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  • Hello there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com,

  • and in this tutorial, I'm going to teach you how to pass an Amazon Leadership Principles

  • interview. If you have either a manager or leadership interview coming up with Amazon,

  • please make sure you watch this tutorial from beginning to end, because it will make a huge

  • difference to your preparation. Now, Amazon has 14 leadership principles, and during your

  • interview preparation, my advice is to learn them, understand them, and then also be able

  • to give examples of where you were previously demonstrated these important leadership principles

  • in prior situations. So this tutorial is going to make a huge difference to your preparation.

  • And this is how I will achieve that. I'm going to tell you what the Amazon leadership principles

  • are, and why they are so important to your interview preparation. I will then give you

  • sample Amazon leadership interview questions. I will give you suggested example answers

  • to those leadership interview questions. I will also give you three questions that I

  • recommend you ask at the end of your Amazon leadership interview, and I will also give

  • you further resources to help you be the standout candidate during your Amazon interview. There

  • are five really good reasons why you should watch this from beginning to end. Now, before

  • I get into the content. A very warm welcome to this Amazon Leadership Principles Training

  • tutorial. My name is Richard McMunn. That's me there in the center. I've been helping

  • people for over 20 years now to successfully pass their interviews and I always do that

  • by giving you top-scoring answers to the interview questions. Please do make sure you SUBSCRIBE

  • by clicking the red button below the video, and then you won't miss out on any of the

  • weekly training videos I'm uploading. And also make sure you turn on that notification

  • bell, so you don't miss out. Please also give the video a LIKE. (Thank you very much.) That

  • tells me you enjoy the content and I will therefore spend more time creating it for

  • you. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.com if you want to. My LinkedIn.com link is in

  • the description below the video. It's always good to connect with like-minded professionals

  • such as yourself. Okay, let's now get into the training tutorial. Please do take notes.

  • What are the 14 Amazon leadership principles and why are they so important? Now, before

  • I get into those interview questions and answers that are based around the principles, we need

  • to quickly look at what those 14 Amazon leadership principles are. I have created this blueprint

  • for you, that tells you what they are. But I've also put a little line underneath each

  • principle to explain what it means. And I will tell you at some stage where you can

  • download these slides to save you having to write down notes, if you don't want to. The

  • first one, and in no particular order is, CUSTOMER OBSESSION. Now, I have put this up

  • first because I believe one of the main reasons, if not the standalone reason why Amazon has

  • been so successful since it first started many years ago, is because it obsesses about

  • customers. It puts customers at the heart of everything it does. So the first leadership

  • principle is customer obsession. The number one most important person in Amazon is the

  • CUSTOMER. And that is why they've been so successful. Because Amazon focuses on the

  • customer in everything they do. So, in preparation for your interview, think about a time when

  • you've gone above and beyond what is required for a customer. Another Amazon leadership

  • principle is EARN TRUST. As a leader and a manager, you should treat people with respect.

  • You have to earn their trust, and once you do, they will achieve great things for you.

  • Another Amazon leadership principle is HIRE & DEVELOP THE BEST people. As a leader, you

  • will move forward and improve continually by hiring and developing the best people available.

  • Every time you hire someone for your team, think about how they can help Amazon grow

  • and move forward as an organization. And as a leader, you have to THINK BIG. You should

  • have huge ambitions and you should go out of your way for the customer in everything

  • you do. So, if you think historically about the kind of products and services Amazon has

  • brought to us as customers, they are fantastic. They have changed the way that we do things.

  • They have changed the way that we shop. They have totally radicalized the way that products

  • are delivered for customers. And that's only going to continue to improve. Well have

  • drone delivery, for example. You know, they implemented the E-reading device, the Kindle,

  • and changed the way that we read. So they are always thinking ahead and thinking big.

  • BIAS FOR ACTION. This is getting things done. I've been in business for about 15 years and

  • I believe one of the reasons why I’ve been successful, is because I always take action.

  • I get things done. As a leader, you need to demonstrate in previous situations where you

  • have managed to achieve great things. Talk about what you do during your day. You take

  • action continuously and you are prepared to learn. Another Amazon leadership principle

  • is that leaders ARE RIGHT, A LOT of the time. As a leader, you should have strong judgment

  • skills. You can look at situations and you can make the right decisions despite perhaps

  • being under pressure. Another great Amazon leadership principle is that you should always

  • INSIST ON THE HIGHEST STANDARDS at all times. This is about demonstrating you can work to

  • high standards always. You never cut corners. In your preparation for your Amazon leadership

  • interview, think about a time, or times, when you have insisted on the highest standards.

  • Perhaps it might have been an unpopular decision amongst a team, but you've said… “No,

  • we're going to do things the right way.” Another Amazon leadership principle is DIVE

  • DEEP. You look into things deeply and analyze data and information to get results. This

  • is one of my favorite Amazon leadership principlesOWNERSHIP. Are you somebody, you should be

  • as a leader, who takes ownership of situations and you are responsible and accountable? Have

  • you ever worked for a company where somebody in the team say this when something goes wrong?

  • That's not my fault. It's somebody else's fault.” That happens a lot in organizations,

  • but it doesn't happen in Amazon. People in Amazon, the leaders, will take ownership.

  • Yes, we will take ownership of that situation. Let's resolve it and get it sorted out.”

  • You need to be somebody who takes ownership. You should also be someone who is willing

  • to LEARN & BE CURIOUS. You have to improve, develop and ask questions to find out why

  • you are doing things. FRUGALITY. This is about achieving things with less. You don't have

  • to spend a lot of money to achieve great things. You always have one eye on the finances within

  • your department. You should also HAVE BACKBONE, DISAGREE & COMMIT. This is not about falling

  • out with people. It's about having the backbone to stand up and say… “I don't agree with

  • that. Let's try things a different way.” But then committing. Challenge decisions and

  • then commit. INVENT AND SIMPLIFY. You should be able to lead teams to innovate and invent.

  • They are always looking forward and coming up with great ideas and also DELIVER RESULTS.

  • Amazon leaders and managers deliver results, so you get things done properly to a high

  • standard. And in a timely manner. Those are the 14 Amazon leadership principles. That

  • is a brilliant blueprint that you can use during your preparation. I will tell you where

  • you can download that at some stage during this training tutorial. As I say, I'll tell

  • you where you can download that blueprint soon. But let's get into those sample interview

  • questions and example answers to Amazon's leadership principles. Here we go. Here's

  • the first one, which is my favorite: customer obsession. As I mentioned, Amazon has won

  • the online retail battle for one reason. It obsesses about its customers. It puts customers

  • first in everything it does. And that's why customers keep going back to them. Amazon

  • doesn't worry too much about its other competitors online, but instead, it focuses on the customer.

  • Because it knows if it does that, it will always WIN. Nobody has managed to challenge

  • Amazon. And the reason for that is because they always focus on the customer. So let's

  • take a look at a sample Amazon leadership interview question that is on the principle

  • of customer obsession. And the one I want you to prepare for is: Describe a time when

  • you went above and beyond what was expected to help a customer? Describe a time when you

  • went above and beyond what was expected to help a customer? When you are answering these

  • kinds of questions, my advice is to use the STAR technique. The star technique stands

  • for situation, task, action, result. And this will make sure that your answer is SPECIFIC

  • in nature. You're not telling them what you would do in this kind of situation. You are

  • telling them what you have done, and that is very important. You start off with your

  • answer and you describe the SITUATION you were in. You then move on and explain the

  • TASK that needs to be done. You then tell them the ACTION you took to achieve that task,

  • and you then finish off and reveal the RESULTS of your actions. Whenever you get asked an

  • Amazon principle leadership interview question, think about the STAR technique: situation,

  • task, action and result. For all of the sample answers that are going to follow for the remainder

  • of this tutorial, I use the STAR technique to help you. Here we go: Describe a time when

  • you went above and beyond what was expected to help a customer?

  • “I can remember a number of occasions when I would go above and beyond for a customer.

  • One particular time comes to mind when I was speaking to a customer on the telephone about

  • a product they had recently ordered from our website. The product had, unfortunately, become

  • damaged by the courier company, and they needed to return it for a replacement. However, there

  • was an additional issue in the fact the customer really needed to use the product the next

  • day, yet they were unable to, due to the damage that had been caused. I put myself in the

  • shoes of the customer and I could genuinely feel her frustration. I decided to take ownership

  • of the situation and resolve the problem as it genuinely was not her fault the issue had

  • occurred. I kept the customer on the line whilst I sourced a newguaranteed delivery

  • courier company who was able to pick up and deliver a new replacement product within 24

  • hours. After some quick searching, I managed to find a company, and whilst the customer

  • was still on the line, I facilitated the order. I then informed the customer that we would

  • have a new product with her in time for the following day, which she was absolutely thrilled

  • about. The following morning I called the customer back to make sure the product had

  • actually arrived in time, which it had done. The customer then went on to leave a glowing

  • review of our company and I am pleased to say she has been a regular customer ever since.”

  • Now, that is a great example of somebody going above and beyond what is expected. My advice,

  • in your answer to this question, is to give a situation when you really have gone above

  • and beyond. Think about what a company would do, and then try and improve on it. The majority

  • of companies would never do that. By giving the example, you are showing that you really

  • can go above and beyond. Let's now take a look at another Amazon leadership principle

  • interview question based on the principle of ownership. Ownership is where, as a leader,

  • you have to take ownership of situations. I mentioned before, have you ever worked with

  • somebody in a team? And they say, “Oh, that's not our fault. That's not my fault. Someone

  • else caused that problem.” Leaders who work for Amazon don't do that! Don't be a person

  • who says… “Well, it wasn't really my problem. Somebody else caused that issue.” Take ownership!

  • Let's sort it out, because we are all collectively working for Amazon. When you work for Amazon,

  • be responsible, take ownership and put the customer at the heart of everything you do.

  • Remember, you are working for a great organization where everybody is working to achieve that

  • same goal. Let's take a look at a sample answer for that question, which is: Tell me about

  • a time when you failed at work? This is a sample Amazon leadership principle interview

  • question that is focused on taking ownership. We all fail at work. Do not say during your

  • answer to this interview question: “I have never failed.” We all fail, but it's how

  • we deal with that situation. Tell me about a time when you failed at work? Here we go.

  • I don’t like to fail, but if I do, I always take ownership, put things right, and above

  • all, view it as an opportunity to learn, grow and develop. During a challenging and exciting

  • project at work in a previous role, I was part of a team of talented people who were

  • working on the creation of a new product for an important client. The task required us

  • to work together as a team and use our combined expertise and experience to create the product

  • for the client within very strict timescales and specifications. The project should have

  • been a breeze, simply because we had done this type of work together many times before.

  • We started out as usual with the project manager giving the team the usual brief. I can remember

  • thinking the brief was perhaps not clear enough for the specification required by the client,

  • but I chose not to say anything, which ended up being a huge mistake. Part-way through

  • the project, it became apparent we had missed a very important specification off the product,

  • which ended up putting us two weeks behind schedule. Although the client was forgiving

  • and he allowed us additional time to complete the project, we had failed to deliver on our

  • promises as a team. During the team debrief, I disclosed I had concerns during the initial

  • team briefing, but I chose not to say anything. I apologized for not doing so. As a team,

  • we learnt a lot from that experience, and moving forward the same mistake never happened

  • again.” What I love about that kind of answer, is that you are saying: “Yes, I have failed

  • before, but I am taking responsibility for it.” Now, some people would say in that

  • situation: “It’s the project managers fault. He or she didn't give a thorough brief.”

  • But you are saying: “No. I thought something was wrong, and I didn't say anything.” That

  • demonstrates you are an honest person. You take responsibility and you take ownership.

  • And then you look to move forward and you learn from the situation. That's a brilliant

  • answer. Let's now take a look at another Amazon leadership principle interview question, which

  • is deliver results. Don't forget, if you are enjoying this, please do SUBSCRIBE and also

  • hit the LIKE button. That tells me you enjoy the content and I I'll spend more time creating

  • it for you. Thank you. Delivering results. This is all about overcoming problems and

  • obstacles with vigor, resilience and determination. To work for Amazon, you need to be a results

  • driven leader who has the ability to overcome difficult challenges and problems. What kind

  • of question could we get asked? Describe a time when you overcame a difficult challenge

  • at work? This has to be a difficult challenge, one that you demonstrated determination and

  • resilience. Here is my suggested answer. “In my previous job, a long-standing client who

  • had brought in good business for a number of years, made contact with us to say he was

  • moving to a new service provider and that he no longer required our services. This was

  • bad news for the company, and I saw it as my responsibility to try and keep hold of

  • his business. Although this would be a difficult challenge, the impact of losing the customer

  • would be significant for our company from a financial perspective. I reached out to

  • the customer by telephone and asked him to meet me the next day over lunch. He agreed,

  • and in the time period between the telephone call and the meeting, I did my homework, looked

  • at how we could improve the service we currently provided for him, and also looked at the options

  • surrounding what he was paying for our services. At the meeting, I asked lots of questions

  • about how our service could be improved and what we could do to keep his business. It

  • quickly became apparent he no longer felt valued as a customer with our company. After

  • a couple of hours of discussions, I managed to keep hold of his business by offering a

  • new tailored service that would mean we provided a closer working relationship with him. When

  • I returned to the office, I immediately implemented a review of all clients to make sure we never

  • had the same situation again, where a client felt devalued.” That is an example of where

  • you have overcome a really difficult challenge. You have thought outside the box. You took

  • ownership of the situation, and you have also looked to improve. You've identified it’s

  • a problem, but you have resolved it moving forward. Now, most people would just leave

  • the client and say… “OK, thank you for your business. Good luck in the future.”

  • But with this situation, you've gone out your way to try and keep themThat’s a great

  • answer! Let's take a look at another one, another Amazon leadership principle interview

  • question. This is based around HAVE BACKBONE, DISAGREE & COMMIT. If you think something

  • is wrong, challenge it in a constructive and professional manner. It is ok to disagree,

  • but always make sure you fully commit to the decision made. I have a Managing Director

  • who works as part of my company, and he is constantly challenging me on decisions. I

  • love that, because we always then come up with the right decisions for the company.

  • When you disagree with people, always do it constructively and professionally and never

  • be childish. Never get confrontational. But do say: “I don't agree with that. And these

  • are the reasons why.” Look for the BENEFIT. Yes, give your opinion, but look for the BENEFIT

  • to the company in the decision that you are making. Let's have a look at a sample interview

  • question based around, HAVE BACKBONE DISAGREE & COMMIT, and that is: Tell me a time when

  • you had a disagreement with somebody at work? I'm not talking about a petty disagreement.

  • I'm talking about a disagreement here that looks to improve the company. Here's a great

  • answer to this interview question. “I was working in an office and a customer emailed

  • the team to complain about the errors that they had found in one of our company newsletters.

  • The newsletter was created periodically by another department within the organization

  • and it’s purpose was to generate new business for the company. I took a look at the newsletter

  • and I was shocked at the number of errors that were contained within it. I felt it was

  • my responsibility to raise the issue with the department responsible for the creation

  • of the newsletter, so we could explore ways in which it could be improved. It was my view

  • that the newsletter, in its current format, was letting the business down. I spoke to

  • the manager of the department and I was met with an immediate defensive attitude. I was

  • basically told to mind my own business and he disagreed with my suggestion the newsletter

  • should be improved. However, I persevered and I outlined the benefits of what a strong

  • newsletter could bring to our company. I also offered to proofread the newsletter before

  • it went out, as this would then enable me to suggest different ways in which we could

  • improve the newsletter and use it to leverage new business. After some perseverance and

  • tactful relationship building skills, the manager agreed for me to work with them to

  • improve the newsletter. Six months after I initially made contact, the newsletter was

  • seen as an integral part of the business and it was responsible for helping to promote

  • new products and also offer incentives and discounts for our loyal customer base.”

  • That is a great example of where someone has gone above and beyond to overcome a difficult

  • challenge at work. Now, of course, most people may say when they spoke to the manager and

  • they were met with that defensive attitude, they would go: “Okay, I would leave it.”

  • But this person has gone above and beyond. And I persevered, outlining the benefits of

  • what that strong newsletter can do to the company and also using tactful relationship

  • building skills, and then offering to help out by proofreading that newsletter. That's

  • a really good answer to that question! What questions should you ask in your Amazon leadership

  • interview? I'll come on to them in a second, so please do stick around. If you want to

  • download these slides, plus the Amazon blueprint, if you click the link in the top right hand

  • corner of the video, it will take you through to my website, PassMyInterview.com, where

  • you can download a copy of these slides and that blueprint to help you during your preparation.

  • What are those three questions? I recommend you ask these at the end of your Amazon interview

  • because they will say to you: “OK, the interview is over. Do you have any questions you would

  • like to ask us?” This is what I would ask. Q1. What are the plans for Amazon over next

  • five to 10 years and how could I help you in this role to achieve them? That question

  • demonstrates you are thinking ahead long term. You want to stay with Amazon for a long period

  • of time. Q2. Amazon is always bringing out new products and services, what are the next

  • great innovations Amazon is concentrating on right now? They might not disclose them

  • to you, but this is a great example of a question that is saying, you know, what products are

  • Amazon bringing out in the future because you are interested in them. Q3. What's the

  • first thing you would like me to concentrate on in this role? What's the first thing you

  • would like me to concentrate on in this role? Those are three really good questions you

  • can ask at the end of your Amazon interview! Don't forget, if you want to download these

  • slides, click that link in the top right hand corner. I hope you've enjoyed that tutorial.

  • I love teaching you guys. Don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn.com. Please give

  • the video a LIKE. Thank you very much. And don't forget to SUBSCRIBE. And if you have

  • any questions, put them in the comments section below the video. Thank you for watching. I

  • wish you all the best for passing your Amazon interview. Have a brilliant day.

Hello there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com,

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