The Highlight from Lex Fridman's Interview with Jeff Bezos

Dec 18, 2023

Strategies and Techniques for Change Agents, Strategists, and Innovators

If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing. — Margaret Thatcher

I’m giving you an AMAZING gift for the holidays. Since time is money, wrapped in this short newsletter, is thousands of dollars — it depends upon your hourly billing rate.

You are welcome!

You might have heard that Lex Fridman had a 2:20 hour interview with Jeff Bezos. Nice score by Lex!

It’s Not “Disagree, and Compromise”

Amazon’s leadership principle “Disagree, and Commit” is one of the most important. When I’m asked “which principles I think are the most important in creating a culture of customer centricity, operational excellence and innovation,” this is one of the three I always include.

The principle reads:

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.1

I was interviewed in 2020 BBC interview titled “Inside the brain of Jeff Bezos.” Regarding this principle, I explained that

This notion of having healthy debate then making a decision and committing to it is key. That’s the opposite of what happens in most organizations. Most organizations don’t actively debate; they hold back what their real position is, they don’t lead with customer obsession and data, they don’t respect the decision-maker, and when a decision is made, they are typically passively-aggressive if they didn’t agree to the decision. They don’t wholeheartedly buy into making the decision successful.2 — John Rossman

Having vigorous debates is key to improvement and innovating. When the debate is paired with a memo outlining the situation or proposal, the debate is focused and it becomes the best and most agile type of experimentation. This is actual collaboration.

In this interview, Bezos expands in a way I hadn’t considered.

Beware the Compromise

When working out differences in opinion or perspective, and in the spirit of collaboration, “compromise” is the go-to-move. Compromise is essential for effective collaboration. It involves each party making concessions to meet halfway, blending differing views into a workable solution. It's not about winning, but about understanding and valuing different perspectives. This approach fosters mutual respect and practical outcomes, essential in both professional and personal realms.

Everyone wins!

Except the customer.

Except the best idea.

Except the critical insight.

Except the uncomfortable truth.

I have been accused of “being stubborn” or “inflexible”. It’s not fair! It’s not because I don’t compromise. It’s because I push when there is vague and lazy thinking. When there is a “right” answer to be unearthed. Here’s how Bezos discussed the hazards of compromise:

There’s so many ways that dispute resolution is a really interesting thing on teams. And there are so many ways when two people disagree about something, even … I’m assuming the case for everybody is well-intentioned. They just have a very different opinion about what the right decision is. And in our society and inside companies, we have a bunch of mechanisms that we use to resolve these kinds of disputes. A lot of them are, I think, really bad. So an example of a really bad way of coming to agreement is compromise. — Jeff Bezos.

At ~1:05 in the Lex Friedman, Jeff Bezos interview

Bezos goes on to point out that many situations have an actual answer, but instead of doing the work, the hard thing and working to get to the answer, compromise is used. Compromise is easy; it’s comfortable; it spreads accountability. Comprise seems like the right technique, but often it is just the easy technique.

This is not leadership.

Don’t get me wrong — compromise in the right circumstances is a critical approach to making progress. These are typically situations when there is no “right answer”, just a difference in opinion, priority or taste. Negotiations, conflict resolution, matters of opinion, what’s for dinner — all great for compromise.

In situations where a correct answer exists but agreement is elusive, it's crucial for high-performance teams to avoid resorting to easy conclusions like compromise, deferring to seniority, or succumbing to the loudest opinion.

Do these things instead:

Source the data: agree to next steps to actually go get the data.
Design an experiment: what simple experiment could be designed to prove the point.
Interview customers or other experts: conduct interviews or surveys.
Flip a coin: just joking!

Everyone talks about creating high-performing teams and cultures. This is a key awareness and set of techniques to progress in taking your’s from good to great.

Another Holiday Gift

Ho, ho, ho.

In addition to a key leadership insight while saving you a couple of hours of your time, there is one more present under the tree.

I have a limited number of pre-release copies of Big Bet Leadership: Your Transformation Playbook for Winning in the Hyper-Digital Era. Our publisher, Rodin Books, created a beautiful book.

If you’d like a signed copy of Big Bet Leadership before you can buy one (releases 2/27/24), send me an idea, a connection, an invitation to put the book to work.

Examples ideas could include:

A connection to a key business influencer or senior executive who would enjoy the book (I’ll send a copy to both of you)
An invitation to conduct a “book club” with your executive team. I’ve done dozens of these with my other books and they are impactful conversations.
Any other actionable idea.

Read more about Big Bet Leadership HERE.

I wish everyone a great holiday. We are so lucky. I appreciate your willingness to read, learn, & engage. Focus on customers & innovating to solve hard business problems, and you’ll have a great 2024.

The Digital Leader Newsletter -- By John Rossman

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