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# Working Backwards: What Amazon Got Right

- [Made in Slatesource](https://slatesource.com/u/kairenner/working-backwards-what-amazon-got-right-1142)
- By [KaiRenner](https://slatesource.com/u/KaiRenner)
- Business & Finance
- Created on Apr 26, 2026

## The Amazon Operating Manual I Did Not Expect to Use

Working Backwards is written by two former Amazon executives who describe the internal culture as clearly as any management book has managed to. The press release backwards method sounded gimmicky to me until I actually tried it on a project I had been struggling to frame. Writing the imaginary customer review first completely changed what I thought the product was supposed to be.

NOW

Using the working backwards method on my current project brief

Updated Apr 2026

> Start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.

journey·4 Sections

# Reading Working Backwards

Usefulness

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Section

"Best writing exercise in any business book

Amazon Methods I Have Actually Tried

50%

Writing the press release before any design work starts on a new feature

Defining what success looks like for the customer before defining the product

Running a structured narrative review instead of slides for a team meeting

Defining the single most important metric before launching a new project

# Which Amazon leadership principle do you find most useful in your own work?

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