Jassy's Supportive Criticism

Emmett Shear shares a story about Andy Jassy's unique ability to deliver criticism while maintaining complete support for his team.

"Andy has this ability to criticize you in a way that conveys '100% I know that you're amazing, I know that your plan is good, I know that you're working really hard, I know that you're smart and have a great team, and we have a huge opportunity - and yet somehow your results are bullshit.'

He communicates 'I don't know what's wrong, but we're in this together and I have your back.' But he's also confused why the results aren't better given how amazing you are. You feel supported, you feel like he believes in you, but you're also sad and think 'I'm sorry I've failed even though I clearly can succeed at this, I'm going to go fix this now.'

When other people try this approach, it can come off as insincere or like they don't think you're competent. But with Andy, it's genuine. He really asks 'How did we wind up here? I know we're working together, we're on the same team - how did we wind up with not the results we wanted with a plan that I thought we both thought seemed good?' Because it's genuine, it's super effective."