Amazon: How I quickly rose to VP (Ethan Evans)

From 0 to VP: How I got promoted to VP at AmazonEthan Evans is a writer, career coach, course instructor, and retired VP at Amazon. During his 15 years at Amazon, he helped invent Prime Video, Amazon Video, the Amazon Appstore, Prime Gaming (formerly Twitch Prime), and Twitch Commerce. Ethan holds 70+ patents. Has reviewed 10,000+ resumes, conducted 2,500+ interviews, and made 1,000+ hires.In this episode, we discuss everything on:* Formula on growing and promotion in your career* Strategies on how to become a good manager* Why are bad managers good for you?* How do you hire for ownership?* Lessons from working with Jeff Bezos* How to build trust with your team and managers?* The Magic Loop (Career Playbook)* Mistakes new managers make* Why do some people’s careers stagnate?* Transitioning into managementSome key takeaways:* Follow the (secret) Magic Loop to speed up your career growth: do your current job well, ask your boss how you can help, do what they ask, suggest ways to help that align with your goals, and repeat.* Bouncing back from failure is simpler than you imagine. Acknowledge the error, gain knowledge from it, and put in continuous effort to rebuild trust. Despite an unsuccessful product launch at Amazon, Ethan earned back Jeff Bezos's confidence and was given a promotion.* Going from IC to Manger is a new career—10x in influence. Transitioning from individual contributor to manager requires a new skill set, and it's essential to recognize that you're changing careers. Being the best engineer or designer doesn't guarantee an executive role; the ability to influence other executives is crucial.Watch this interview today:Where to find Ethan Evans:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp* YouTube: Ethan Evan’s video* Website: https://www.ethanevans.comWhere to find Felix Lee:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felixleezd/* X: https://x.com/felixleezd* ADPList’s Newsletter: https://adplist.substack.orgIn this episode, we cover:0:00 - Introduction2:00 - Who is Ethan Evans?5:33 - Lessons from 80s, 90s8:48 - Who are Executives?10:37 - Executive vs Management14:34 - Mistakes managers make18:14 - How to transition into management?23:33 - Value of "bad" managers31:31 - The Magic Loop38:20 - Dark side of Magic Loop44:15 - Career stagnation48:30 - Failing Jeff Bezos55:04 - How to rebuild/build trust?57:10 - Hiring for ownership1:08:40 - Interview with Elon Musk1:14:36 - Handshake policy (no lawyers)1:21:00 - No return for offices1:26:25 - ResourcesResources:* Don Norman: 21st Century Design, Controversy, AI, Hard Problems, and Legacy. Watch on YouTube.* Guy Kawasaki: Lessons from Steve Jobs & Mindset to Achieve Greater Things. Watch on YouTube.* Julie Zhuo: Early Facebook Days, Leaving Meta & Building Data-Informed Products. Watch on YouTube.* Chris Do: Reveals Truth on Good Design, Money, Psychedelic, Storytelling and Legacy. Watch on YouTube.* Jakob Nielsen (Special Keynote): 10 Foundational UX Insights. Watch on YouTube.* Kunal Shah: How to Make Career Luck, Secret to Happiness. Watch on YouTube.Recommended Reads For You:* Design Career Ladder Cheatsheet (NEW)* How I got 50 job offers with zero experience* This is the 1 skill designers will need* What six years at FAANG taught me about designer growth* A guide to becoming a senior product designerSponsor ADPList’s Newsletter: https://www.passionfroot.me/felix or the BeMore Festival 2024: https://bemore.adplist.org/sponsorsQuestion: Who else should I interview next on ADPList Growth Series?Thank you for being a part of ADPList’s Newsletter! I hope you found it valuable. Forward it to a friend if you did, or share it on socials to get others thinking.I'll keep creating great stuff if you watch, listen, or read. I read every reply if you care to reply :). You might get an answer back.Until next week.Felix Lee This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adplist.substack.com/subscribe

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