Corrected like a child

It is interesting when people say that if you don't like working at Amazon, you can just leave. Is that really a good solution? Amazon spends a lot of money hiring "the best". I worked with some who really are the best but the culture did not let many of them survive, let alone succeed.

My colleague who recently relocated to Seattle with his wife and 5 kids actually banged his head on the desk many times as he was "corrected" like a child during meetings. This is despite having successfully managed teams of >50 in other companies. One time, he was asked to fly back at his own expense from a large annual family reunion for a presentation to org leadership and then no one senior showed up. The callous attitude really got to him when his child needed surgery and no one senior cared enough to ask him about it. That experience made his decision for him. Like most of us, he was getting calls from recruiters every day, so he quickly left. This was really sad - he was a brilliant employee who was prepared to put in any amount of hard work, but Amazon just isn't worth it.

Until the Amazon investors give up on our broken company and the stock crashes, Amazon will keep hiring people who are attracted to the rising stock price, despite the culture. All of the recent changes by HR (mostly published on geekwire if you search that news website) are a facade - nothing has really changed and it won't until they feel financial impacts.