What Amazon’s CEO Just Taught Us About AI and Internal Culture
The Hook: A CEO’s AI Wake-Up Call
When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently wrote to his 1.5 million employees, he didn’t mince words. He told them, point-blank, that AI would become “at the center of every experience” at Amazon—and if you weren’t getting up to speed, you’d fall behind. He challenged teams to “go deeper,” to “build with urgency,” and most notably, to stop treating AI like an add-on.
As someone who's spent years helping founders and teams integrate AI, I had to nod.
Because while Jassy’s memo made headlines, the deeper message is the one every startup leader, ops manager, or team champion needs to hear:
AI isn’t a tool. It’s a culture shift.
And if you’re the one championing it in your org, you’ve got two choices: lead the rollout, or watch your team opt out quietly.
Let’s break this down.
The Problem: Most Teams Don’t Know What “Adopting AI” Really Means
Jassy’s memo lands hard because it exposes a truth most companies ignore: adopting AI is less about technology and more about team behavior.
Here’s what that looks like on the ground:
Operators build clever automations—then nobody uses them
Champions pitch AI sprints—but hit a wall when teams ask, “What’s in it for me?”
Founders buy licenses and throw tools at people—only to realize no one's logging in
Why? Because they skipped the one step Amazon just spotlighted: building internal fluency before expecting external performance.
The Solution: Build Like Amazon (Without the Headcount)
Here’s how you can apply Jassy’s AI leadership playbook—whether you run a 5-person team or a solo consultancy scaling up.
1. Treat AI as Infrastructure, Not Initiative
Amazon isn’t running “AI projects.” It’s embedding AI into everything—from operations to customer service to logistics. You can too.
If you’re a Resourceful Operator, start by mapping one end-to-end workflow. Ask:
Where are the repeatable tasks?
Where does context switching kill time?
What can be templatized, automated, or AI-assisted?
Tool It: Build a Notion + Zapier + ChatGPT flow to handle client onboarding or internal reporting.
Then? Book a AI Ops Workshop with us. We’ll blueprint the system with you—so you’re not doing this in a vacuum.
2. Lead with Fluency, Not Flash
Jassy didn’t hype GPTs. He reminded employees that understanding AI’s capabilities is non-negotiable. That means internal champions must train, not just push.
If you’re an AI Champion, shift from pitching tools to running internal demos. Literally show:
“How I saved 10 hours last week using this Airtable+AI combo”
“What changed in our metrics after deploying this automation”
Resource: Use our Plug-and-Play ROI Deck to make your AI wins digestible and repeatable inside your org.
3. Normalize the Build-Share Loop
At Amazon, teams share AI-powered features across divisions. The expectation? Learn fast, deploy faster.
Make this cultural.
Start a Slack channel or weekly huddle where everyone shows one AI tip they tried. Keep it scrappy.
“I used Claude to summarize this doc”
“I built a quick formula using ChatGPT”
“I tested an auto-email drafter—saved me 40 minutes”
Momentum scales when stories compound.
The CTA: You Don’t Need a Memo—You Need a Movement
Whether you lead five people or five hundred, the lesson is the same:
You don’t need more AI features. You need internal belief.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start scaling, here’s how we can help:
Book a In-person or Virtual Workshop: We'll map one core workflow into a working AI system. No fluff.
Grab the ROI Deck: If you're selling AI inside your org, this will make you look like the visionary you are.
Start Your Rollout: Our courses are built for skeptics. Get AI-literate in under an hour.
Your people are ready. They just need someone to go first.
Be that someone.
Let’s build it right.