It's been a week now at Amazon. It's going good. Of course, as has been repeatedly told to us, we are still in the honeymoon phase and in fact, yet to visit the floor (warehouse, for all the non-mechanical engineers out there). That's supposed to be a reality check and come Monday, we are supposed to get into the grind. Just in case I lose my starry eyed impression of my company in the harshness of the coming week, I thought of bringing forth some of the subtle things that really appealed to me over the past few weeks. I realize this blog is becoming more and more Amazon-centric, but bear with me. This is an exciting phase, and I love bringing out my perspective of things out here.
One interesting thing I noticed about Amazon, is there attention to the little things. I believe this is integral to the next interesting thing I noticed about Amazon, their rigorous faith in, and adherence to the company's culture and ideals. Let me illustrate:
1. The Virtuous Cycle: I won't get into the details, but broadly, this is the flowchart our company is based on. This speaks about how customers and sellers interact with each other and how that impacts various aspects of running our company. I'm sure almost all big companies have something of this sort, some sort of Vision-Mission statement which guides them. I am not aware of how much attention to pay the same, but it is worth mentioning that throughout the first week of orientation, we have gone through this at least thrice, which also included a group activity. Amazon really wants us to imbibe this model. So far, so normal. What I really liked about this is the following. Apparently, this idea came to Jeff Bezos while he was in a cafeteria (like I am right now), and when he suddenly hit upon this idea from a book he was reading, he quickly drew it out (roughly) on a tissue paper on his table. Every new hire who is taught this is shown the flowchart in Jeff's handwriting, exactly how it was written out on the tissue paper. I really appreciate that, and it gives a greater sense of awe to it, rather than it being just a management cycle.
2. The Door-Desk Award: Jeff Bezos opened Amazon (then named Cadabra) in his garage and was selling a few books back then. Of course, to pack and process the stuff he was sending out, he would need large desks. Owing to the lack of the same and to save costs, he brought out the doors in his garage and converted them into large desks which were the first precedent of today's packing stations. So far, so normal. But Amazon did not stop there. To commemorate this idea and any such ideas that have a huge positive impact on cost saving for the company, they have introduced the door desk award. In its history, only 200 people have won it throughout the world and it is something every Amazonian strives for. It is awarded by Jeff Bezos himself. My recruiter and manager happens to be on of the recipients of this award. *_*
3. The Wainwright Building: This is a building in the International HQ at Seattle. This is named after John Wainwright, the first customer of Amazon.com, who bought the book, Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies: Computer Models Of The Fundamental Mechanisms Of Thought by Douglas Hofstadter. This may seem a little silly, but it talks volumes about how much we value our customers, one of our chief tenets. Read: http://qr.ae/7XYzEM
These are just some of those things that really stood out to me that gives me the impression of a company which not only cares, but does it with a personalized and remarkable touch. I'm sure you could have read this over any websites, but if you read this for the first time, I hope you enjoyed it. To imbibe these 'peculiar' qualities into its employees, there exists a "Peculiar Quiz", scoring 100% in which gives you a 100% Peculiar PhonTool Icon (another idea that employees area crazy about). I gave it day before yesterday, and guess what? 100% Percent Peculiar!
Until next time, then.
One interesting thing I noticed about Amazon, is there attention to the little things. I believe this is integral to the next interesting thing I noticed about Amazon, their rigorous faith in, and adherence to the company's culture and ideals. Let me illustrate:
1. The Virtuous Cycle: I won't get into the details, but broadly, this is the flowchart our company is based on. This speaks about how customers and sellers interact with each other and how that impacts various aspects of running our company. I'm sure almost all big companies have something of this sort, some sort of Vision-Mission statement which guides them. I am not aware of how much attention to pay the same, but it is worth mentioning that throughout the first week of orientation, we have gone through this at least thrice, which also included a group activity. Amazon really wants us to imbibe this model. So far, so normal. What I really liked about this is the following. Apparently, this idea came to Jeff Bezos while he was in a cafeteria (like I am right now), and when he suddenly hit upon this idea from a book he was reading, he quickly drew it out (roughly) on a tissue paper on his table. Every new hire who is taught this is shown the flowchart in Jeff's handwriting, exactly how it was written out on the tissue paper. I really appreciate that, and it gives a greater sense of awe to it, rather than it being just a management cycle.
2. The Door-Desk Award: Jeff Bezos opened Amazon (then named Cadabra) in his garage and was selling a few books back then. Of course, to pack and process the stuff he was sending out, he would need large desks. Owing to the lack of the same and to save costs, he brought out the doors in his garage and converted them into large desks which were the first precedent of today's packing stations. So far, so normal. But Amazon did not stop there. To commemorate this idea and any such ideas that have a huge positive impact on cost saving for the company, they have introduced the door desk award. In its history, only 200 people have won it throughout the world and it is something every Amazonian strives for. It is awarded by Jeff Bezos himself. My recruiter and manager happens to be on of the recipients of this award. *_*
3. The Wainwright Building: This is a building in the International HQ at Seattle. This is named after John Wainwright, the first customer of Amazon.com, who bought the book, Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies: Computer Models Of The Fundamental Mechanisms Of Thought by Douglas Hofstadter. This may seem a little silly, but it talks volumes about how much we value our customers, one of our chief tenets. Read: http://qr.ae/7XYzEM
These are just some of those things that really stood out to me that gives me the impression of a company which not only cares, but does it with a personalized and remarkable touch. I'm sure you could have read this over any websites, but if you read this for the first time, I hope you enjoyed it. To imbibe these 'peculiar' qualities into its employees, there exists a "Peculiar Quiz", scoring 100% in which gives you a 100% Peculiar PhonTool Icon (another idea that employees area crazy about). I gave it day before yesterday, and guess what? 100% Percent Peculiar!
Until next time, then.
Good 1 Micky
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