When conflict is productive: the case of Amazon

1.Do you believe that conflict can be healthy or that conflict is always a problem? Please defend your answer.

2.Have you experienced a situation where conflict led to improved team performance or creativity? Explain.

3.Do you think it is feasible for most companies to follow the "Two Pizza Rule?" Why or why not?

4.What do you think about Amazon's Leadership Principle #13 around disagreement? Do you think leaders should be obligated to challenge decisions when they disagree?

5.Which other of the 14 Leadership Principles do you think stimulate a culture of conflict over ideas?

Disagree and Commit." According to this principle, "Leaders are obligated mechanisms for development like Career Choice. 10.1 When Conflict Is Productive: The Case of to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is 7) Insist on the Highest Standards Amazon uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion..." Leaders have relentlessly high standards-many people may think these FIGURE 10.1 While this conflict-oriented leadership style has sparked some standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar controversy for Amazon, an argument can be made that the company's and driving their teams to deliver high-quality products, services, and unparalleled success is founded upon this principle. Amazon is not processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and alone in their belief that conflict can be healthy. For example, Intel has a that problems are fixed so they stay fixed. constructive confrontation training course module for new employees. In fact, some scholars have found that high-pressure work 8) Think Big amazon environments can lead to more creative work under the right circumstances. Thus, perhaps Amazon owes its success to its visionary Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and leader who favors healthy, creative conflict versus cross-team communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers. communication which he believes leads to too much agreement within the organization. On the other hand, perhaps a culture that encourages 9) Bias for Action employees "to tear apart one another's ideas in meetings" leads to potential unintended consequences. Which way you see it probably Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and depends a great deal on how well you fit a culture of conflict. do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking. Amazon's Leadership Principles 10) Frugality (https://www.amazon.jobs/en/working/working- amazon/#leadership-principles) include 14 statements regarding how Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self- effective leaders at Amazon behave including: sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense. 1) Customer Obsession 11) Earn Trust Source: Eric Broder Van Dyke / Shutterstock.com Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or Amazon.com was founded in 1995 as an online book retailer. In the attention to competitors, they obsess over customers. embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team's body odor decades since, it has expanded to become an e-retailer giant, selling 2) Ownership smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against everything from electronics to groceries and household items, and the best. earning over $100 billion in annual revenue. The company is well Leaders are owners. They think long term and don't sacrifice long-term known for its sophisticated storage and delivery methods as well as its value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, 12) Dive Deep emphasis on earning profits through sales volume. Jeff Bezos, Amazon's beyond just their own team. They never say, "That's not my job." Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit founder and CEO, knew from the beginning that he wanted Amazon to frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task be "an everything store." Many attribute Amazon's success to Bezos's 3) Invent and Simplify is beneath them. visionary leadership style, as well as his exceptionally high standards for Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams innovation and customer service. and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for 13) Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit Bezos's entrepreneurial spirit is evident in Amazon's company culture, new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by "not invented here." which he describes as "friendly and intense, but if push comes to shove As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they periods of time. disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders we'll settle for intense." This intensity is infectious. Those who do best have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake working for Amazon are those who are not afraid to be adversarial. 4) Are Right, A Lot of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly. According to Nadia Shouraboura, Amazon's former head of supply chain, this is not an accident. Rather, it is by design she says, noting, Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. 14) Deliver Results 'When everybody's arguing and fighting and not afraid to talk, the end They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs. Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with decision will be the best one." 5) Learn and Be Curious the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to In order to ensure an environment that is conducive to constructive the occasion and never settle. [!| conflict, Bezos created the "Two Pizza Rule." That is, keep teams small Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. enough that members can be fed with two pizzas. Teams that can be fed They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them. Multimedia Extension-Amazon Employee Work-Life with just two pizzas are able to support healthy debate and avoid the trap 6) Hire and Develop the Best Balance of false consensus that comes as team sizes increase and each person is //www.youtube.com/embed/PTYFEgXaRbU?rel=0 less likely to participate in discussions and disagreements. Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They Amazon's culture of creative conflict is embodied by one of the recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in Case Discussion Questions company's 14 leadership principles. Number 13 is "Have Backbone; coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invent