"Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly."
Amazon Leadership principles are for all employees at the company not managers.
"Leaders are right a lot" isn't indoctrination to trust your manager implicitly because they are right. It's "Be a leader. Have good judgement. Work to improve it. As a result be right a lot"
Backbone one is also misunderstood: "Don't succumb to do the easy thing. Push back when you know when it's the right thing to do even if it's harder. BUT if you are overruled, and the group decision goes against it, don't try to fight it and undermine the decision, commit to the path."
Perhaps the principle was updated since the article was written, but the actual (current) description says, "Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs." In other words, a leader can only be right a lot if they gather external data in order to undermine their preconceptions, but they do not get caught in analysis paralysis. I think that's a very well articulated principle, overall, regardless of how it manifests in the company culture.
These must be memorized for any manager at Amazon and are part of the interview process.
http://whartonmagazine.com/blogs/learn-from-amazons-leadersh...
Choice quotes.
"Leaders are right a lot."
"Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly."