Amazon has been, along with a few other giants like Apple and Google, synonymous with cloud activity for a long time now. Any undertaking that would also do cloud activity, such as online learning, would do well to keep informed on what Amazon does, and where they are going in the future. They strive to be an essential service online, in many ways, and are.

But how does Amazon do their thing, what is their approach to productivity and workplace collaboration, innovation and efficiency, and meeting their high standards of performance?

NYTimes posted a story today all about it. Fascinating to this observer, because they go their own way in pursuit of excellence using at least some of the methods of a cult, or a seemingly totalitarian workplace with plenty of opportunity for advancement for good party members.

Or should we see it as a positive “no whimps allowed” tough love discipline such as martial arts imposes, where if you can’t defend yourself, you’ll get decked by the sensei.

Come to think of it, Bezos kind of acts like the zen monk in the zendo, whacking those monks who give the slightest appearance of falling asleep. All for their own good, or is it for the good of Bezos and the shareholders?

Or both?

Is this a good approach, lacking as it does any reference to the “happiness” efficiency benefit, AFAIK?  Is it kind of like Athens vs Sparta, where Sparta created mindfulness in its own tough-ass way, while Athens was taking the mellow Socratic method approach?

[gview file=”https://publicservicesalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Inside-Amazon-Wrestling-Big-Ideas-in-a-Bruising-Workplace-The-New-York-Times.pdf”]