It all started with a 1:1 checkup on one of my direct reports. The manager was a recent hire and came to Amazon with a lot of fresh ideas and perspectives. Even in this early phase of his development he remarked, “is there a way we could…” and with that a lightbulb moment was born.

In early June of 2022, that conversation dawned what would become Project Gondor. The idea was to create a persistent visual aid to bring alert for high backlogs and helped direct the workflow for our Associates during Sort Operations (in other words… too many boxes). It was an innovative solution that was a tangible tool for Safety and freed up leaders from computer screens. It empowered Associates, Managers, and everyone in the building to know where work was needed without having to look at a laptop. It was essentially, a lightbulb (albeit a smart one).

The concept and gains were an obvious win… only problem was Amazon did not believe in it. Similar pilots had been attempted with analog approach solutions (ie, physical push buttons), but the substantial ROI and analog nature of the solve created its own problems. Project Gondor on the other hand was a digital solution to this analog problem. The alert system was persistent and did not rely on human input. The official Amazon channels nonetheless shot down Project Gondor before we could get it off the ground.

We have a lot of Leadership Principles at Amazon. They provide a framework for everything from running a sound and successful business to how we execute on the vision of ideas. Respectfully challenging decisions is a healthy part of Amazon. Accepting that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time is not exclusive to the world outside Amazon though… the same holds true internally as well. Speed matters in business and Project Gondor’s Safety and Operational gains couldn’t wait for a big ship to turn.

Independent of “official channels” I directed the creation of Project Gondor from draft design to full in-flight solution for DKO1. This involved sourcing of freelance programmers, local stakeholder buy-in, hardware selection, and a lot of “figuring it out”. 30 Days after that 1:1, DKO1 had created a boutique tech solution that no one else in Amazon was leveraging. All in, this was executed at 95% lower cost than previously pilot drafted designs.

The results were astounding. 3 months post launch of Project Gondor (Q3 2022), DKO1 saw a 27.9% reduction on high backlog vs Q2 2022. Utilizing same period in comparison to Boston Region and North America, DKO1 outperformed Boston Region by 46% and North America by 60% in reduced high backlog. Gondor technology was utilized to actively monitor and empower Associate driven pro-active response to Sort Operations' backlog needs, thus mitigating accumulation of high backlog in unattended aisles. Outperformance was sustained throughout Peak 2022 in numerous other KPIs as well. DKO1 ended 2022 as the #1 Ranked Delivery Station for Boston Region.

Today I’m leaving San Diego after helping support my fellow Amazon leader, Keegan Bear, who was inspired to replicate Project Gondor at his site (DIB5) in Chula Vista, CA. Keegan was motivated and advocated passionately for this initiative. He attracted the attention of senior leaders from Nashville, Las Vegas, and Seattle that have now put into motion the expansion of Gondor tech into numerous stations along the West Coast. Over the next couple weeks/months myself, Keegan, and Jason Capalad from the PE Team will be assisting those sites installing Gondor tech and leveraging the strength of empowering our people to be safer, while also enabling our managers to focus on engagement, not laptop screens.

I am posting this to help our younger leaders understand that Amazon is an amazing company. It’s huge, it’s complex, and often times it’ll tell you no. Part of being a great leader though is following your conviction and being tenacious in the face of no’s. Amazon does not have exclusive privileges to Invent and Simplify… people do. It’s on us as leaders of Amazon to chart the path for our teams, our buildings, and our business. If we know something is right, act. For Amazon the future is bright because we have leaders like Roberto Collazo, the manager who 1st thought of this idea during that 1:1. We have Keegan Bear, who from across North America found something cool and chased it to completion. While some may fear the uncertainty of 2023, I encourage leaders to reflect on personal growth, networking, and looking for those next “lightbulb moments”.