hardware know-how, which could be shared within their businesses. You can
imagine many of their consumer hardware learnings have been applied to the hardware they've built for the
warehouses or data centers.

How to answer this question

When answering this question, use examples that:
 Have a seemingly impossible learning curve. Don't get lulled into sharing a pedestrian example where you learned
to do something simple around the house. Difficulty counts.
 Have a happy ending. The interviewer wants to hear a story where you learned and excelled. Learning and giving
up won't work.
 Lastly, find opportunities where you demonstrated some natural curiosity and share some unique
learnings/insights/takeaways as a result of that curiosity.

Example
Let's practice a question around the learning principle. Tell me about a time when you got to the root cause of an issue.
What did you learn?

Start with analyzing the situation using the STAR method. After that, either write down an outline or mentally prepare
(see outline below).

Situation: Last year, I was in my role as sales manager. I was leading a team of 12 people.
Task: Our goal was to increase sales by 5%.
Action: The team brainstormed different approaches but I could tell that not everyone was on board. I started meeting
with people 1:1 to find out why.
Result: I learned that the people I was meeting with needed more transparency and training.
Below is a more detailed answer, based on the outline above.

Last year, I was promoted to manager of a 12-person sales team. Our sales goal for the first quarter was to increase
sales by 5% over last year. I wanted to start the year strong, and I knew we could exceed the goal if we pushed hard and
focused primarily on what our customers needed.

I organized a team brainstorming session to come up with ideas on how we could increase sales in addition to our
typical sales approach. After the meeting, I could tell that some of the staff were excited about all the new ideas. But it
was obvious that not everyone was on board.

I needed to get to the root of their hesitation. I considered a few different approaches:

I could just throw the new ideas out there and hope that eventually, everyone would be on board.
I could hold back on the agenda and take a less disruptive approach.
Or I could listen to the employees who had concerns and figure out what might be holding them back.
I chose the third option because I was curious about what some of the staff were concerned about. I set up 1:1 meetings
with everyone on the team. I asked them what they thought was already working and what we should continue to do.
Then I asked them about some of the new ideas and why they were hesitant to adopt new strategies. What I learned
was that different people process change in different ways. The employees who were hesitant needed to voice their
concerns. I also learned that some of the employees had not received enough training and were unsure if they could
implement some of the new ideas, which led to some hesitation.

After addressing these concerns, we had a constructive discussion about how to achieve our sales goals. I am pleased to
report that my team did an excellent job. In the end, we exceeded our sales goals by 150%.
Hire and Develop the Best

Here's how Amazon defines the Hire and Develop the Best Leadership Principle:

Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent and willingly move
them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on
behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.
Example Questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:

For People Managers

2. What has been your experience with hiring employees?

3. How do you help your employees learn and grow as leaders?
4. How do you continually ensure that you are hiring and developing the best people?
5. Give me an example of one of the best hires in your career. How did this person grow in their career? What did
you identify during the hiring process that led to his or her success?
6. Tell me about how you help your team members develop their careers. Can you give me two to three examples
of specific individuals who invested and how you helped them develop their careers, including one individual
who was not successful but saw potential and decided to invest?
7. Give me an example where you provided feedback to develop and leverage the strengths of someone on your
team. Were you able to positively impact that person's performance? What were your most effective methods?
8. Tell me about your hiring process when hiring for key positions such as direct reports. Where do you look for
talent? What resources do you use? What are the steps in that process? What qualities do you look for that tell
you the candidate will be successful on the team, other than the obvious hard skills? Do you use reference
checks? How do you use them?
9. Tell me about someone you hired who you thought was better than you in several areas. How did you increase
that person's value?
10. Tell me about a time when you had an underperforming person on your team.
11. How did you provide feedback to this person? Did their performance improve or did they leave?
12. Tell me about how you help your remote team members develop their careers.
 13. Can you give me two to three examples of specific people and how you helped them develop their careers
across geographic distance?
14. Give me an example of someone who was promoted up a level or two in the organization - not just because
they were a star who would naturally move up, but because of your coaching efforts.
What is Amazon looking for?
There are a few things to emphasize:
 Amazon believes talent matters.
 Every leader should set the hiring bar high.
 Leaders should invest in their team's growth.
The last one is particularly interesting. It echoes the Learn and Be Curious Leadership Principle. That is, if Amazonians
will constantly be presented with new and unfamiliar challenges, they will have to continually learn. This is telling
Amazon's employees that they need to support each others' learning efforts by coaching and mentoring.

Inspiration: How Amazon Hires the Best

Embedded in this Leadership Principle is Amazon's hiring philosophy: The company must hire new talent that is better
than the average Amazon employee.
Why?
If Amazon's new hires are less talented than the average employee, then the overall quality of talent will decrease over
time.
In addition to this philosophy, Amazon has implemented a special role to ensure that new hires are better than the
average Amazon employee: the Bar Raiser.
The Bar Raiser is an interviewer in the interview loop who has veto power. That is, even if other interviewers, including
the manager, like a candidate, the Bar Raiser can overrule their decision and reject a candidate. (The bar raiser,
however, cannot override the team's "no's" and make a hire a "yes.")
By giving the Bar Raiser this special privilege, it puts that person in charge of ensuring that new hires exceed the
performance threshold. (Hence the name "Bar Raiser.")
To non-Amazons, it may seem strange that a single Bar Raiser has so much authority. Even more surprising is that Bar
Raiser it is not necessarily an executive; it could be a single employee with only a few years of experience.
But when you take a step back, it makes sense. Interviewers can easily fall in love with a candidate because they are
smooth talkers or have the same hobbies. Or a hiring manager may be so desperate that she's willing to ignore a
candidate's qualifications. The Bar Raiser is another check to ensure that interviewers adhere to Amazon's hiring
standards.

How to answer this question

To answer this question well, use examples that:

 Highlight your commitment and dedication to other people's growth

 Demonstrate your ability to recognize and hire great candidates
Example
Let's practice a question around hiring. Describe a time when you hired someone, and it didn’t turn out as expected.
How did you handle it?

Start with brainstorming your examples and then go through them using the STAR method.

Situation: In a previous position

Task: Needed to hire a marketing person. After they were hired, they started not handing in deliverables and not
showing up to meetings.
Action: Held a meeting and gave them one more chance.
Result: Learned to not rush when hiring someone and to check references thoroughly
Here is the outline above written into a more detailed, full response.

In a previous position when I was first given a team to lead I decided that we needed to hire another person to join the
marketing force. I hired someone who looked like they had a lot of good experience and a proven track record. They
were in the position about a month when I started to realize that they were not picking up the pieces and just not fitting
into the team environment. They were late on all of their deliverables and not attending meetings and taking sick days. I
met with the person to see if there was an issue or if something was wrong, however they had no explanation for their
lack of participation and not handing in deliverables. I gave this person one more chance to prove themselves, however
they fell short and after a couple of weeks I had to let them go. The lesson that I learned here was to not hire someone
in a rush and to make sure to check with their references about deliverables and punctuality when hiring outside of the
company.
Insist on the Highest Standards

Here's how Amazon defines the Insist on the Highest Standards Leadership Principle:
Leaders have relentlessly high standards — many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are
continually raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high-quality products, services, and processes. Leaders
ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.
Example Questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:

For Individual Contributors

1. Describe a time when you went above and beyond your job description.
2. Tell me about a time when you held yourself to high standards.
3. Do you believe that standards are meant to be met all the time?
4. Tell me about a time when you were dissatisfied with the status quo. What did you do to change it? Were you
successful?
5. Tell me about a time when you would not compromise to get a great result when others thought something
was good enough. What was the situation? What actions did you personally take to ensure that performance
improvement goals and standards were met?
6. Describe the most significant continuous improvement project you led. What was the catalyst for this change
and how did you go about it?
7. Give an example of a goal you wish you had done better. What was the goal and how could you have done it
better?
8. Tell me about a time you worked to improve the quality of a product, service, or solution that had already
received good customer feedback? Why did you feel it needed further improvement?
9. Give an example where you refused to give up your standards of quality, customer service, etc. Why did you
feel so strongly about this situation? What were the consequences? The result?
For People Managers
1. How do you get feedback on your team's performance? Give a specific example of how you used the feedback
you received on your team to improve.
2. Can you tell me about a time when a team member was not as productive as you needed them to be? What
was the situation? What did you do about it? What was the result?
 3. Describe the process you go through to set specific goals to improve critical areas of your work/team. Please
refer to a specific example.
What is Amazon looking for?
If you are someone who jumps right in to find and fix the root cause of a problem, then you are a great fit for Amazon.
This principle strings together a lot of the ideas from the previously mentioned principles.

To be a self-starter, you are a leader who can take responsibility and jump into a situation immediately.

To be a great leader, Amazon expects you to always strive for better.

As we mentioned in an earlier example, Amazon always wants their employees to ask the question, "How can we do this
better?" even if they get good results in the first round.

 Self starter
 Leadership
 Habit of going above and beyond
 Pushes for great, not just good, results
How to Insist on the Highest Standards
Insisting on the highest standards as a leader at Amazon means knowing that it's okay to change your mind. It means
leaders are constantly innovating and growing with their customers. Throughout the life cycle of any business, the shape
of the customer may change and their needs may change as well. Leaders are expected to see standards as an
unattainable goal that they are always working towards.

Amazon loves ideas and has very high standards for itself. There could be an amazing, innovative idea, but if it's not
scalable, it will not get anywhere near the standard. Because of these high standards, Amazon executives often take
pride in their products because they are constantly innovating and making them better for the customer. The highest
question of what standard an idea falls on often revolves around how much the customer will love it. Essentially, these
standards are set so high that executives are never done innovating.

Inspiration: Amazon's continuous innovation

Amazon is never done providing the best possible service and value to its customers. It shows this by constantly
innovating over the years to make products, services, and other goods more and more accessible to everyone. The
company did not stop when it made the Kindle or Amazon Prime, it just continued to hold itself to higher standards. The
question is how to improve Prime and how to expand the Kindle library so that it has more and more books for
customers.

How to answer this question

To answer this question well, use examples that show you:

 SET HIGH EXPECTATIONS and follow through to exceed them

 TAKEN INITIATIVE to ensure work is at the highest quality
 DON'T SETTLE FOR MEDIOCRITY, but go above and beyond to ensure success
Example
Let's practice a question revolving around Amazon's high [Link] me about a time where you had to show your
leadership style. What does it mean to be a great leader?
Start with analyzing the situation using the STAR method. After that, either write down an outline or mentally prepare
(see outline below).

Situation: A team member was losing interest in the job

Task: Took him out for coffee to determine the reason
Action: Employee wanted to move up in the company
Result: I gave the employee the opportunity for growth
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.

I am the type of leader who leads by example and stands up for his team.

For example, in my previous job, there was a team member whose performance was slipping: he was turning in tasks
late, showing up late to meetings, and generally seemed unenthusiastic about the project. I could have:

Assumed the worst and gotten upset with him.

Put him on a performance improvement plan
Investigated what was going on before making any decisions
I chose the latter and asked him if he wanted to take a coffee break with me, so we walked out of the building to have
coffee. I sat down with him and asked him if everything was okay because I noticed a change in his productivity.

He told me that he was indeed not happy with his current position; he felt that he was not being challenged enough and
that he wanted to do something else at the company. I made sure he was not unhappy with the company; he was just
unhappy with his current role. So in order for him to change jobs or move up in the company, he would need to have
some new experiences to apply for another job.

I told him I would look for appropriate opportunities for him to expand his experience so he could grow within the
company. He ended up leading some of our meetings and demonstrating his organizational and mentoring skills, which
in turn qualified him for several jobs. I was sad to see him go, but I was happy that he found his dream job.

Ultimately, I helped him do something that made him happy and challenged him. So to me, being a great leader means
encouraging your team members and helping them grow so that your team can in turn grow and be as successful as
possible.
Think Big

Here's how Amazon defines the Think Big Leadership Principle:

Amazon defines this principle as:

Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They
think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.
Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:

For Individual Contributors

1. Give me an example of a radical approach you proposed to solve a major problem. What was the problem and
why did you feel it required a completely different way of thinking? Was your approach successful?
2. How do you promote acceptance of your vision or idea? How do you know how well your idea or vision was
received by other teams or partners? Give a specific example that highlights one of your ideas.
3. How do you promote acceptance of your vision/idea that may be disruptive to global stakeholders? How do
you know how well your idea or vision has been accepted by global stakeholders? Give a specific example that
highlights one of your ideas.
4. Tell me about a time when you were working on an initiative or goal and saw an opportunity to do something
much bigger than the original focus.
5. Tell me about a time when you looked at a key process that was working well and questioned whether it was
still the right one? What assumptions did you question and why? Did you end up making a change to the
process?
6. Tell me about a time when you took a big risk. What was the risk, how did you decide to do it, and what was
the outcome?
7. Tell me about a time when you took a big risk and it failed. What did you learn from that? What would you do
differently?
8. Tell me about a time when you had to think of more than one way to convince a person of an idea.
For people managers

1. Tell me about a time when you developed the vision for a (team, product, strategic initiative) when there was
no guiding vision. What was it? How did you gain buy-in and drive execution?
 2. Tell me about how you encouraged or empowered a member of your team to take a big risk. How did you
balance the risk to the organization with a potential positive outcome for the organization and a learning
opportunity for your direct report?
3. Tell me about the time you had to develop a product/business model from scratch or when you drastically
changed one in a turnaround situation.
What is Amazon looking for?
Amazon is looking for data-driven, customer-driven innovation. What does that mean, exactly? You can think of it as
data telling you, the innovator, what customers might want next. Sometimes even before the customers themselves
know. While this perspective of data dependency is very different from other big brands like Apple, you could argue that
it's actually more successful in some ways.

Keep these priorities in mind when thinking big:

 Be innovative
 Be open to new ideas
 Be bold when introducing new ideas
 Adopt new solutions quickly
 Ask good questions
How to Think Big
Jeff Bezos says:
"One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent yourself out."
Thinking Big is about coming up with original ideas over and over again.
Amazon has been so successful at this principle because it pushes and sometimes challenges its employees to do things
differently.
For example, instead of PowerPoint presentations, Amazon emphasizes team meetings where opinions are voiced and
all leadership principles are constantly on display.

Inspiration: How Amazon Thinks Big

Amazon uses a process called "The Narrative" in many of its meetings as a substitute for the dreaded PowerPoint
presentation.
The Narrative is an elaborate document that leaders in the company use all the time to build consensus on decisions
and new ideas. This 6-page document is reviewed by everyone for about 30 minutes at the beginning of meetings. After
reviewing it, everyone comes together to discuss it and make a decision.
This way of writing down ideas in such a tangible way allows them as a company to dive deeper, think about what they
want to say, and prepare for productive conversations.

How to answer this question

To answer this question well, your response should show that you can:

 Identify and turn visions or ideas into a reality

 Explore unconventional approaches
 Propose an idea and get others, whether it be your team or stakeholders, to agree with you
Example
Let's practice a question around the "Think Big" leadership principle. What would you do if somehow you misdirected
10,000 units of something?

Start with brainstorming your examples and then use the STAR method to derive a more complete answer (see outline
below).
Situation: Lost 10K units of something
Task: Find the units and move them to the correct location
Action: After finding the units, conduct a post-mortem to determine why the units were misplaced
Result: Determined why the mistake happened so it won’t be repeated and put in place remedies to make sure it
doesn't happen again.
Here is an example of a more detailed response based on the outline above.

Misdirecting so many units of something is no small mistake, but every mistake has a solution. The key is to not let this
kind of mistake upset you or freak you out. In this type of situation, I would first need to understand where the
misdirected units are.

Once we find the units, we need to take action to get them to the right place as quickly as possible. This could include
calling the warehouse where the units are located and making sure they are moved with the next available shipment,
and that they are given top priority.

After the problem is resolved, I would then try to figure out how the problem occurred. Was it a human error by
someone on my team or myself? Or was it a computational error? Fixing the error first minimizes the problems
customers experience. Finding out why the problem occurred after the problem has been fixed helps me get to the root
cause so it does not happen again.
Bias for Action

Here's how Amazon defines the Bias for Action Leadership Principle:
Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value
calculated risk-taking.
Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:
For Individual Contributors
1. Tell me about a time when you took a risk. How did you know it was the right choice?
2. Tell me a time when you made a decision without having all the data.
3. Describe a time when you saw a problem and took the first step to solve it rather than waiting around for
someone else to take action.
4. As a leader, how do you motivate your team when you feel as though they are not acting quickly enough?
5. Give me an example of a calculated risk that you have taken where speed was critical. What was the situation
and how did you handle it? What steps did you take to mitigate the risk? What was the outcome?
6. Describe a situation where you made an important business decision without consulting your manager. What
was the situation and how did it turn out?
7. Tell me about a time when you had to analyze facts quickly, define key issues, and respond immediately to a
situation. What was the outcome?
8. Tell me about a time when you have worked against tight deadlines and didn't have the time to consider all
options before making a decision. How much time did you have? What approach did you take?
9. Give an example of when you had to make an important decision and had to decide between moving forward
or gathering more information. What did you do? What information is necessary for you to have before acting?
For People Managers
1. Tell me about a time where you felt your team was not moving to act quickly enough. What did you do?
2. Tell me about a time when you were able to remove a serious roadblock/barrier preventing your team from
making progress? How were you able to remove the barrier? What was the outcome?
What is Amazon looking for?
In most companies, new initiatives are typically driven "by committee." These committees are staffed by a large number
of people who all have their own opinions.
Invariably, getting things done can slow to a crawl trying to build consensus and address every concern.
Amazon advocates for the opposite. They tell their employees not to research everything under the sun. But they also
do not tell employees not to research.

Instead, Amazon tells them to do enough research (i.e., take a "calculated risk") and then act. They think it's okay if
actions are imperfect because they acknowledge that those actions can either be "undone" or improved upon later.

Inspiration: How Amazon has a Bias for Action

Thanks to calculated risk taking and avoiding extensive study, Amazonians move fast. And speed absolutely matters,
especially in the context of innovation. Despite their size, Amazon seems to launch new products and services faster
than other companies, both big and small.

Not all of their new launches are successful, but as their mantra says, launches are irreversible. That is, if the new
product is a dud, they can reverse course and sunset that product.

How to answer this question

When answering this question, choose examples where:

 Course of action wasn't clear

 Describe the research you used to inform your action
 Make clear that you could have researched further, but decided the extra time research wasn't worth it, given
the tradeoffs
 Summarize with what happened after you took action
For the fourth item, some candidates may feel it's okay to share examples where they took a calculated risk but failed.
I'd avoid that. Nobody likes to end a story on a down note.

Example
Let's walk through an example that Amazon may ask regarding the "Bias for Action" principle. How do you motivate
people?

The first step is to brainstorm your most relevant example then apply STAR method. You can outline your star method
(see below) before crafting a more detailed response.

Situation: Motivating other people

Task: Make the company’s goals the team goals
Action: Held a meeting and communicated with my team
Result: Encouraged team members to meet their targets and show them that the key to success is communication and
transparency.
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.

The way I like to motivate people is to align the goals of the team with the goals of the company.
I have done this in the past by telling my team that if the company goal is to increase revenue by 5% in the next quarter,
that's our team's goal for the quarter.
I encourage team members to keep track of their goals and communicate when they feel they are falling behind or need
help. When motivating team members, the key to success is communication and transparency. When the team knows
what we are all working towards and we have a solid goal, we have something tangible to accomplish, which improves
team morale.
Frugality

Here's how Amazon defines the Frugality Leadership Principle:

Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points
for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense.
Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:
For Individual Contributors
1. How would you lead a team where the resources for a project were less than expected?
2. Have you ever had to work on a large project with limited time and resources?
3. Tell me about a time when you came up with a way to save time and or money for a previous company.
4. Give me an example of how you have helped save costs or eliminate waste within your operation.
5. Tell me about a time when you had to make tradeoffs between quality and cost. How did you weigh the
options? What was the result?
6. Tell me about a time you had to get something done with half or two-thirds of the resources you thought you’d
need for the project or initiative.
7. Tell me about a time when you generated a creative solution to a problem or project without requiring
additional resources. What was the problem? What was the solution and how did you come up with it?
8. Tell me about a time you didn’t have enough resources to do something you felt was important but found a
creative way to get it done anyway. What drove you to seek out creative solutions?
9. Give an example of a time you requested additional funding/budget to complete a project. Why was it needed?
Did you try to figure out another approach? Did you get the additional resources? Why or why not?
For People Managers
1. Give an example of a time when you challenged your team to come up with a more efficient solution or
process. What drove the request? How did you help?
2. How do you determine when to award or ask for additional resources? What criteria do you use for making the
call?
3. Tell me how you created business or customer value by either increasing revenue or decreasing costs.
What is Amazon looking for?
It's not politically correct anymore for Amazon to emphasize its cheapskate culture. It can turn away promising
candidates. It also feels unnecessarily stingy for one of the most successful companies in the world.
But the ethos is still there. You'll hear tales of how Amazon:
Restricts employees from unnecessary travel. And if necessary, they'll mandate that they travel at the most
inconvenient (but cheapest) times.
Holds low-budget morale events, like rent out a bowling alley at 9 am on a Monday.
Frugality is generally a good virtue, and it makes a lot of sense given Amazon's history. The retail industry is notorious
for its thin margins, so an emphasis on cost-cutting has a more manageable impact on the bottom line. Amazon's later
forays into logistics and warehousing also emphasize low costs. And even the company's cloud business, while boasting
generous margins, faces stiff competition where every penny counts.
In this Leadership Principle, we see the cheapskate mentality being de-emphasized and cast in a more positive light.
That is, low budgets (aka constraints) can unleash creative problem thinking.
It continues to be emphasized that the usual corporate empire building - hoarding staff, budgets and capital investments
- is frowned upon at Amazon.
Inspiration: How Amazon demonstrates frugality
There's no story that better demonstrates Amazon's frugality than the door-desk story. That is, instead of buying
expensive desks, Amazon saved money by assembling their own desks using doors, wooden posts, and metal brackets.
Jeff Bezos' shared with the Seattle Times why this part of the corporate culture had a special place in his heart:
These desks serve as a symbol of frugality and a way of thinking. It's very important at [Link] to make sure that
we're spending money on things that matter to customers," said Bezos, 34. "There is a culture of self-reliance. (With the
low-tech desks) . . . we can save a lot of money."
How to answer this question
When answering this question, try to find stories where you:
 Tasked with a seemingly impossible challenge to reduce costs
 Found creative solutions. Don't forget to compare it with what others would have done.
Example
Let's work through a practice question on the importance of frugality. If you were told that your project was cancelled,
what would you do?
The first step is to brainstorm your most relevant example then apply STAR method. You can outline your star method
(see below) before crafting a more detailed response.

Situation: Project was cancelled. Knows that this type of decision is not made lightly.
Task: Understand why project was cancelled.
Action: Move on to next project
Result: Keep my team morale up in the process.
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.

Anyone who has had a project cancelled knows that it is not a decision that this is not a decision that is ever made
lightly or in haste.

However, getting the news that your project has been cancelled is never easy. There are several ways to handle a
situation like this: react negatively, move on to the next project, or deal with the decision.
The best way to deal with this type of situation is to first understand why the project was cancelled, and then quickly
move on to the next project. This way, you can learn if the project was cancelled because of your actions and how to
change it, and take that understanding with you to the next project. If the project had gone down and I knew it, then I
probably would have seen it coming. If it was a shock, then I would want to understand why. Any decision made at this
level is a big decision, and I understand that. I would want to move on to the next project with my team as soon as
possible so we can refocus and be productive.
Earn Trust of Others

This is how Amazon defines the Earn Trust Leadership Principle:

Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so
is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark
themselves and their teams against the best.
Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:

For Individual Contributors

1. What would you do if you saw someone being unsafe at work?
2. Has there ever been a time when you had to break bad news to someone at work? How did you go about this?
3. How do you like to receive feedback from coworkers or managers?
4. Describe a time when you significantly contributed to improving morale and productivity on your team. What
were the underlying problems and their causes? How did you prevent them from negatively impacting the
team in the future?
5. What three things are you working on to improve your overall effectiveness?
6. Give an example of a tough or critical piece of feedback you received. What was it and what did you do about
it?
7. Give me an example of an idea you had that was strongly opposed. Why was there so much resistance? How
did you handle the negative feedback?
8. Give me an example of a significant professional failure. What led you to make the wrong decision? What did
you learn from this situation?
9. Give an example of a time where you were not able to meet a commitment to a team member. What was the
commitment and what prevented you from meeting it? What was the outcome and what did you learn from it?
10. Building trust can be difficult to achieve at times. Tell me about how you have effectively built trusting working
relationships with others on your team.
11. Describe a time when you needed the cooperation of a resistant peer. What did you do? What was the
outcome?
12. Tell me about a piece of direct feedback you recently gave to a colleague. How did s/he respond? How do you
like to receive feedback from others?
 13. Tell me about a time you had to communicate a big change in direction for which you anticipated people would
have a lot of concerns. How did you handle questions and/or resistance? Were you able to get people
comfortable with the change?
For People Managers
1. Tell me about a time your team’s goals were out of alignment with another team on which you relied to attain
a key resource. How did you work with the other team? Were you able to achieve your goals?
2. Tell me about a time your local team’s goals were out of alignment with the goals of global stakeholder teams
on which you relied. How did you work with the global teams? Were you able to achieve your goals?
3. Tell me about a time you uncovered a significant problem in your team. What was it and how did you
communicate it to your manager, your peers, or other stakeholders?
4. What is Amazon looking for?
5. Amazon is known to be a very vocal culture. Employees speak up and aren't afraid to confront others.

Amazon is wary of individuals who react poorly to confrontation. This can include being:
 Avoidant
 In Denial
 Combative
 Self-censoring
 Passive-aggressive
Positive reactions to confrontation include being:
 Assertive
 Respectful
 Diplomatic
 Poised and calm
Inspiration: How Amazon Earns Trust of Others
The best examples of how Amazon earns trust of others is by being vocal about their failures. Bezos openly admits that
he and the company have made billion dollar mistakes (e.g. Amazon's failed smartphone). But it's okay. He understands
that failures are essential to growing.
And when you get bigger, you should expect your failures to bigger too.

How to answer this question

When addressing questions choose an example where you had to communicate a difficult message. Show that you used
creativity along with an elegant and diplomatic touch to convey your message.

Example
Let's walk through a trust question example. Tell me about the last time you had to apologize for someone.

The first step is to brainstorm your most relevant example then apply STAR method. You can outline your star method
(see below) before crafting a more detailed response.

Situation: Previous position

Task: I was team lead and a new member came to me about a senior team member
Action: I apologized for senior team member's actions and approached the senior team member
Results: Changes began to happen within the team member separately
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.
In my previous position, one of the team members was having difficulty communicating and approaching another team
member with their ideas.

This team member, I’ll call them Hank, was a senior member of the team and was not the easiest person to approach
with new ideas.

A newer team member, I’ll call them Suzie, came to me and explained their position and how they were frustrated with
the situation and feeling as if they were not being heard or their ideas were not being implemented. I took it upon
myself to apologize for Hank because I felt that Suzie needed a shoulder to vent to – she needed to explain her issues to
someone who understood the situation.

In the end I went to Hank and explained that an anonymous team member had brought these concerns to me, and I felt
they needed to be addressed. After our conversation, Hank was more open to new ideas and started to implement new
processes.
Dive Deep

Here's how Amazon defines the Dive Deep Leadership Principle:

Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and
anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.

Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:
For Individual Contributors
1. Tell me a time when you discerned insights that were not easily seen in the data.
2. Have you ever used data to influence strategy on past decisions?
3. Tell me about a problem you had to solve that required in-depth thought and analysis. How did you know you
were focusing on the right things?
4. Tell me about a time you were trying to understand a problem on your team and you had to go down several
layers to figure it out. Who did you talk with and what information proved most valuable? How did you use that
information to help solve the problem?
5. Tell me about a problem you had to solve that required in-depth thought and analysis? How did you know you
were focusing on the right things?
6. Tell me about a time when you linked two or more problems together and identified an underlying issue? Were
you able to find a solution?
7. Walk me through a big problem or issue in your organization that you helped to solve. How did you become
aware of it? What information did you gather, what information was missing and how did you fill the gaps? Did
you do a post mortem analysis and if you did what did you learn?
8. Can you tell me about a specific metric you have used to identify a need for a change in your department? Did
you create the metric or was it already available? How did this and other information influence the change?
9. Give me a situation in which it took you asking why five times to get to the root cause.
For People Managers
1. As a manager, how do you stay connected to the details while focusing on the strategic, bigger picture issues?
Tell me about a time when you were too far removed from a project one of your employees was working on
and you ended up missing a goal.
2. When your direct reports are presenting a plan or issue to you, how do you know if the underlying assumptions
are the correct ones? What actions do you take to validate assumptions or data?
What is Amazon looking for?
Amazon is absolutely wary of your typical corporate employee: shooting from the hip, pontificating about issues without
detail, data, or factual evidence.

They abhor those who spread gossip and rumors (aka anecdotes). Using emotions (e.g. manipulation) to get their way is
similarly frowned upon.

Instead, Amazon wants candidates who goes beyond the surface-level, Happy Hour banter and gets into the details.
This includes showing evidence of rolling up their sleeves and getting the detailed data themselves such as a non-
technical person running their own SQL database queries.

Or it could be a high-powered executives diving into the minutiae of an Excel spreadsheet or correcting grammatical
mistakes in a Word doc. These are both tasks that executives at other companies would believe to be beneath their
dignity.

This principle also aims to hold Amazonians for knowing the details and being responsible for getting to the bottom of
something. Amazonians, even when being put on the spot, should have knowledge and information to back it up.

Inspiration: How Amazon Dives Deep

To exemplify Amazon's commitment to details, Amazon has a class called "Writing at Amazon."

Amazon has a very writing-centric corporate culture. As you can tell from the class notes, the recommendations are very
deep and very detailed. Here are some highlights in case you can't read the handwriting:
Use less than 30 words per sentence
Replace adjectives with data
Eliminate weasel words
If you answer a question, reply with the following: "yes," "no," "a number," or "I don't know." (It's as if Amazon is
suggesting that open-ended questions are not good!)
How to answer this question
Use an example where others accepted a simple explanation.
You, however, went beyond the simple explanation and figured out the actual details of what is going on.

You'll get bonus points if your story includes a Herculean task to get the details you needed. For example, you may have
learned SQL, requested access to a database, and wrote SQL queries over the weekend to get sales data.

Example
Let's practice a question around the "Dive Deep" principle. Tell me about a time when you had to dive deep to fix a
problem.

The first step is to brainstorm your most relevant example then apply STAR method. You can outline your star method
(see below) before crafting a more detailed response.

Situation: A few years ago, I was working on an iPhone mobile app and was pushing my team hard.
Task: The night before launch, there were some coding issues.
Action: Fix the coding issues
Results: Review the code earlier in the development.
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.

A few years ago when I was leading a team at work, and we were building an iPhone mobile app from scratch. Our goal
was to have a completely working beta version of the app within a very aggressive time constraint. I knew at the
beginning that it was going to be a project full of all nighters if we were going to meet the deadline. My team and I
pushed really hard throughout production and testing, and we were almost there. The night before the due date I
realized that some of the code we had written at the beginning was wrong, so we had to go back and find the incorrect
lines and fix them. I went back and checked that the lines of code were written correctly myself. I learned that it’s so
important to check the details, especially when working with a tight deadline because small mistakes can happen when
people are rushed. Once we fixed the problem, we were able to complete the working beta app within our deadline.
Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

Here's how Amazon defines the Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit Leadership Principle:

Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or
exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a
decision is determined, they commit wholly.
Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:

For Individual Contributors

1. Tell me about a time when you had to make an unpopular decision.

2. Describe a situation where you thought you were making the right choice but someone you work with did not
agree with you. How did you convince them to agree? What was the outcome?
3. Was there ever a time when you did not accept the status quo at work and pushed to make a situation better?
4. Tell me a time when you supported an executive decision that you initially disagreed with.
5. Tell me about a time that you strongly disagreed with your manager on something you deemed to be very
important to the business. What was it about and how did you handle it?
6. Give me an example of when you took an unpopular stance in a meeting with peers and your leader and you
were the outlier. What was it, why did you feel strongly about it, and what did you do?
7. When do you decide to go along with the group decision even if you disagree?
8. Give me an example of a time you chose to acquiesce to the group even when you disagreed. Would you make
the same decision now?
9. Describe a time where you felt strongly about something but ultimately lost the argument. How hard did you
press the issue? What was your approach after you lost the argument?
10. Give an example when you submitted a good idea to your manager and he/she did not take action on it? How
did you handle it? What was the end outcome?
11. Tell me about a time the business gained something because you persisted for a length of time. Why were you
so determined? How did it turn out?
12. Provide an example of a time when you have had to make a difficult decision under pressure and then defend
and justify it. Was it the right decision?
For People Managers

1. Give an example of when you had to support a business initiative with which you didn’t necessarily agree. How
did you handle it?
2. Tell me about a time when you pushed back against a decision that negatively impacted your team. What was
the issue and how did it turn out?
What is Amazon looking for?
This Leadership Principle revolves around two major concepts:

 Willingness to disagree
 Commitment
Willingness to disagree
Most interviewers will likely focus on one's willingness to disagree. They want to make sure that candidates are willing
to speak up.
Most corporate employees don't. Some don't want to damage relationships; others are too lazy to expend the
additional effort. Finally there's a group who don't want to disagree because they don't know how to do so gracefully.

Commitment
Interviewers are less likely to focus on commitment. But it is important to Amazon. While they hold their employees
responsible to speak up if they disagree, they don't want endless dissension. Never-ending dissent would impair
Amazon's ability to move fast and get things done.
They may ask you whether you had to support and commit to a decision that you disagreed with.

Inspiration: How Amazon demonstrates Backbone; Disagree and Commit

In 2002, Jeff Bezos mandated that all Amazon teams must expose software services through APIs.
APIs are ubiquitous today, but back then, it was a newer concept.

Bezos' managers disagreed and complained about the mandate. Some said it would create more work. Others voiced
security concerns.

Enough people bickered about the mandate that they refused to make progress toward Bezos' edict.

Bezos felt the time for obligatory disagreement was over. The final decision had been made. He issued six guidelines to
clarify what it meant to uphold the mandate including this one:

Anyone who doesn’t do this will be fired.

He made it clear. If you didn't commit to his final decision, he definitely did not want you on the sidelines creating
dissension.

How to answer this question

WILLINGNESS TO DISAGREE
If the interviewer tries to evaluate your ability to disagree, have one or more of the following components in your story:
 Spoke up, even when it was unsafe to do so
 Presented a clear, logic argument
In your answer, it's not mandatory to have convinced the audience to see things your way. However, we are fans of
happy endings. So we'd strongly prefer if your example did convince an audience of skeptics.
And to emphasize the part about "skeptics," they do not change their minds overnight. So make your listener feel the
tension and difficulty in getting the skeptics on your side.

COMMITMENT
If the interviewer is evaluating your ability to commit to a decision that you initially disagreed with, have one or more of
the following components in your story:

 Clearly present why you disagreed with the team's decision

 Show how you accepted the team's decision despite your lingering reservations
Demonstrate the incredible results and productivity you achieved toward the team's decision, despite your reservations
In your answer, it's not mandatory to show that you later realized that your initial resistance was wrong. However, it is
strongly preferred that you do so. It's a sign of growth and maturity.

It's also in-line with an Amazon belief: "Strong opinions weakly (loosely) held." That is, Amazon wants its employees to
have strong conviction so that can act without hesitation (aka speed). However, they must be willing to revise, adjust, or
drop their original beliefs, especially in the face of new information.

Example
Let's walk through a customer obsession question example. Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with someone
and how you handled it?

The first step is to brainstorm your most relevant example then apply STAR method. You can outline your star method
(see below) before crafting a more detailed response.

Situation: In my current position

Task: Had to communicate between the online sales team and the in-store sales team
Action: Make it so priorities and goals match on both ends
Results: Communication is key and learning to have trade-offs
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.

In my current position, I often have the role of communicating between my online sales team and the in store sales
team. Their priorities and goals are not always the same as they reach customers in very different ways and in order for
me to get them to agree with a new product or how to market it, I have to remember that. For example, we were given
a goal from management to reduce the overall costs for both teams by 5% in 6 months. I had to work together with
both teams to determine where to make cuts- which were not in the same places across the board. The way I got both
teams to agree on where to make cuts was to have them both sit down and explain their position to the other without
anyone interrupting. I then highlight the similarities and the differences. Often times the teams are not incredibly far
apart and it is a matter of prioritizing one thing over another or asking one team to lower their expectations a bit.
Deliver Results

Here's how Amazon defines the Deliver Results Leadership Principle:

Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite
setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.

Example questions
Here are some sample questions an Amazon interviewer may use to evaluate this Leadership Principle:
For Individual Contributors
1. How did you prioritize and meet deadlines in a prior role?
2. Describe a stressful deadline at work and how you handled it.
3. Tell me about a time you handled a crisis.
4. Tell me about a time you or your team drove toward a goal and were more than halfway to the objective when
you realized it may not be the best or right goal or may have unintended consequences. What was the situation
and what did you do?
5. Tell me about a goal that you set that took a long time to achieve or that you are still working towards. How do
you keep focused on the goal given the other priorities you have?
6. Tell me about a time where you not only met a goal but considerably exceeded expectations. How were you
able to do it? What challenges did you have to overcome?
7. Give me an example of a time when you were able to deliver an important project under a tight deadline. What
sacrifices did you have to make to meet the deadline? How did they impact the final deliverables?
8. Tell me about a time you had significant, unanticipated obstacles to overcome in achieving a key goal. Were
you eventually successful?
For People Managers

1. How do you ensure you are focusing on the right deliverables when you have several competing priorities? Tell
me about a time when you did not effectively manage your projects and something fell through the cracks.
2. What’s your secret to success in setting stretch goals for your team that are challenging, yet achievable? Tell
me about a time you didn’t hit the right balance. How did you adjust?
3. Give an example of a mission or goal you didn’t think was achievable. What was it and how did you help your
team try to achieve it. Were you successful in the end?
What is Amazon looking for?
It's obvious that Amazon is looking for those who not only get results but also high quality results.

However, as obvious as this may seem, the world is filled with those who think applying effort is enough. As long as they
worked an 8 hour day, they believe they shouldn't be blamed for not achieving a goal or objective. In other words,
Amazon doesn't reward those who simply participate. Anything short of the goal is disappointing.

In this leadership principle, Amazon points out what is needed to deliver results, beyond just participation and effort:
not settling, overcoming setbacks, and rising to the occasion.

In other words: grit.

Inspiration: How Amazon demonstrates Delivers Results

We can easily think of examples where Amazon:

 Did not settle

 Overcome setbacks
 Rose to the occasion
Here are a few:

Its bookselling dominance in the face of strong incumbents

Developing an audacious goal of fast Amazon Prime shipping
Establishing the Amazon Web Services business
We can easily see that these multi-billion dollar opportunities could not have transpired without incredible grit.

Going one step further, I wanted to share a unique tactic that Amazon developed to maintain its results-oriented
culture: its Amazon press release methodology.

That is, anytime an Amazon employee proposes a new business, the culture demands that they write a one-page press
release, announcing a yet to be created product.

Why force Amazon employees to write an imaginary press release for a product that doesn't exist? Here are the benefits
of writing this imaginary press release, it forces employees:

Results. To keep the end in mind.

Clarity. To succinctly describe what it is they are building.
Commitment. By writing down what they expect in the future, it increases their willingness to follow through.
How to answer this question
A successful interview story to this question includes the following elements:

 An incredible goal. Whatever you choose needs to be remarkable. It must feel like you were a one-person army
who needed to move mountains.
 Encountered significant setbacks. It must be clear that the setbacks you experienced would have led others to
falter and quit.
 Demonstrate resolve. The story must show that you worked a long time toward your goal. It could be a multi-
year commitment or 80 hour weeks. It may also be necessary to show creativity in overcoming this setback.
  Positive results. Any story with a sad ending is not ideal. Tell the interviewer you achieved positive (+
incredible!) results, ideally with numbers.
Example

Let's practice a question around delivering results. How did your actions in a leadership role increase productivity?

The first step is to brainstorm your most relevant example then apply the STAR method. You can outline your star
method (see below) before crafting a more detailed response.

Situation: In my previous position I was leading a team that lacked enthusiasm.

Task: Increase productivity and team morale.
Action: Implemented weekly 1:1 meetings with team members and introduced team building activities.
Result: Finished the product 3 days ahead of the deadline.
Here is an example of a full, more detailed response based on the outline above.

In my previous position, I led a team that struggled to feel engaged and motivated about the product that we were
working on. I felt this in the team, and saw that their lack of interest in the product led to a substantial decrease in the
quality of work. Given their performance, we would not have been able to meet our end of month goals. I decided to
begin implementing weekly 1:1 meetings with each team member to openly discuss any concerns or obstacles they
might have had. Through these meetings, I learned that some of our team members struggled to collaborate with
others, and because of this, productivity and team morale wasn't at the level we hoped to be. In addition to the 1:1
meetings, I also began to introduce more team building activities for our team every week, hoping that it would help
improve our team dynamic and ability to collaborate. To my surprise, I quickly observed my team begin to feel more
comfortable working with each other. This substantially improved our productivity and team morale, and we even
ended up finishing the product 3 days before the deadline. In the end, we saved the department money and rolled out a
finished product ahead of time.
Brainstorming
Now that we’ve walked through all 14 leadership principles, you might be stuck wondering: how could I possibly think of
so many examples for all the principles?

Not to worry as we’ve got some tips to help you get started with brainstorming.

How to brainstorm ideas effectively

Step 1

Note down every noteworthy accomplishment, award or experience you’ve encountered in the past. For those who
have 10+ years of experience, we recommend using experiences from the last 5 years as being relevant. As you begin to
recall your examples, we encourage you to think of how these experiences relate to each of the Amazon leadership
principles.

Step 2

Once you've gathered a long list of examples, shortlist your accomplishments, awards and experiences, allocating ideally
2-3 examples per principle.

Step 3

With each shortlisted example, use the STAR framework to help you summarize your experience in bullet points.

Step 4

Once you’ve shortlisted and summarized your examples using the STAR framework, find a friend to run through your
answers with. Even better, reach out to friends or others in your network who might be familiar with the principles and
can critique you on the relevance and effectiveness of your answers. Working through your answers with someone who
understands the leadership principles will help ensure your answers are tightly aligned with the company culture.

FAQ
How many examples should I have?

Ideally, you would like to have at least 2-3 examples for each leadership principle. You wouldn’t want to under-prepare
with one example, only to flinch if the interviewer throws another similar or identical question along your way.

Can I apply the same example to more than one leadership principle?

The short answer is yes, but the longer answer is to proceed with caution. Using the same example for more than one
principle, even if you plan on adapting the answer to highlight different areas, can be risky particularly if you are
generally short on examples. Doing so would be playing a chance game, and you never want to run out of examples or
have to repeat the same example for a different leadership question. If you do plan on doing this, make sure you also
have 2-3 more unique experiences you can speak to for the specific leadership principle.

Storytelling
Choosing a Great Story - Questions to ask yourself
[Link] DETAILS
Does the story that you've chosen include enough specific details? Do you remember what happened throughout? Are
you able to recall the numbers or specifics that will make it more interesting?
2. YOU'RE THE MAIN ACTOR
You as the candidate want to choose a story that shines the light on you specifically or a decision you made. Make sure
you choose a story that includes you in it as the main character so the interviewer can geta sense of your
leadership/behavioural skills.
3. INTERESTING PROOBLEM OR SOLUTION
Choose a story that will keep your interviewer's attention. Your interviewer may have already met with multiple people
that day. You want to make sure you stand out with a great story to tell.
4. CLEAR RESULTS
It is helpful to choose a story that shows clear business results and/or lessons that you learned in the process. Are there
specific stories you can think of where the outcomes were more substantial than others? Do the lessons learned in one
of your stories make for a great conclusion?

An interview is like a movie preview

Movie-goer question: Should I sit/not sit through this movie?

Interviewer question: Should I consider/write off this candidate?

A good movie preview:

Tells a story
Shows the main characters in action
Uses drama to capture the viewer’s interest
Convinces the viewer to go see the movie
Working Session
Choose an experience that directly relates to customer obsession.

Typical preparation generates typical outcomes.

Do your homework:

Fact find
Project math in the absence of sufficient fact finding/recall
How to practice intentional storytelling:

STAR method
Self control (aim for 2-3 minutes)
Active listening
Starting a great story
Unimpressive start: “I was working on a big change management initiative. We were asked to help transition the
department to a new reporting tool”

Strong start: “Last year, I was leading a team of 8 people in a change management initiative. Our task was to move the
entire 500 person department to a new, electronic reporting platform within a 3 month period.”
In terms of next steps, here's what I'd recommend:
Step 1. Outline your stories.

Outline potential stories for each one of the Amazon Leadership Principles.
Have at least 1, but preferably 2-3 to choose from. Personally, I would write them down in outline (bullet point) format.
No need to polish your stories into prose...yet.

Step 2. Get feedback.

Find a friend to give you feedback on your stories.

Ask them to give feedback on:
The Story. Is it appropriate for the desired Leadership Principle? Is it impressive? Does it have potential, despite any
rough edges in delivery?
Delivery. Do you tell the story in an engaging and meaningful way? Are there odd filler words such as "um or ah?" Are
you using vivid, memorable words? Are you including numbers in your results?
If you need someone to give you feedback, you can find interview practice partners on the Lewis C. Lin interview
community. Just search for "Lewis Lin Slack" on Google.

Step 3. Refine the story.

Based on the feedback, refine the stories as appropriate. Start to get your stories in prose format.

Step 4. Rehearse.
Your delivery will improve if you're familiar with the words you've written.
The only way for you to get familiar with those words is to verbally practice. I'd personally practice each one of my
stories at least five times, possibly more. As you rehearse, re-edit your prose, as necessary.
When rehearsing, you can do this on your own. It's not required to rehearse with a partner.

Step 5. Identify which stories are your "must-tell" stories.

You'll find, through this process, that certain stories are more impressive than others. Mark them as such. Then find
opportunities, during the actual interview, to tell those stories as early as possible.
If I leave the interview without telling a "must-tell" story, I can only blame myself for not turning in the homework I
worked so hard in preparing.