Favorite Principles From Jeff Bezos [1]

“I disagree and commit.”

I heard a story about Bezos receiving a proposal for a new film for Amazon Prime that just didn’t make sense for him.

It was too complex, overly ambitious, wouldn’t fit in Prime’s repertoire. It was an overreach.

After much discussion, and realizing both parts could argue forever about why it was a good idea or not, he said his famous phrase:

“Okay, I disagree and commit.”

At the end of the day, movies are not his expertise, and sometimes, agreeing to collaborate even when one’s opinion is different is the wisest choice—especially when it’s a “two-way-door” (reversible) decision.

For me it’s not only about the wisdom in this approach, but also about how beautifully put it is.

It is not 

“I disagree… but I commit”

It’s

“I disagree AND commit”

Language matters, and that sentence, just as it is, implies real commitment without hesitation. Without secretly thinking “I agree but I hope it fails so I can say ‘I told you so.’”

It’s more like “even though I disagree, I will give my best for this idea as if it was mine. We’re in a team, working together here, so if we make a decision, we go 100% for it. This is now OUR decision, even if we later need to recalibrate.”

Such a powerful idea.

Not only in a working environment, but in everyday life.

Collaboration improves considerably when one of the parts is willing to bend its will, even if only temporarily.

I’ve even used this approach and then have the other person say “okay, you were right, let’s go the other way.” The same has happened to me when the other person is willing to commit to my idea and I then realize it wasn’t as good as I thought. 

We humans are proud animals. In many cases, we only want to feel heard and understood before accepting we’re wrong.

“I disagree and commit.”

I love that concept.