I remember when we started this practice at one of my organizations. It ultimately puts the focus on the ideas. It also levels the playing field so that great speakers and presenters can’t talk their way around people, even if the ideas aren’t sound. You can bullshit a presentation, but it’s much harder to do that in a document. This included a 6-page narrative for business reviews as well as a future press release for strategic documents. In 2004, Jeff Bezos banned PowerPoint and required everyone to use written narratives. Most of us are probably familiar with this. But the value in shifting is immense.įortunately, you don’t have to be at Amazon to work in an Amazon way, which is what the book is primarily about (as well as some interesting stories from behind the scenes). And it is a serious shift from the way most companies work. If you haven’t had the chance to work at Amazon (I haven’t) or at a place that espouses these principles and practices (like I have), I can tell you they take them very seriously. Much of what they wrote about and the advice they gave jibes completely with my experience. The authors were part of Amazon through most of its growth, and were in charge of some of the highest profile initiatives, helping to launch things like Prime Music, Prime Video, Amazon Studios, and Amazon Associates. I’ve worked for several former Amazon executives who have created Amazon-like cultures at other companies, so I was excited to read Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon.

Working backwards book amazon