Philip Soriano
@philip
Philip Soriano
I often think about how the internet is a collective consciousness for humanity and how the first 30 years of the internet didn’t create products with that context in mind and lost the reverence of that sacredness. The products created didn’t have that aspiration in mind and simply wanted to monetize and grow. Sublime is the first product in a long
... See moreThey Architect the Way Work Gets Done
Bezos redesigned work to create a system of independent, decoupled teams who were guided by a set of hows dramatically different from prior practices at Amazon and other large tech companies. For example, most software companies require teams to utilize one another’s code to increase efficiency. To increase velocity and reduce dependency, Amazon does the opposite: Its software teams are mostly free to choose whether they use common services or create their own building blocks of code. This results in duplicative work and some inconsistencies in the user experience, but Bezos justifies it by saying he’d “rather have two than none.”
Some of Amazon’s managerial innovations have become celebrated. For example,
teams adhere to the “two-pizza rule,” limiting team size to only as many people as can be fed by two pizzas (typically eight or fewer).
PowerPoint presentations are forbidden because they lull participants into passivity; instead, Amazon requires every proposal to be written in a narrative memo of six pages or fewer, to deliver more detailed thinking than is typically found in slide presentations.
After all the meeting attendees read the memo closely, they have a nonhierarchical, no-holds-barred debate. The goal is to interrogate everything thoroughly, and vigorous dissent is encouraged. Before stepping down as CEO, Bezos participated in hundreds of these meetings himself. Instead of sitting back and waiting for the CEO to make the decision, everyone at Amazon is expected to speak up and disagree—even with Bezos or his successor, Andy Jassy. Once a determination is made, the CEO supports the path forward, knowing that most conclusions are provisional and can be revisited as new information comes in—what Amazon calls “two-way-door decisions.”
This is what we mean when we say leaders architect the way work gets done. It’s not about changing org charts. It’s about shifting decision rights closer to the front lines—and equipping those teams with the tools and frameworks that allow them to act. Those include customer-value metrics, structured memos, and experimentation protocols. It’s difficult work because it often requires leaders to give up control—to redistribute authority, remove approvals, and reduce the frictions that slow teams down. When done well, it promotes speed, clarity, and autonomy—which is why Amazon, a giant company, continues to launch innovative products and services quickly.
All four leaders we studied recognized that frontline teams are key to creating and delivering value for customers, whether they are internal or external. They made it their personal mission to design work processes so that employees are empowered with the tools and support they need and don’t hit obstacles that slow them
between bites of pizza, i lamented to andrew (fellow man of the ‘sletter) that i felt i wasn’t taking full advantage of new york.
if you’re paying $3500 for a shoebox you better be getting more out of the city than just feeling in on the latest nolitadirtbag meme.
if you’re paying $3500 for a shoebox you better be getting more out of the city than just feeling in on the latest nolitadirtbag meme.
you're $5 away from an asymmetric life
Don’t play it safe, in your imaginings. Write a list of things you long for, that don’t include any kind of romantic entanglement, and then go after them with all of the caution and trepidation of a comet.
Catherine Gray • The Unexpected Joy of Being Single
Anything that I’ve ever been successful at has taken at least 10 years of hard work and anonymous toil to get to that place. I’m an ultra-endurance athlete as an athlete, but also in the way that I’ve approached doing anything in life. There are no shortcuts to mastery. Although there are tips and tricks that people do to accelerate growth, I’m not... See more
No son ever develops into manhood without, in some way, being disloyal to his mother. If he remains with her, to comfort her and console her, then he never gets out of his mother complex. Often a mother will do all she can to keep her son with her. One of the most subtle ways is to encourage in him the idea of being loyal to her; but if he gives in
... See moreRobert A. Johnson • He
The most disruptive act in midlife isn't leaving your job or relationship—it's leaving behind the version of yourself that you created to survive.
Ashley Kelschsubstack.comAtman Chaser and
The most disruptive act in midlife isn't leaving your job or relationship—it's leaving behind the version of yourself that you created to survive.
According to the most recent Art & Finance Report from Deloitte and ArtTactic, 83 percent of collectors under age 35 are focused on art investment returns compared with 44 percent of older collectors.
Where Are Young Art Collectors and Museum Donors?
a painting that suggests is usually more engaging than one that tells. Everyone makes up their own story about the Mona Lisa.