Amazon is resetting its business. Are you doing enough to change your mindset?
In an analysis released this week, former Amazon executive John Rossman lays out a blueprint for turning the company around, calling for a “zero-based” approach and justifying every initiative and project from the ground up. , advocating a “brutal rationalization of capital investment”. ,” among other steps.
“Frankly, Jeff’s biggest concern with Amazon was that it would become a bureaucracy,” says Rothman, referring to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. “This is Amazon’s chance to change the forward-looking narrative. Will they move to a slow, bureaucratic mindset, or will they move to a boring, small team-oriented, highly accountable narrative? Will we go back to our roots as an organization?”
Rossman joins the GeekWire Podcast to discuss Amazon’s future path.
Rossman is the founder of Rossman Partners, a management consulting team. He previously worked for the regeneration consulting firm He Alvarez and Marsal. From 2002 until 2005, during his tenure at Amazon, he helped launch and build the Amazon Marketplace before leading the company’s Enterprise Services business.
He is the author of three books, including Amazon Wayand writes a weekly Digital Reader newsletter found on Substack.
In recent weeks, the company has been downsizing, terminating or eliminating a long list of products, services and businesses, and has begun the process of laying off thousands of employees.
Job cuts could range from 10,000 to 20,000, according to reports, but Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company isn’t targeting a specific number. will be extended until the new year.
Rothman says Amazon is moving from a “think bigger, more is better” mindset to something “more streamlined.”
As someone who makes a living by helping others understand and adapt to the company’s approach, Rossman said it was difficult to question the state of Amazon’s business, but in the end, it was the right move for him. It is said that there was something that caught the eye.
Rossman also points to Amazon’s recent decline in US Customer Satisfaction Index, a metric Amazon has publicly tracked in the past, as a wake-up call that Amazon leaders need to address.
He recommended that Amazon choose its big bets more carefully, from its Zoox self-driving company to its Project Kuiper broadband satellite initiative, but also to maximize the value of the company as a whole by investing in Amazon Web Services. should seriously consider spinning off the company.
Above all, he says, the company needs to act quickly and decisively.
“At the end of the day, my advice is not to let this stage prolong. Take it all now. By making it tough and sharp, the surviving organizations actually forget it and You can move forward with distinction and clarity.
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