You need not search far for leadership failure these days. Klaus Kleinfeld has been ejected as boss of the engineering group Arconic for sending an intemperate letter to a critical investor; Travis Kalanick is trying to mend his macho ways at Uber; Oscar Munoz stumbled in his response to the forcible expulsion of a passenger from a United Continental flight. Many cultures need to change.
Step forward Jeff Bezos , founder of Amazon, with some lessons on how to create a productive culture at the top of a growing company. Mr Bezos’s annual letter to shareholders last week — as ever with his “Day One” letter from 1997 attached — advises others to mimic what works for him. Who, after all, can argue with Amazon’s stellar record of growth over two decades?
Be obsessed with what customers want, even if they do not know it themselves, he writes. Beware research and lead with “heart, intuition, curiosity, play, guts, taste”. Make decisions fast, even with only 70 per cent of the information you would like; tolerate disagreement and commit to supporting the majority. Above all, never become a mature “Day Two” company.