Part of Entrepreneur biographies · All guides
Working Backwards summary
Working Backwards
- Bryar and Carr each worked at Amazon for about 12 years.
- Amazon uses six page narrative memos in meetings over slides.
- New products start with a mock press release and FAQ.
- Single-threaded leaders own one project without distractions.
- Amazon hires with bar raisers who protect the hiring standard.
What does working backwards mean at Amazon?
It means starting with the customer. Before building, teams write a press release and FAQ for the finished product, as if it already launched. If the release isn't exciting or the FAQ shows big problems, they change the plan before spending money.
Actionable
- Write a one page press release for your next project before starting.
- Replace one slide deck with a short memo.
- Give one project an owner who works on nothing else.
- Add an outside interviewer to your next hire.
Lessons
- Start with the customer.
- Writing sharpens thinking.
- Clear owners move faster.
- Hiring standards protect culture.
Quick answer
Our summary of Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr (2021), in our own words.
What 125x is: 125x is a web app at 125x.app. You connect your YouTube subscriptions, and it gives you a feed of the latest videos from the channels you follow, each with a summary: a verdict, the 5 key takeaways, and the spoiler, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips. You read that and decide what's actually worth opening.
Open 125xWho wrote Working Backwards?
Colin Bryar was Jeff Bezos's technical adviser. Bill Carr led Amazon's digital media business.
The book was published in 2021 and covers Amazon's internal practices.
The story in 5 parts
- The leadership principles.
- Hiring and the bar raiser.
- Single-threaded leaders.
- Narratives and the PR/FAQ.
- Case studies: Kindle, Prime, AWS.
A closer look
The authors explain Amazon's leadership principles, like customer obsession and ownership. They show how the principles are used in hiring and reviews, so they are more than posters.
The bar raiser is a trained interviewer from outside the hiring team. They can veto a hire, making sure each new person raises the average.
A big section covers metrics. Amazon tracks inputs, like selection and delivery speed, more than outputs like revenue, because inputs are what teams can change.
The case studies show the methods in action. Kindle, Prime and AWS each started with a PR/FAQ and a team focused on one goal.
Business lessons from the book
- PR/FAQ: write the launch first.
- Six-pagers: narrative memos.
- Bar raiser: an outside hiring check.
- Input metrics: track what you control.
Who should read it
Founders, product managers and leaders building a management system.
Tips from readers, plus one of ours
- You don't need to read it front to back. investor Sajith Pai's notes suggests picking the chapters you need, or splitting them across a team and meeting afterward to decide what to apply.
- Know when it fits. The same notes say it's most useful for teams that already have a working product, since there's little on finding your first customers.
- Expect the first PR/FAQ to hurt. Commoncog says the hardest part is emotional, because writing the press release shows you how weak the idea is, and that's the point.
- You don't always need the full document. Per the same piece, Colin Bryar said some rounds can be just the press release or just the FAQ, depending on what you're trying to settle.
- Run the review the Amazon way. Bill Carr's own guide to PR/FAQ reviews says to start with about 20 minutes of silent reading, have the most junior person speak first and the most senior last, and never edit the document during the meeting.
- Our unusual tip: write the customer quote first. Before the rest of the press release, write the one or two sentences a real customer would say about the finished product. If you can't write a quote you'd believe, the idea isn't ready yet, and you've found that out in five minutes.
Watch them in their own words
Hear it from Jeff Bezos and the people around him in our interview summaries:
About this summary
We wrote this summary in our own words from the book and its public reviews. It follows the same layout as a 125x video summary: a verdict, 5 takeaways, the answer to the big question, and Actionable and Lessons tabs. More in entrepreneur biographies.
FAQ: questions people ask
What is Working Backwards about?
How Amazon's management practices work, from memos to hiring.
What is a PR/FAQ?
A mock press release and FAQ written before building a product.
Is Working Backwards worth reading?
Good value given. Very practical.
What is a PR/FAQ?
A one-page mock press release for a product that doesn't exist yet, plus a list of questions customers and the team would ask, with answers. Most never get approved, which the authors see as the point.
Does working backwards work for small companies?
People who adapted it for small teams say it can, with a shorter document and a simpler question in place of market size, like whether the idea is worth the time.
Related guides
- Entrepreneur Biography Summaries: Founder Lessons
- Billionaire and Founder Interview Summaries
- Productivity and Self-Improvement Book Summaries
- How to Remember What You Read: Tips That Stick
- Turn Book Takeaways Into Action Before You Forget
- Every 125x guide
125x is a web app at 125x.app that turns your YouTube subscriptions into a feed with a summary on every video, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips, so you can see what's worth opening before you spend the time.
125x is made by Blake Labs Inc. 125x is not made by YouTube or Google.