xamazn

I can confirm that unlike most other companies' "mission" the Leadership Principles are a real thing(tm) that even those of us who are skeptical about corporate yadda yadda were caught up using and being influenced by.

Two things about it: it's not feel-good bullshit like the parent said. That makes it real. And another: so many principles are at direct odds. Do you "Insist on the highest standards" and delay the launch or do you "Deliver results" now? How do you "Think Big" while also obeying the mandate for "Frugality"? There is a lot of tension in the principles which matches real-world choices. It's not the shallow corporatese of most mission statements.

I worked at AWS. Your experience may vary significantly depending on which team you are in, either at AWS or plain-Amazon. Some people are having the time of their lives there. Some are working horrible hours, maintaining crap old code that they hate, and struggling with performance reviews that saps their morale and prevents them from seeking a better team or leaving the company. Some people genuinely like the competitiveness, the politics, and know the Leadership Principles like it's the law.

Amazon is a fascinating company, it's Big Capitalism in a way no other company is today, and as such it's writing History, for better or worse. For the average developer it's not great, though.