These principles and the associated questions are designed to investigate your professional background and your ability to handle workplace situations. At Levels.fyi, we know how these may be difficult to improvise on the spot, so it is wise to prepare for them ahead of time. Read on for some of Amazon Leadership Principles questions, sample answers to them, and interview tips.
Invent and Simplify: Amazon Leadership Principle Explained
What does “invent and simplify” mean exactly?
The “invent” part of this leadership principle is that Amazon frequently does new things, whether “new” means new scale, new products, new platforms, or something else new.
The “simplify” part of this leadership principle is the idea that everyone, no matter what type of job they have, has the opportunity to simplify something, usually a process. Making something simpler is desirable because simpler usually equals greater efficiency, i.e., quicker or cheaper, and what company wouldn’t like that?
My clients sometimes worry that, if they’re not inventing new products or new technologies as part of their job, they won’t be able to answer questions about the Invent and Simplify principle. But that’s not true. You definitely don’t have to be “inventing” things to do well on this principle. Anyone in any type of role can have an impact on a process.
So besides wanting to know if you’ve invented or simplified, what is your interviewer looking for when she asks you to speak to this principle?
Amazon wants people who are curious and well informed and can be creative in thinking of solutions. They want people who can easily generate multiple ideas for problem solving. They want people who know how to find answers by looking into how other departments or other industries do things. Above all, they want people who will try to improve things, not just accept the status quo blindly.
