When I first heard about Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr, I was intrigued but skeptical. The book dives deep into Amazon’s internal processes and leadership principles, and while I admired Amazon’s success, I wasn’t sure how much of its “secret sauce” would be relevant to me. But after reading it, I can say that Working Backwards isn’t just a manual on how Amazon operates—it’s a blueprint for thinking differently about business, leadership, and innovation.
Key Insights: Leadership Principles that Stick
The book outlines many of Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles, but the ones that stuck with me the most are “Customer Obsession,” “Invent and Simplify,” and “Bias for Action.” These principles are deeply embedded in Amazon’s DNA and show up in nearly every decision they make.
The “Customer Obsession” principle in particular transformed how I approach projects. At Amazon, the customer comes first in every decision, even if it means disrupting long-standing internal processes. A key example from the book is the introduction of the Kindle, where instead of focusing on immediate profit, Amazon prioritized delivering an excellent customer experience with features like fast downloads, wireless connectivity, and a massive library. This principle has shifted how I think about project planning. For instance, when managing an IT project, I now ask, “How does this decision impact the end-user?” Instead of focusing solely on technical requirements, I make sure the customer experience is the driving force.
Press Release and FAQ: A Game-Changer in Product Development
The most actionable strategy from Working Backwards for me has been the Press Release (PR) and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) method. The idea is to start any project by writing a mock press release, imagining the product is already launched. This exercise forces you to think clearly about the customer benefit and whether your product truly solves a problem before you start building it.
I began applying this process to my own projects, and it was eye-opening. For example, when I was part of a project team responsible for launching a new internal tool, we wrote a “press release” that outlined why our new solution would matter to our users. Doing this upfront highlighted the user benefits we wanted to deliver, such as reducing downtime by 30% and improving user interface responsiveness by 50%. It also revealed some flaws in our original planning because we realized that some features, while technically interesting, didn’t serve the customer. By focusing on the PR and FAQ approach, we could cut through the noise and build a more user-focused product. And the metrics we established early on—downtime and UI responsiveness—became key benchmarks for tracking success throughout the project.
Working Backwards from Metrics: The Power of Data-Driven Decision Making
Another big takeaway from Working Backwards is Amazon’s data-driven decision-making process. The book gives insight into how every project, product, and initiative at Amazon is backed by clear, measurable goals. They don’t just brainstorm an idea and run with it; they work backwards from a desired result.
For instance, in launching Amazon Prime, they didn’t set out to just create a loyalty program. They started by asking what metrics mattered most: customer retention and lifetime value. They hypothesized that faster shipping would encourage more frequent purchases and built Prime around those key metrics. As a result, they saw significant increases in customer retention, with Prime members spending far more annually than non-Prime customers.
Applying this to my own work, I’ve become more rigorous about defining success metrics before starting any project. Recently, while overseeing the rollout of a new software solution, I adopted Amazon’s approach by identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) upfront: deployment time, system error rates, and user satisfaction scores. By tracking these KPIs at every stage of the process, I was able to detect bottlenecks early, like when deployment times weren’t meeting our initial 25% reduction goal. This gave us time to make adjustments and ensured we delivered the product on time with measurable success.
The Bar Raiser Program: Hiring for Long-Term Success
Working Backwards also sheds light on Amazon’s “Bar Raiser” program, a practice where certain employees, often not even part of the hiring team, act as gatekeepers during interviews. These “Bar Raisers” ensure that every new hire is not only a good fit for the current role but will also raise the overall talent bar for the company. It’s an interesting and thorough approach to hiring that’s guided by one core metric: whether the person will increase the quality of the workforce.
I started thinking differently about my own approach to hiring after reading this. In my previous role, I was responsible for hiring several team members for a project, and instead of just looking for someone who could “fill the gap,” I focused on whether they would elevate the team’s capabilities. We even implemented a version of the Bar Raiser system by bringing in a third-party interviewer to help assess long-term fit and potential. As a result, the team we built outperformed expectations, meeting 90% of deadlines ahead of time and maintaining an error rate below 2%, compared to 8% on previous projects.
Innovation at Scale: Working Backwards in Action
One of the most impactful stories from the book is the launch of Amazon Web Services (AWS). Before reading Working Backwards, I didn’t realize how controversial and risky the decision was for Amazon to expand beyond e-commerce. Yet, by following their principle of “Invent and Simplify,” Amazon built a service that now dominates the cloud computing market. AWS was created by working backwards from the problem that developers and businesses faced: they needed reliable, scalable infrastructure. So, Amazon delivered that service, even though it was outside their traditional e-commerce domain.
This story inspired me to think outside the box, particularly when tasked with finding innovative ways to improve existing systems. On a recent project, we were struggling with scalability issues for a cloud-based app. Instead of sticking to conventional approaches, I encouraged the team to “work backwards” from the ideal outcome—a system that could handle double the current user load. We ended up rearchitecting the app in a way that increased performance by 60%, allowing us to scale more efficiently. This kind of thinking—solving the root problem rather than making incremental improvements—came directly from applying Amazon’s mindset.
Customer Metrics That Matter
What stands out throughout Working Backwards is Amazon’s relentless focus on customer-driven metrics. Rather than being content with abstract goals like “improving service,” they zero in on specific, measurable outcomes: delivery times, customer satisfaction, or Prime membership retention. As a result, they can constantly refine their services based on real-world data.
I’ve started incorporating this rigor into my own work by setting clear customer-focused metrics before we even begin building solutions. Recently, on a project to optimize cloud costs for a large system, we identified two key customer metrics: system uptime and cost savings per user. By focusing on those two numbers, we reduced cloud costs by 15% without sacrificing performance, and system uptime improved by 5%, hitting a 99.95% target. It was a great example of how clearly defining customer-centric metrics can guide both strategy and execution.
Conclusion
Working Backwards has fundamentally shifted how I approach both leadership and project management. The key lessons—customer obsession, working backwards from metrics, and a commitment to innovation—are all actionable, whether you work in IT, product development, or even customer service. By applying these principles, I’ve been able to approach my work with a renewed sense of purpose and clarity, setting measurable goals that directly impact the customer experience. It’s a must-read for anyone looking to think bigger, work smarter, and ultimately deliver better results.