Jeff Bezos’s famous management rules are slowly unraveling inside Amazon

Fortune

Jeff Bezos’ management rules are showing signs of fraying inside Amazon. As “The Amazon Way” starts to unravel, some workers question if it’ll even survive Andy Jassy’s reign as CEO.

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00:00When Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, he set the company up for success with a distinct culture

00:05that eventually included 16 leadership principles. And employees are judged on these tenets before

00:10they're even hired in job interviews, with goals to hire the best and have a backbone,

00:16disagree, and commit. Amazon employees have abided by these guidelines for more than 20 years.

00:21But workers think those standards began unraveling during a pre-pandemic hiring spree under Bezos

00:26and have continued inside Amazon during CEO Andy Jassy's leadership. Complaints include

00:32adding principles as a marketing ploy, weaponizing leadership rules to criticize,

00:36and bosses being accused of employing principles to build up favorites.

00:40Fortune spoke to two dozen current and recently departed Amazon executives

00:45and managers about how the famous Amazon way is showing signs of deteriorating.

00:50Many said the key principles remain core, but have become less universally agreed upon.

00:55You can check out the full story in Fortune's latest digital issue.

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