What Service Businesses Can Learn from Amazon’s 16 Leadership Principles
Amazon might be one of the biggest companies in the world, but it was built on a set of simple leadership principles.
The good news? You don’t need Amazon’s scale to apply them. Many of these principles translate directly to service businesses and can help you grow faster with more clarity.
What We’ll Cover
✔️ Amazon’s 16 leadership principles in plain English
✔️ How they connect to the 9 Levers of Growth
✔️ What service business founders can take away
✔️ Growth first recommendations
The Principles in Action
1. Customer Obsession
Amazon puts the customer at the centre of every decision. For service businesses, this links directly to the Customer Experience lever. Ask: Are we designing every touchpoint around what the client really values?
2. Ownership
Amazon leaders act like owners, not employees. For small businesses, this means taking full responsibility for outcomes, not just outputs.
3. Invent and Simplify
Innovation and simplicity are paired. Service founders can use this by stripping away complexity in their offers and processes.
4. Are Right, A Lot
Amazon leaders rely on strong judgement and seek diverse views. In smaller businesses, this means listening to clients, peers, and data before acting.
5. Learn and Be Curious
Continuous improvement is one of your growth levers. Curiosity drives better products, better offers, and better positioning.
6. Hire and Develop the Best
Even a small team needs this mindset. Invest in training and mentoring to raise the bar.
7. Insist on the Highest Standards
Clients notice when standards slip. Hold the line, even if it means saying no to shortcuts.
8. Think Big
Amazon thinks long term. For service businesses, this means looking beyond short projects to building sustainable growth systems.
9. Bias for Action
Speed matters. Use the Test It Theory: Name, Number, Guess, Try, Check. Make small moves quickly instead of waiting for perfect plans.
10. Frugality
Constraints breed creativity. Instead of cutting recklessly, use data signals to focus resources where they drive the most growth.
11. Earn Trust
Every interaction is a chance to build or break trust. Client Relationships is one of your strongest levers.
12. Dive Deep
Amazon leaders know the details. Service founders should dive into data, client feedback, and process flows to spot the real opportunities.
13. Have Backbone, Disagree and Commit
Healthy debate leads to better decisions. Once you choose a direction, commit fully.
14. Deliver Results
At the end of the day, growth is measured by results. Align your team and processes to deliver outcomes, not just activity.
15. Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer
For service businesses with even small teams, culture matters. Create an environment where people want to do their best work.
16. Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility
Amazon recognises its wider impact. For founders, this means considering how your business affects your community, clients, and industry.
Growth First Perspective
You don’t need to copy Amazon. But you can adapt their principles to fit your scale. The common thread is clarity, consistency, and obsession with clients.
Applied through the 9 Levers of Growth, these principles give structure to decisions and help you focus on the actions that matter most.
Our Recommendation
👉 Pick 3 principles that resonate with you and apply them in your business this quarter
👉 Align them to your 9 Levers to avoid random acts of improvement
👉 Share them with your team or clients to set clear expectations
What to Do Next
Principles turn ideas into action. They help you grow with consistency instead of chaos.
🚀 Want help creating your own set of principles?
Take the free Growth Scorecard and get insights into which levers you should focus on first.
