Amazon Adds Two Leadership Principles Before Jeff Bezos Steps Down

Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos will step down as head of the tech giant as of July 5. But before he does, the company has added two new principles to its leadership principles that concern workplace and global responsibilities, according to a company blog post on Thursday (July 1).

Bezos will be replaced by Andy Jassy, who is currently CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The first new principle points to the responsibility of leaders to “lead with empathy” while maintaining productive, high-performing teams that also are diverse. Leaders also should consider if employees are growing, empowered, and are “ready for what’s next,” according to the post.

The second new principle concerns the company’s responsibility as it continues growing and how leaders need to think beyond the initial effects of Amazon’s actions.

“We are big, we impact the world, and we are far from perfect,” according to the post. “We must begin each day with a determination to make better, do better, and be better for our customers, our employees, our partners, and the world at large.”

Amazon’s other 14 leadership principles ask that leaders have a customer-first mindset and think long-term value instead of short-term results. Leaders also are expected to help their teams innovate to promote simplicity and seek diverse perspectives as they exhibit sound instincts and judgment.

“Our Leadership Principles describe how Amazon does business, how leaders lead, and how we keep the customer at the center of our decisions. Our unique Amazon culture … helps us relentlessly pursue our mission of being Earth’s most customer-centric company, best employer, and safest place to work,” according to the company’s website.

In the last shareholder letter by Bezos, he pointed to his first letter in 1997 just after the company he co-founded went public. The 1.5 million customer accounts he originally mentioned have since grown to more than 200 million Prime members.

In the most recent letter, released earlier this year, Bezos wrote that 60 percent of its retail sales are a result of the 1.9 million merchants that operate across its marketplace. Prime members have a value creation of $630 each, Bezos said.

After some 25 years, Bezos announced in February that he was stepping down as the CEO of Amazon and will take on the role of executive chair. Bezos announced the news during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report. He said that stepping away as the head of the firm will allow him more time to concentrate on “passions” like the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and others.