Disagree and Commit

Disagree and Commit is the Amazon leadership pattern of respectfully challenging decisions before they are made, then fully supporting the chosen direction once the decision is resolved.

Key points

• Jassy frames challenge as an obligation, not just a permission, when someone believes a decision is wrong for customers or the business ^[src-015].
• The principle rejects social cohesion as the highest goal; productive disagreement is expected even when uncomfortable ^[src-015].
• Once a decision is determined, leaders are expected to commit wholeheartedly so the organisation can focus its energy in the same direction ^[src-015].
• The pattern depends on trust: challenge must be candid and respectful, and commitment must be real after the debate closes ^[src-015].
• In Carr’s framing, disagree-and-commit is one of the shareable Amazon operating practices that helps teams preserve debate before decisions while avoiding paralysis afterward ^[src-018].

Related entities

• Amazon — uses the principle to balance truth-seeking and aligned execution
• Andy Jassy — explains the principle in the source video
• Bill Carr — discusses it as part of Amazon’s operating model

Related concepts

• Amazon Leadership Principles
• Customer Obsession
• Working Backwards (Book)

Source references

• ^[src-015] Inside Amazon — “The Leadership Principles Explained by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy | Full Length Video” (2024-05-21)
• ^[src-018] Lenny’s Podcast — “Unpacking Amazon’s unique ways of working | Bill Carr (author of Working Backwards)” (2023-11-02)