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Does Amazon (not AWS) have enough reserve mindset capacity?

Amazon is an impressive company that everyone knows well. Has talent management put them in a good position for change?

My article focuses on the traits and mindsets of leadership.

Very briefly, still stock labs has a capability of remotely measuring mindset. Mindset is how we define our purpose. Mindset is made up of a number of key things that you can measure through language psychology density.

The fast read is hiring changed dramatically in 2010. Another wave of change occurred sometime around 2013. From then on, the type of people they hire is on a trajectory. Is this a good thing? Well it depends. If the world doesn’t change, no such thing as supply chain, or inflation, people still like to buy the same products and it’s more or less operational excellence, then they’re in great shape.

Starting in 2010, until 2015 was a period of transition. Much less opportunistic hiring less disciplined hiring and a trajectory of expert level thinking. Don’t get me wrong, experts are great. They solve problems. But do they know what problems to solve? Not often they will get themselves out of difficult situations by themselves. That’s where the results driven mindset comes in and that’s what I have a problem with.

Amazon has chosen to hire much last results driven mindsets. Significantly less. While the company was an expansion mode they were acquiring or hiring results driven mindsets with high degrees of discipline an opportunistic thinking. Look after 2010. Everything changes on a digital dime.

Now we’re doubling the amount of expert thinking and cutting results. We’ve also cut back on opportunistic discipline as well. Is this a problem? Yes companies that over hire any type of mindset will form a weakness.

Now let’s get into a few more details.

2000 to 2009: We see the launch of AWS, acquisition of companies and expansion into Canada, France and Japan. These are drastic moves and a lot of attention and a lot of results driven mindset capacity needs to be in place. They did very well.

2010 until 2015 we see fulfillment centers which makes a lot of sense. It also makes sense to continue to hire certain levels of discipline mindsets. They did that. For a period of time they did not make drastic changes except for removing opportunistic thinkers and results thinkers.

We see the launch of Amazon Studios. I’m not sure where that has gone? Fulfillment centers speaks of expert and discipline. Continuing to hire for AWS implies disciplined expert thinking. In 2013 Amazon fresh is launched. Prime music is also launched during this time period.

After 2015 the company goes on a tear of hiring increasing amounts of expert thinking while holding steady on discipline opportunistic and results. I think this is a mistake. By focusing on expert mentality, you create gaps in all of the other mindsets. Expert thinking crowds out the room. There’s a number of issues that form when this happens. Experts continue to ensure that the company will grow and solve complicated problems. What is has open them up to is not experimenting like they did before 2010. It can be said that AWS is the future of the company and this analysis does not take into account what is going on there. From what I see, we’re not seeing the big experimentations and big problem solving from 2015 until 2021.

I would like to see the company hire more results driven mindsets and rebalance opportunistic thinking. You have enough expert thinking. You need to refocus. It’s less about technical challenges and more about solving business model challenges going forward. It’s a great company, it’ll do well for a very long time. I’d like to see it get some of its old capacities back.

Details below:

Amazon experienced significant growth during the 2000-2009 period, and as a result, the company held several major hiring events and talent-related initiatives to support this growth.

1. Expansion into new markets: Amazon expanded into new markets during this period, including Canada, France, and Japan, which required significant hiring efforts to support these new ventures.
2. Acquisition of other companies: Amazon acquired several companies during this period, such as Joyo.com, BookSurge, and Fabric.com, which resulted in hiring events to integrate new employees into the Amazon workforce.
3. Launch of new products and services: Amazon launched several new products and services during this period, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Kindle e-reader, which required talent acquisition efforts to support the development and expansion of these new offerings.
4. Campus recruiting events: Amazon participated in several campus recruiting events during this period to attract top talent from leading universities.
5. Employee referral programs: Amazon launched employee referral programs during this period to incentivize current employees to refer potential new hires.

2010 to 2012

Between 2010 and 2012, Amazon continued to experience growth and expansion, which resulted in several big hiring events and talent-related initiatives. Here are some notable examples:

1. Expansion of Fulfillment Centers: Amazon continued to expand its fulfillment center network during this period, which required significant hiring efforts to support the growing demand for fast and efficient delivery of Amazon products.
2. Launch of Amazon Studios: In 2010, Amazon launched Amazon Studios, which was aimed at developing original TV shows and movies. This initiative required talent acquisition efforts to build a team of experienced content creators and filmmakers.
3. Hiring for Cloud Computing Services: Amazon’s cloud computing service, Amazon Web Services (AWS), continued to experience rapid growth during this period, which required talent acquisition efforts to support the development and expansion of this service.
4. Continued Campus Recruiting: Amazon continued to participate in campus recruiting events during this period to attract top talent from leading universities.
5. Expansion into new markets: Amazon continued to expand into new markets during this period, such as Brazil and India, which required significant hiring efforts to support these new ventures.

2013 to 2014

Between 2013 and 2014, Amazon continued to experience significant growth, which led to several major hiring events and talent-related initiatives. Here are some notable examples:

1. Expansion of Fulfillment Center Network: Amazon continued to expand its network of fulfillment centers during this period, which required significant hiring efforts to support the growing demand for fast and efficient delivery of Amazon products.
2. Launch of AmazonFresh: In 2013, Amazon launched its grocery delivery service, AmazonFresh, which required talent acquisition efforts to build a team of experienced logistics and supply chain professionals to support this new offering.
3. Hiring for Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS continued to experience rapid growth during this period, which required significant talent acquisition efforts to support the development and expansion of this service.
4. Expansion into new markets: Amazon expanded into new markets during this period, such as China, which required significant hiring efforts to support these new ventures.
5. Launch of Amazon Prime Music: In 2014, Amazon launched its music streaming service, Amazon Prime Music, which required talent acquisition efforts to build a team of experienced music industry professionals.

2015 to 2021+

Between 2015 and 2021, Amazon experienced continued growth and expansion, which led to several major hiring events and talent-related initiatives. Here are some notable examples:

1. Expansion of Fulfillment Network and Hiring for Robotics and Automation: Amazon continued to expand its fulfillment network and invested in robotics and automation technology to improve efficiency and speed of order processing and delivery. This resulted in significant hiring events to support these efforts.
2. Launch of Amazon Go Stores and Amazon Books: In 2016, Amazon launched its first physical store, Amazon Books, and later launched Amazon Go stores, which required talent acquisition efforts to support the development and operation of these retail outlets.
3. Continued Hiring for Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS continued to experience rapid growth during this period, which required significant talent acquisition efforts to support the development and expansion of this service.
4. Launch of Amazon Prime Air: In 2016, Amazon announced its plan to develop a drone delivery system, which required talent acquisition efforts to build a team of experienced engineers and aviation professionals.
5. Expansion into Healthcare and Life Sciences: Amazon expanded its presence in healthcare and life sciences during this period, such as launching Amazon Pharmacy and acquiring PillPack. This resulted in significant hiring events to support these new ventures.
6. Continued Campus Recruiting and Employee Referral Programs: Amazon continued to participate in campus recruiting events and launched employee referral programs to attract top talent and incentivize current employees to refer potential new hires.