Mansi Tripathi

I've been at Amazon a long time. When I talk about my career with Amazon, the most frequent questions people ask me are: What kept me with Amazon for so many years? When I left after nearly 14 years, what drew me away? What brought me back 2 years later? The genuine answer to each, as trite as it sounds, is the same: it's the people The people who took a chance on me. The people that, when I struggled, helped me lean on my strengths and shore up my weaknesses. The people who saw potential and invested in me. The people who modeled the value of building relationships, not just building code. The people who challenged me, made me think differently, and helped me grow. As I've grown in my career it's also those people in whom I can see potential and invest, where I might take a chance to give them an opportunity, for whom my experience could be of some value as they grow, and with whom I can continue building lasting relationships. I've been with Amazon's Global Talent Management and Compensation for about a year and a half, where our mission is to help Amazonians build rewarding careers. In that time, I've met with hundreds of people in our org and every single one of them has been driven by our mission and passionate about how we can meaningfully improve the lives of every Amazon employee. I've learned so much about how challenging, rewarding, and important taking a culture-first approach can be. This post isn't a claim that Amazon is objectively unique, I know there are amazing people in every company, though it has been my personal experience that Amazon's intentionally peculiar culture is one that encourages these kinds of behavior in people. Rather, my point is this: To deliver sustained business and customer value, your organization cannot be a feature factory. It needs to be an organizational engine that continuously inspects and adjusts its culture to grow people and relationships, according to your values, and through which you deliver for your customers. #people #relationships #culture #amazon

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I recently had the incredible opportunity to shadow our CEO, Naveen Tewari, for a day alongside four other colleagues.  As someone who’s primarily focused on product management, I was excited to step into the world of leadership at the highest level—to see how big decisions are made, how priorities are juggled, and how life is balanced when every moment counts.    The day gave me all that and so much more! It was an action-packed day with new learnings in every interaction. But here are my top takeaways from the day:   1. Balancing Life - I witnessed how someone at a global CEO level maintains mental and physical balance amidst countless priorities. This balance is the foundation of how you operate every day and takes a large amount of discipline.  2. Making Tough Decisions - I learned that even when faced with the fear of the unknown, it’s possible to make difficult decisions and manage their consequences effectively.  3. Zooming In and Out - I observed how to strategically shift focus throughout the day, guiding various teams with just the right level of involvement.  4. Being Trustworthy - Above all, I saw the importance of being a good person—someone people can trust and rely on, at the end of the day.    My #ShadowNT experience reiterated that the journey to such a role, and living it daily, is anything but easy. But it has left me inspired, hopeful, and with a lot to reflect on as I work to build a life that makes a difference in the world. I will carry these learnings for the rest of my career.  💫 Glance InMobi

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💡3 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 – 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 Anyone who's ever worked at Amazon can tell you that delivering results is one of the most important leadership principles! But, it goes beyond just meeting deadlines. In this video, I debunk 3 myths about delivering results at top tech companies and share some practical tips on how to truly deliver impactful results. 📌 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: - Why working more hours isn’t the answer. - The role teamwork plays in getting things done. - How embracing failure can actually boost your career. 🔥 Bonus: Understand why tech companies prefer incremental deliveries over big-bang projects. Watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gyqkjJGv 🎥 Watch the entire video series on Corporate Career Insights for more such observations and practical tips on navigating your tech careers: https://lnkd.in/g2KizS7W #ITCareers #DeliverResults #WorkSmart #TechIndustry #CareerGrowth #ProductivityHacks #Teamwork #PersonalDevelopment

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✅ Closing an amazing chapter at Amazon The last 4 years at Amazon have been a whirlwind of innovation, global collaboration and excitement. My focus has been on how we can use AI to help customers shop better, across GenAI, Voice and Touch experiences in the Amazon app. It was a privilege to make history by launching Alexa into the Amazon app, and be part of the team that launched the conversational AI Amazon Rufus to US customers. This wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible global talent that our team has. Special thanks goes out to my wonderful manager Vishnu Vijay, who created our amazing London team. I’m going to miss our talented global team, who are too many to mention, but some people who made a big impact over the years include Brandon Knapp, Matilde N., Estelle Yuen, Lisa Brown S., Athena Towsley, Cedonia Peterson, Tom Haines, Thomas Pregenzer, Craig Holloway PhD, Corliss Y. Collier, Chris Morrow, Tiago Wright, Mark E. and Simon Walsh. I’ve deliberately kept myself open to find the next adventure. In the meantime: 1. I’d love to have exploratory conversations over coffees, to discover what’s out there! 2. I’m free to consult if my expertise is needed. I can help you: - Understand how AI might be used to improve your products and grow your business - Set product strategy to expand your business and products - Create a culture of innovation and experimentation - Explain how to get your idea to market, and how the full product lifecycle works (including how to make your idea an actual tech product) - Help you set up processes for listening to customers - Help you expand your product or team internationally - Help you understand who’s the right team to hire to build your product (including what not to do) Let's get coffee! #Amazon #ProductManagement #GenAI #ProductLeader #LLMs #AmazonAlexa #AmazonRufus

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Reminder: I'm doing a webinar today at 5pm PST on creating and succeeding in high-performance teams. I'll share the tips and tricks I've learned to make my team in the top-25th percentile of all Amazon teams across key dimensions like Manager Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction, Team Culture, and others, as measured by our internal polling, while still delivering large-scale projects within 5% of target dates and driving key value for the IMDb organization. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ezEQiwsJ #TeamCulture #Career #Leadership

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Disclaimer - This post is not meant to justify or criticize Amazon's 5 day return to office policy. I am just sharing how this policy affected my decision making. As I come to terms with giving up a house deal I had nearly finalized, I’m experiencing a mix of emotions. The decision was not easy, but it has ultimately led me to reflect on my priorities and the future I envision for myself. The house was a perfect fit in many ways—great location, ample space, and the promise of a cozy home. However, with Amazon’s 5 day return to office policy looming, I realized that my current lifestyle and work dynamics would need to adapt. The thought of commuting 2+ hours daily and adjusting to a more rigid work schedule made me reconsider my choice. While it’s disappointing to let go of a deal I was excited about, I’m trying to view this as an opportunity rather than a setback. It gives me the chance to reassess what I truly want in a home, particularly in light of my work situation. Perhaps there’s a better option out there that aligns more closely with my new routine and professional commitments. This change also encourages me to explore different areas that might offer a more convenient work-life balance. I’m excited about the prospect of finding a place that not only meets my needs but also enhances my overall lifestyle. Ultimately, while I’m sad to step away from this deal, I’m hopeful about what lies ahead. This is a moment to realign my goals and find a home that will support my journey as I navigate this new chapter in my career.

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Did you know there are no "roles" (SDE, SDET, TPM, …) when you get to L8 IC (Senior Principal) at Amazon? It’s one of Amazon’s peculiarities. [Side note: in general, Amazon SDEs tend to be "jack of all trades" where we pragmatically do whatever is necessary to make our organization successful at that given moment (within reason). In fact, I believe being well-rounded and able and willing to wear a number of hats is one of the things that makes me valuable to an employer. We don’t over-index on "that’s not part of my role doc." Other companies where I worked (eg Google) have very clear swimming lanes and people stick to them pretty religiously, eg. "oh no I don’t talk to customers, I’m an SDE and talking to customers is for TPMs." Whereas at Amazon I never once had a manager tell me, "what you did (although impactful, important and necessary) was not really your job." ] My little side note about this critical piece of amazon culture explains why as you get to L8 the concept of a "role" no longer really makes sense. The boundaries between roles get fuzzier and fuzzier as you go from Senior Engineer (L6) to Principal Engineer (L7), and they become unimportant when you get to L8. We’re all just “Senior Principals” - whether you came via the SDE path, the TPM path, or in my snowflake case, the SDET path. In fact I think most L8s are snowflakes in that their path to L8 was unique and the value they bring to the company is also unique. In phonetool (our amazon directory) you can have whatever unofficial title you want (also within reason...), so I chose to keep the "SDET" title to reflect my background and passion for testing, engineering and operational excellence, and developer tools. I also hope that by keeping the title, others in my (old?) role can see that SDETs at Amazon do not have a "ceiling" in their career. And lastly, it's a fun conversational piece ("you're an L8 SDET???") (The image here is "Peccy" - a beloved little icon that has represented Amazon's Peculiar Ways for years) [Edit: Strictly speaking there are a few L8 IC roles that do have a different job code, like PMT or Scientist - but I think we generally view all L8 ICs in the same lens]

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What’s your builder story? In my role volunteering as the community lead for Shreyas Doshi’s Product Club, I get the amazing opportunity to ask some of the world’s best PMs this question on a weekly basis. A couple of weeks back I got to host a community event with Suhel Parekh (Principal PM at Microsoft), where we explored his amazing ~decade at Microsoft building workplace search and chat products for enterprises. Suhel’s been with this product portfolio from its first enterprise user all the way to millions of MAUs today. His journey is full of deep and actionable learnings. The full event recording is for Product Club members only (we keep it closed so folks can be more candid), but here are my top takeaways: (1) For an enterprise product, partnering with sales and helping them succeed is everything! Suhel built unusually deep relationships with sales and customer success teams over the years, and they in-turn went above and beyond to bat for his product - often doing more than they were being 'officially' incentivized to do. (2) What helped the workplace search product gather traction initially and take off was a demo in an industry conference for CIOs. Old-school channels like trade shows and conferences are not often top-of-mind. But guess what? CXOs go to these as speakers/award winners all the time and come back with networking-generated action items for their teams. (3) Launching with a white gloved program that worked closely with customers initially and nurtured relationships over the years helped shape up a lot of Microsoft's enterprise success story for search and chat. Finally, a bonus takeaway: No surprises here, but AI in the workplace is here to stay! LinkedIn and Microsoft have some some great data showing that 75% of global knowledge workers already use it (even though half are still reluctant to admit they do!). Three-quarters of leaders are saying “they’d rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them”. Dig in here - https://lnkd.in/g_eTv76z Thank you Suhel for sharing your story with us! And more power to you ✨ If you’re interested in learning about the concept of a “builder story”, I highly recommend Nikhyl Singhal’s Skip podcast and newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gPismNpn Folks interested in Product Club, currently the only way to get in is by doing the Shreyas's PM career course: https://lnkd.in/gWns7rYh I did it last year and it’s truly been a game-changer for me. Hit me up with any questions! 

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How Will You Measure Your Life? Recently, I shared with my past and current colleagues, peers, and team members that I am leaving Amazon to embark on a new journey with another company. Today marks my last "Day 1" (not a typo). I've been overwhelmed by the outpouring of messages, emails, and calls from many of you, sharing how I may have positively impacted your careers and lives. It’s been deeply touching and fulfilling, as this has always aligned with my core values. The book "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton Christensen has resonated with me for years. If you haven’t had the chance to read it, I highly recommend the HBR article by the same name. In it, Christensen wrote: “I have a pretty clear idea of how my ideas have generated enormous revenue for companies that have used my research; I know I’ve had a substantial impact. But as I’ve confronted this disease, it’s been interesting to see how unimportant that impact is to me now. I’ve concluded that the metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched. I think that’s the way it will work for us all. Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people. This is my final recommendation: Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success.” As I reflect on this chapter, I feel grateful for the opportunity to have been part of your journey, even in a small way. Now, I can happily run: git commit -m"feat(career/life milestone): success" git push

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Some great tips for your next interview 👇 #amazoninterviewing #amazon #jobs #interviewtips

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“Don’t wait for your next job to do your best work.” Satya from Microsoft said this in an interview and it was the most profound thing I’ve heard in recent years—for me. What does it mean for me to do my best, what’s expected in my role, compared with my strengths. Whats my unique value add— There are a few things that seem undeniable as priorities: 🔑 (1) building trusted relationships based on proven execution, and 🔑 (2) your ability to influence in person AND in writing. Your best should be defined by more than just your domain knowledge. How do you deal with change, how do you build trust in a constantly changing organization, and how can you verify that. What do your peers say about you when you’re not in the room? What do you want them to say? For me, I’d like to get better at long-form writing. So you’ll probably see more of that from me. What does your best look like?

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Amazon-to-Google-to-Amazon #a2g2a thought of the day: The Intensity, oh, the Intensity!!! When I went from Amazon to Google, it felt like I had just gotten off the freeway and was driving on a side street. At the time, I couldn’t quite disentangle whether the slowdown was because this was June of 2020 and covid had turned the entire world upside down or because it was a deeper part of the DNA of the company. Now that I’m back at Amazon, I feel like I was indeed driving on a side street for a while and now I’m accelerating onto the freeway onramp once again. There’s most definitely a difference in intensity between the cultures. Intensity by itself is neither good nor bad, but it depends on the context. As covid shut down the world, I appreciated Google’s emphasis on their employees well-being. In 2020, googlers received a generous 14 weeks of additional time off, fully paid, to be used any way we needed given the extraordinary world circumstances. I had two boys that we were now suddenly homeschooling, so I very much appreciated the benefit. The other side of that is that at times I wanted to step on the gas and it was quite hard. You can’t single-handedly do that, you need people around you to be as excited as you are and to follow you on the journey. Working backwards from firm dates is a bit of a foreign concept to Google and it’s table stakes at Amazon. "Intensity" is NOT necessarily the same thing as "working long hours" (although it is often confused). I have a family and my time with them is very important to me. It's about what you do with the hours that you do spend at work. The last few weeks, the intensity has been healthy. I’ve felt more alive. It’s energizing. I see the freeway up ahead and the adrenaline is beginning to kick in again!

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For anyone looking to learn about Canvas and React, Aakansha Doshi is such a pro and this should be a valuable workshop!

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For all the folks who got laid off from their tech-company role and are still searching--my empathy and best wishes, first off! <shortdesc>There is a job for you out there. It doesn't always feel like it, and sometimes you have to make BIG CHANGES (salary, role level, or even industry), but there are jobs out there. When you feel the waves of despair lapping at your consciousness, hang on. I was fibrously depressed by it all in mid-Feb. By mid-March, I had prospects! </shortdesc> Some numbers from my search, followed by a few untested conclusions: * Years in the same role (at varying levels) {redacted, but it's a lot of years} * Days between layoff and new start date: 104 * Previous max days of unwilling unemployment: 14 * Applications submitted: 54 * Number of ghostings: 1 (hey, it's was TikTok, not surprising!) * Rejection of app with no meetings: 46 (This one really hurt, because in previous years, I almost always got at least a recruiter interview to any job I applied for. I applied very seldom, very selectively in the past.) * Rejection after recruiter meeting: 2 * Rejection after first interview: 2 * Cancelled while in progress after accepting an offer: 3 * Offers: 2 Some Untested Conclusions: * It didn't always matter if I worked there before or knew the product. * Knowing someone at the hiring company helped sometimes but not other times. * Having a lot of experience helped sometimes and hurt sometimes. * Writing a cover letter in my natural voice almost always helped me get at least a recruiter call. However, it cost me 45 minutes per application. * Tweaking my resume for specific companies (not *lying* but emphasizing different things) often helped. But it cost me at least 30 minutes per app. * The first job I applied for after being laid off in January 2024 received 1,110 applications for a tech writer role. Insane. * Sometimes, my authentic self was *NOT* what the company sought. But that's a good thing. It would suck to get hired into a company that didn't care for my authentic self. * Often, writing as my true self IN SHORT BURSTS in the cover letter helped me get at least a recruiter call. I agonized for a long time about whether to write "Put me in, Coach!" before I went ahead and did it. (That company didn't hire me, but they did talk to me.) * If a company called out "must haves" from "desired but not required," not having all the must-haves means I never got a recruiter's call. * It felt like ageism was at work in some companies, but not all, and never consciously, explicitly. * How soon you answer an ad matters if there's someone perfect for the role who beats you into the pipeline. * I picked the 100% remote company over the hybrid company. It was not the only reason, but it was definitely a factor. I'm lucky to have a start date for a great company where I will learn SO MUCH. The same can happen for you. Move past the "no thank you" messages: you just need one yes.

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Eight wonderful years!!! Still Day 1 @Amazon. :) It was hard to unlearn from the 10 year Journey of Oracle and learn to adopt Leadership Principles from Amazon. Tried hard to understand the new way of working, leading, managing teams. The LPs and the leaders in Amazon guided me to learn to handle dynamic priorities and escalations without burning out. Amazon gave opportunity 1) to lead Kindle Conversion team to create 98.64% of Beautiful Kindle Books, 2) Completely deprecate legacy non-scalable systems and introduce new systems to generate Selection Gaps between Amazon and online shopping competitors, 3) Quality of branded products (from Brand owners, manufacturers, reseller) have improved to save their time & emotions and buyers to see right products in variations. 

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Dear Intuit, Layoffs always suck but publicly labeling laid-off employees as underperformers is not a good move. Firstly, it reinforces the stigma that being laid off is synonymous with poor performance. While this may be true in some cases, it's often not the reason for large-scale layoffs. Highlighting this only strengthens that misconception. Secondly, bad performance doesn't necessarily mean it is the person's fault. We have all seen teams left in a dire situation after a reorg or change in company priorities. In reality layoffs often reflect company decisions, not employee capabilities. Additionally, personal challenges or ineffective management can impact anyone's work. Let's face it, we've all experienced periods where our performance wasn't our best. Not performing at a given time is not a sin and it shouldn't weigh on those employees forever. Thirdly, this labeling can have a significant negative impact on the mental well-being and job prospects of those laid off. The perception becomes, "They were let go because they weren't good enough." Let's support those affected and help them land awesome new gigs. Here to help any Intuit employee in any way I can #layofffs #layoffssupport https://lnkd.in/gX3TfqGe

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A simple soap cake that was packaged in paper packaging now is being packaged in hard plastic, that too just the foam part, not even the liquid part. And going by the looks, this is definitely going to last much shorter than the soap cake, so more frequent plastic generation. When will FMCG companies really think about the massive plastic problem they are creating in the name of selling innovative products ? It almost never seems like they are responsibly creating products that are environmentally friendly.

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Amazon-to-Google-to-Amazon #a2g2a: I've been posting my thoughts on boomeranging back to Amazon after working at Google as little LinkedIn posts here and there rather than a longer blog, because thoughts came to me sort of organically. But I've also been putting them together in my actual blog. Here's 4 little stories in Part 2 and 6 little stories in Part 1. #amazon #google

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