All organisations aspire for customer-centricity as a culture but Amazon embraces it in everything that they do from A to Z.

Recently finished reading "Working Backwards" - a book written by former Amazon executives Colin Bryar and Bill Carr that offers insights, stories and secrets from inside Amazon. One of the frameworks that I got quite intrigued by was Amazon's unique approach to product development and innovation, known as "working backwards."

At its core, "working backwards" involves starting with the customer and working backwards to create the product. Instead of beginning with an idea and hoping customers will like it, Amazon reverses the process:

1. They imagine the finished product from the customer's perspective
2. Draft an internal press release announcing the product
3. Rigorously scrutinize and refine the concept
4. Only then begin development

This approach ensures that every product or service is truly customer-centric from inception. Sure, Amazon has had product failures but this forces teams to clearly articulate the customer benefit before investing significant resources and thus, saving time and money.

What impresses me most about this method is how it aligns entire organizations around customer needs rather than internal goals or competitor actions. It's a powerful reminder that in business, starting with the end user in mind can lead to breakthrough innovations.

According to a research study, our brain makes upward of 35,000 decisions each day. That adds up to millions of decisions in our lifetime - some decisions are big and some small. Some will shape and change our future forever such as which college to go, or which job to take. While some will be insignificant like what to eat for lunch today or what to wear to the office.

There are only two things that will determine how our life turns out:

1. Luck
2. Quality of our decisions

Fortunately or unfortunately, we only have control over one of these two. Therefore, it is extremely important to have a high-quality decision process.

Recently I started reading "How to Decide" by Annie Duke, an American former professional poker player and I've been hooked from the first few pages. The book provides you with invaluable insights and frameworks to make thoughtful and strategic decisions that can set you apart personally and professionally. Whether it is navigating your career moves, business strategies, or personal choices, the book offers practical tools, like decision trees and backcasting, to systematically analyze options and potential outcomes.

If you are looking to improve your decision-making process, then do give this a read. 

The current controversial job quota bill in Karnataka and the rising hate for migrants in Bangalore remind me of this book that I read last year.

"We are all descended from migrants."

We humans have been a migratory species fundamentally. Most people move in search of work or economic opportunity, to join family, or to study. Others move out of necessity to escape conflict, persecution, etc.

Curiosity has been central to the human species and it continues to remain rightfully so with the global migration that happens to date. Overall, the estimated number of international migrants has increased over the past five decades. As per a UN migration report, a total of 281 million people live in a country other than their country of birth.

Migrants have been central to building and scaling economies across the globe. Be it the Silicon Valley of the USA or the Silicon Valley of India, migrants have played a crucial role in both. Tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook were all founded by first or second-generation immigrants. According to a report, migrants contributed roughly 10% percent to global GDP.

This book is a history of us all - after all, we have all descended from our migrant ancestors. And the book continues to be ever more relevant in the current geo-political scenario associated with migrants.