Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon

One of the best business books I have read recently. Colin and Bill have nicely explained the fundamentals of Amazon's phenomenal success. They have outlined some of the key principles of the company and how at various stages those have contributed the company's success. This book is a must read for those who are preparing for an interview at Amazon. I can see the book being referred at many business courses.

Second half was a drag. Could have been concise or more insights in the launch of prime video could have been better.

This is a must read book.

There is a reason why Amazon is, what it is. If you are curious and want to read about how Amazon works, it’s a must read.

Must read if you are joining or aspiring to join Amazon. Good read in case you are curious how things happen in Amazon.

To know how Amazon became what it is today, this book is a recommended read. It’s an insider perspective, written honestly and many a time, self-depreciatively. Worth your time.

But not for those who want to build key strengths of amazon in their own organisation. It goes very deep into how the success stories like prime, kindle etc happened but not much into what others should do.Overall i liked the first half much more than the latter.

recomendo a leitura

Basically it describes the Amazonian culture as the foundation stones for the success of the company within going into lots of technical so as to make it easily readable. Great work!

In my lifetime there has always been one company that was held up as the paragon of all that is good and innovative in business. We were supposed to emulate that company. GM was first, followed by IBM, then by GE. Now it's Amazon's turn. If you’re seeking insight into what made Amazon successful so far, you’ll love this book. There are many examples and things you can try regardless of the business you’re in.But this book is different from most books about what to copy from great companies. It tells you about the background of Amazon’s best practices. You’ll learn why Amazon adopted them and follow the sometimes-tedious process of development. You’ll discover why some lauded practices (e.g., two-pizza teams) have been superseded.Working Backwards does not turn Jeff Bezos into an all-wise, infallible business saint either. That’s important because it allows you to appreciate the role teams can play in developing processes. It’s also evidence that you don’t need a Jeff Bezos to succeed.Colin Bryar joined Amazon in 1998 and spent twelve years there. Most relevant for this book, for two years he was Jeff Bezos’ chief of staff. Bill Carr joined Amazon in 1999 and spent more than fifteen years there. He and his teams launched and managed the company’s global digital music and video businesses. The result is a true “view from inside.”The book is divided into two parts. The first, “Being Amazonian,” is about foundational principles and practices and Amazon culture. Jeff Bezos described the culture this way.“Our culture is four things: customer obsession instead of competitor obsession; willingness to think long term, with a longer investment horizon than most of our peers; eagerness to invent, which of course goes hand in hand with failure; and then, finally, taking professional pride in operational excellence.”That’s basic, but not operational. This section also goes into detail on Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles and several operating practices. This will be the most helpful part of the book for most readers. You’ll get ideas on how to hire more effectively, why some team practices work and others don’t, and why Amazon relies on the written word to develop and communicate ideas.You’ll discover why Amazon uses leading indicators to manage performance. There’s a chapter on the principle of “working backwards” that is so important, that the authors chose it for the title of the book. They describe it this way.“Working Backwards is a systematic way to vet ideas and create new products. Its key tenet is to start by defining the customer experience, then iteratively work backwards from that point until the team achieves clarity of thought around what to build.”Working backwards is one of those “simple but not easy” ideas. The good news is the authors go into detail on the process and tools Amazon uses to make it happen. They’re adaptable to most businesses regardless of size or industry.The chapter on leadership principles and mechanisms plus any other chapter in the first section are worth the price of the book several times over.Part 2 is “The Invention Machine at Work.” Chapters describe the development of Kindle, Prime, Prime Video, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Each chapter is an example of how the principles and practices outlined in Part 1 guided product development in a real situation.Praise to whoever is responsible for two devices that make this book more helpful. One is detailed appendices with examples that you can use as models, as well as a timeline to show you what was happening and when. The other is the practice of beginning each chapter with a short overview of what you’ll find in it.In a NutshellAny business reader will benefit from reading Working Backwards, applying the principles, and adapting the practices Amazon uses so successfully.

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I recommend this book for anyone who is considering working at Amazon. It was a great help for myself and my mates when we were preparing for internship opportunities at Amazon. Once we got the internship, it was also useful in quickly helping us understand the culture and knowing what to expect.It's also an excellent read and has a lot of practical lessons for startups and big orgs. Being an MBA student I found the stories quite thrilling it brought alive key concepts I was taking in class.Loved it!!!