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A CEO Focused on Superficiality, Not Transformation
In The News

A CEO Focused on Superficiality, Not Transformation

My continued diatribe against Andy Jassy

Brian Watkins's avatar
Brian Watkins
May 09, 2025
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A CEO Focused on Superficiality, Not Transformation
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If you’ve been reading my In The News posts, it won’t come as a shock that I am not a fan of Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon. As I’ve reflected, I realize I’m not so much against Jassy (although I do think he is going to be a below average CEO), as I am against the fact that the press treats his utterances like they are some great business wisdom.

Amazon pickup & returns building
Photo by Bryan Angelo on Unsplash

In a recent article by Business Insider, Jassy shared his vision for reducing bureaucracy and management layers within the company. His approach, which he describes as running Amazon like "the world's largest startup," aims to streamline operations and increase the ratio of individual contributors (ICs) to managers. In the end, I think it shows how mediocre he is and is a great example of the different types of Leaders that exist.

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