Today was my last day in Amazon. This is a slightly edited version of the message I shared with my organization. I hope you find something useful in it.
After 9 years, 14 managers, 10 teams, 1 boomerang, 4 roles, 3 levels, 248 phonetool icons, uncountable projects, tickets, doc reviews, meetings, discussions and one pagers, it’s time for me to move on from Amazon. Today is my last day at work in this amazing company.
I am forever grateful for all the fun, excitement, opportunity, challenges and growth I had in Amazon, and the last year in Display Protocols was nothing short of spectacular from my perspective. I thank you all for making that happen.
If you’re new, ask for help. If you’re old, also ask for help. Never have I ever met a more friendly, helpful, easy going crowd than the Amazonians. There’s no shame in wanting to know more about stuff that matters. Just ask.
Also ask the stupid questions. If you don’t get someone’s point in a meeting while everybody else is nodding, I bet at least someone else also not understanding. Possibly, most of the people. This, I proved time and again. Be that person.
If you’re new and relatively free, don’t sulk. You’ll get your piece of the action, I promise you that. Use that free time to read stuff, watch broadcast videos, write down ideas. It will pay off.
Understand the business. Read planning docs, roadmaps, those boring weekly status updates filled with wrong dates and traffic light colors. They will tell you why we’re doing something instead of something else. That’s so important.
Just fucking do it. You don’t need permission to try stuff. You don’t need to be a Senior Engineer or a Manager to propose an alternative or an idea. Here’s a little secret: leaders love it when people propose cool things instead of waiting for assignments. Write it down, bring it up.
Talking about writing, learn how to write like an Amazonian. It’s the best skill you can get out of your Amazon tenure. I know, I know. It sucks. It takes time away from coding, or whatever. But trust me, knowing how to distil your thoughts on paper (and in your head) makes a ton of difference.
Code is not “someone’s”. If you see something that needs fixing anywhere in the code base, fix it and send the CR out. People will respect you for that and will feel relieved you made their shitty, hacky code they wrote two years ago and then never got back to fix, actually good. That’s how Ownership works.
Obsess over customers, but remember all customers matter, not just the ones impacted by your current ticket. Find your balance.
The two most misunderstood Leadership Principles are Frugality and Have Backbone, Disagree and Commit. Don’t be stingy. Don’t be a yes person.
You’ll be fine fucking up as long as you can explain your line of reasoning at the time, with the data and assumptions you had at the time.
Whenever you struggle, remember that Amazon is the place where overachievers go to feel bad about themselves.
On average, you’re an average Amazonian. We select for excellence, so everyone is kind of in your league. Out there you’re probably not average at all. It’s easy to forget that or not see it while inside.
In Amazon years (which are understood as being the same as dog years, only more stressful), I’m basically 65, which is a good age to retire. I’m not retiring just yet though. I’ll be bringing my experiences and memories to a new company in Milan after a few weeks of hiking and snorkeling.
If you ever are in town, hit me up. If you want to chat online, also hit me up. I’m always down for a cool conversation.
And remember, It’s Always Day 1.