Elevate with Robert Glazer Ethan Evans on Leadership Lessons from Amazon and How To Get Promoted
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Mar 24, 2026 
Ethan Evans, a former Amazon VP who scaled Prime Video, Twitch Commerce and Prime Gaming, now helps leaders get promoted. He discusses startup lessons, Amazon’s two-pizza teams and narrative memo culture. He covers executive presence, trade-offs in prioritization, invisible promotion standards, building trust quickly, and the value of glue work.
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Be Direct Without Being Abrasive
- Do be direct but never uncivil when delivering difficult messages; choose words that communicate seriousness without anger.
- Ethan practiced phrasing for promotion talks, e.g., asking how important his career is to Amazon rather than to his manager personally.
Amazon Ran On Small Teams And Written Narratives
- Amazon's core management patterns were two pizza teams, single-threaded owners, and a written narrative culture to deepen thinking.
- The six-page memo meeting required silent reading first so ideas were judged on substance, not persuasive PowerPoint.
Strong Opinions Weakly Held Wins At Amazon
- Bezos valued leaders with strong opinions, weakly held, willing to change when presented with new data.
- He often spoke last in meetings to avoid anchoring others and to encourage independent critique.