“Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” Helen Keller
As many of you are now aware, I am leaving Amazon. Before I do, I wanted to send a large note to the team that may not be able to join us on Thursday morning.
In the four years I have been at Amazon with SRT, we have grown from 350K employees to 1.2 million. Revenue has gone from $127.6 billion September 2016 to $347 billion in September 2020. The stock has increased from $763 per share to where it is at $3,182 today. The company has spent $40.4 billion on R&D, which is more than any other company on the planet.
When I first arrived, the team had only 13 people on it. In my cohort of new employees that week was Michelle Federman (Thanks Michelle for the beer on the ferry). The Science Recruiting team was made up of Paul, Vinay and Aditi–and the Science community was 1200 Scientists worldwide. Back then I was the only employee based outside of the Seattle area.
It’s been an incredible journey and the learnings have been gifts and inspirations.
Like most of us who joined the team since that period, I was initially overwhelmed by the Amazon culture. The need for proven data in any discussion, simple or complex threw me off, and I was overwhelmed by the writing requirements. During the last 10 minutes of my interview lunch with Angelica Weiner she asked, “how do you feel about serious writing in this culture?”. My response was to laughingly say, “I don’t write!” Now, I’m 250 words into my Goodbye Letter to all of you!
My vulnerability continues to be my writing skills. Though I enjoy the art of storytelling, I find it more comfortable to paint pictures with verbal descriptions than written. However, Amazon was not going to give in on the need for written data, and I had to make adjustments. I was honest with Anne, Angelica, Suman, Vinay, Aditi (and any other person on our team) when I told them that I am not a writer. Today, I find myself still practicing and working on that skill. Anne was honest and explained that not everyone is a great writer, but that is a skill that can be developed if you work at it, though frustrating at times. That was an understatement! My team all understood that I was weak at one of the skills that makes the Amazon culture unique. Today, I am grateful for my colleagues and teammates who have coached me and supported me along the way (Kate von Sternberg-Ring still is coaching me on my writing)! It’s a testament that I can write this in a note to you without any worry, because we have areas for improvement and our quest to be smarter and better sits at the heart of the practice we call SRT.
I thanked my team a couple of days ago for being one of the best Science recruiting teams in the industry. I also want to thank the Program and Market Intelligence teams for their support. The Program team for their work on Conferences, Events and Scholars, which has been game-changing for Amazon. In 2016 we had 41 Science hires, largely opportunistic and today were approximately 100 hires within the framework of an established Search driven process. Without our Conferences, Scholars and Programs these numbers would not be anywhere near where they are today. The MI team with their exhaustive research and all of the tools they have created has also helped the practice get to where we are today. While reflecting on my Amazon journey, I was reminded of the book Originals, by my dear Adam Grant, (Yes, Erica Dingman I know Adam) when he states “managers are not the best at vetting new ideas. They are so concerned about the larger implication of ideas that at times they may miss the opportunity that may be clear to others.” So, to Arindam and Angelica’s team – thanks for all you have done over the years to push our Science practices further. To Brit, Selena, Elizabeth, Pam, Amy, Phuc, Nicole, Mallory and of course Jill Fudge, you are the secret sauce for all our teams, and I am grateful for all of your contributions. Please keep coming up with new ideas, even if you managers push back in the beginning, we need your insights!
When a ship is anchored in the water it makes a lot of noise and when it is pulled out of the water you can feel the vibration. The ship actually wobbles a bit, but it does not sink and it continues on its journey. Some have said to me that the ship will not be the same without me here. I’m reminded of October, 2011 when I was working at Apple and Steve Jobs passed away. The stock market, analysts and pundits were sure that Apple was done without it’s well-loved Founder, visionary, and CEO. The market wrongly assumed that Steve was the only great mind amidst 92,000 Apple employees. I knew they were wrong, because I worked with exceptional people who had pushed the limits and inspired millions. Today, that stock is up 89%. We are blessed with great Anchors on this team. I’m humbled by the thoughtfulness and planning it took and will continue to take for this team to grow and evolve. Adam and Suman are not only incredible Recruiters, but they are great leaders that care deeply about our team. Arindam has been such an important force in the development of a team and the power of forecast, and I learn from him every day. Colleen is the most resistant and positive person on our team, and unwavering in her mission to keep us connected. I’m positive that Sava will keep you all moving forward, driven with focus towards our goals. Sava has been an employee, partner and great friend. She cares some deeply about our team, and has always pushed me to do better. So, I have no concerns about this ship’s mission as it continues on the journey. Thanks to all of the Anchors for letting me belong, fail, and grow with you. It has been an honor.
Finally, I must say thanks to my best Recruiter. For years, I have called Anne my “best Recruiter” because she is incredible about understanding the Boom Factor. She may not always call it the ˜Boom Factor,” but she sure is an expert at finding, assessing, and promoting it! I have been lucky to watch Anne influence leaders and inspire all of us to stretch ourselves. I think of myself as a risk taker, but after working with Anne over the past 4.4 years, she truly takes big bets, and is always forecasting for the future. Anne is uniquely an original. It was exciting when she called me 5 years ago and invited me to join her team. I’m proud that she supported me and as I helped shepherd this team too where we are today.
The next play is going to be running my own recruiting organization. I can only hope my new team embodies the sense of trust and community you have all shown me over the years. I promise to take my learnings from working with you to enrich my new team as well.
With gratitude and much Love,
Stephen
