Ever heard about Amazon’s quirky two-pizza team rule? Yep, it’s real, and it’s all thanks to Jeff Bezos – but not for the reason you might think!
It’s not about budget cuts or Bezos being stingy. Instead, it’s a clever strategy crafted by Bezos himself to drive team efficiency. Curious yet?
One might wonder, does the rule consider the type of pizza, the toppings, or even how big each pizza is? And what about the slices – is there a limit?
Sure, those details might trigger some serious office debates, but while the specifics of the pizzas themselves remain a mystery, what’s clear is that this approach is often touted as one of Bezos’s secret ingredients to success.
The idea is pretty straightforward: each team should be small enough that two pizzas are sufficient to feed them all. The aim? To boost team efficiency and effectiveness.
This concept is especially popular in the corridors of Amazon Web Services. Smaller teams, the theory goes, are more agile, can maintain focus better, understand their daily roles more clearly, and waste less time because they’re constantly in sync with each other.
Amazon’s own Web Services site explains that smaller teams not only foster increased productivity but also encourage each member to depend more on their own skills to excel at their tasks daily.
But really, how many people can dine comfortably on two pizzas? The answer: no more than ten, according to Amazon’s standards.
If a team grows bigger than that, Amazon doesn’t just order more pizzas; they spin off a new two-pizza team with a fresh focus to keep everyone sharp.
The ultimate goal? To keep teams closely connected with customers, understanding their needs and refining Amazon’s services to better meet those demands.
While Bezos’s two-pizza rule might sound pretty straightforward, it does leave us wondering about a few things. What if one team member could demolish a whole pizza on their own after skipping breakfast?
Despite these playful ponderings, it seems there was indeed some serious thought behind the seeming madness of the two-pizza rule.