What Think Big means, or something to learn from Amazon

I recently learned about Amazon's approach to prioritizing new product launches. How do they do this in a huge company with over a million employees?

They use the Think Big method. Think Big means to abstract and look beyond what's ahead. To look at problems, to think about new ideas and methods, rather than relying on old traditional methods that no longer serve a purpose.

Every product manager has a different segment of users. Some have teenagers who play with their phones, some have sci-fi fans who read books on Kindle, etc. Producers carefully and constantly observe these people to understand the needs and requirements of these users. If a new product is launched, they observe the users of a similar product or competitor.

Then the hardest and easiest way. You have to mentally transport yourself and these users to a new imaginary ideal world. A world where there are pink ponies, where there is no disease or death, where everyone is happy, etc. We need to figure out what is keeping us from being in that ideal world today? That's what Think Big means.

After this exercise, ideas emerge about what needs to be done and what is missing in order to achieve the goal. For example, delivering goods in 2 days instead of 2 weeks (Amazon Prime) or creating a device that holds a million books (Kindle).

Then someone who has a clear vision of a new bright future drafts a one page document. The essence of this approach is that such a document is created by the whole company, and once a year they hold an internal marathon, where only 10% of the strongest ideas are selected.

Then sellers and stakeholders choose projects and products to implement. However, the main criterion is how the life of the users improves, how much everyone wanted to get there, how much this picture caught on.Not money, not budget, not deadlines, but just this "new perfect picture". Then only come the more usual criteria, such as "return on investment," "feasibility," etc.

By looking at Amazon, we can learn lessons and apply them to our own work. Their Think Big approach demonstrates that only through great ambition, innovation, and can we achieve impressive results in modern business.