From which cup do you wish to drink?

I have come across them several times in the past but thought it worth mentioning Amazon's Leadership Principles. Amazon does not have a robust reputation as a place to work but I suspect that is partly because they are serious in a fashion most companies are not about their core mission. Most companies try to balance customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, investor expectations, community obligations, etc. They are well intended and usually they do a pretty good job of striking the right balance over time and under changing circumstances.

Amazon, based on conversations, seems to be the odd man out. Everything is subordinate to the customer experience. Employee satisfaction is important but only to the extent that it affects the customer experience. If you are a customer, that's great. If you are an employee, you probably would get better hand-holding and attention in other corporations.

On the other hand, the Amazon principles, rigorously adhered to, are more honest. Most big corporations have some sort of feel-good statement somewhere in their mission to the effect that employees are their most important asset with the implication that that is where they make their most important investments. And to a degree, that is almost tautologically true - people drive the culture and culture drives the results.

The reality is that most organizations treat their employees as transferable or disposable costs rather than as assets. It comes as a shock to employees to learn this when business circumstances create the need for change. As long as companies are in an expansion phase, they invest in people at least to some degree but rarely with real attention as to whether those investments have any return. Then, when the commercial waters get choppy and there are headwinds, the investments stop, the focus turns to efficiency, and employees are a cost to be managed down.

It comes down to the difference between false promises and cold pragmatic acknowledgement of reality. From which cup do you wish to drink?

Amazon's Leadership Principles. Go to the link for a more detailed synopsis.

Customer Obsession

Ownership

Invent and Simplify

Are Right, A Lot

Learn and Be Curious

Hire and Develop the Best

Insist on the Highest Standards

Think Big

Bias for Action

Frugality

Earn Trust

Dive Deep

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

Deliver Results