About Podcast
This Episode is Sponsored By:
In a world that prizes sprint-speed growth, sustaining that momentum without breaking the machine is the rare skill most founders never learn. That’s the puzzle Tim Leslie cracked during twenty years inside Amazon where legal training turned into operational leadership and a relentless focus on building systems that scale. From running LoveFilm’s transition to Prime Video to leading its international expansion into 200+ countries, Tim turned Amazon’s principles into practical playbooks for durable growth.
In this episode, Tim walks us through the decisions, trade-offs, and leadership habits behind Amazon’s operational engine. He explains how lawyers can become builders, why humility and “day one” thinking matter as much as data, and how a minimum viable product plus disciplined localization helped Prime Video go global. Along the way he shares hiring rules, the power of leadership principles (customer obsession, continuous innovation, long-term thinking, operational excellence), and why automation and systematic fixes beat good intentions every time.
Key Takeaways:
- How to move from expert practitioner to business leader and lead through the uncomfortable early learning curve.
- Why operational excellence is a company-wide discipline, not just a process improvement toolkit.
- A repeatable playbook for launching products internationally: MVP first, then localize with content, payments, and language.
- Hiring and decision rituals (bar raisers, deep data writeups, PRFAQs) that preserve standards as you scale.
- How to pair relentless systems thinking with humility and people-first leadership so scale doesn’t cost your culture.
Join us for a conversation that blends inside stories from Amazon with hands-on, humane strategies for leaders who want to scale smarter not just faster.
- Align Vision to Metrics : Learn to convert vision into measurable goals and scorecard metrics for operational clarity.
- Run Quarterly Rocks : Learn to set and track 90-day rocks with weekly pulses to deliver outcomes.
- Establish Meeting Cadence : Learn to implement structured weekly and quarterly meetings that enforce accountability.
- Document & Standardize Processes : Learn to create concise playbooks and SOPs that reduce errors and scale operations.
- Develop Scalable Leadership : Learn to coach leaders, hire specialists, and align teams for sustained operational excellence.
Special Guest: Tim Leslie, Former 20-Year Amazon Executive; Co-Founder – Loving Roots; Consultant, Advisor, and Board Member
Location: Bellevue, WA USA
Air Date: Sept. 5, 2021
Websites:
- Beetcoin.org: “the world’s first non-crypto, non-currency supporting organic farmers and local food.”
- Amazon Prime Video International: watch and enjoy movies, tv shows, and documentaries from around the world.
- Prime Video Direct: Amazon’s self-publishing service for independent studios, distributors, and filmmakers that assist them in reaching audiences worldwide.
Books:
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There are No Easy Answers: by Ben Horowitz.
- 10 Years to Midnight: Four Urgent Global Crises and Their Strategic Solutions: by Blair H. Sheppard.
- Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom: by Bell Hooks.
- The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance: by Tim Gallwey.
- The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture: by Wendell Berry.
- James Baldwin: a curated list of books by and about James Baldwin.
- Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon: by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr.
- Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike: by Phil Knight.
Podcasts:
- Business Wars: FedEx vs. UPS: a highly engaging, seven-part episodic account of the battle between FedEx and UPS in the shipping industry and how Amazon rose to become a formidable contender.
Articles:
- 14 Amazon Leadership Principles and Why They Matter: an article by Colin Baker for Leaders.com.
- Writer, Producer & Host: Alicia Butler Pierre
- Podcast Editor: Olanrewaju Adeyemo
- Video Editor: Gladys Jimenez
- Transcription: Outsource Global
- Sponsors: HubSpot, ThinkSmart Whiteboard
More About Guest, Tim Leslie:
Tim Leslie is a former 20-year Amazon executive and CEO who has led start-ups to multi-billion dollar businesses. He has extensive experience building, launching, and operating new businesses and products globally. Tim is also an experienced public speaker, media interviewee, and fundraiser. He now provides consultancy services and serves as a board member and advisor to companies (from startups to Fortune 100) and investors on e-commerce, international expansion, strategy, strategic partnerships, product-tech, media & entertainment, marketing, and law. Tim holds a Doctor of Law degree from Yale Law School as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Beloit College.
More About Host, Alicia Butler Pierre:
Alicia Butler Pierre is the Founder & CEO of Equilibria, Inc. Her career in operations began over 20 years ago while working as an engineer in various chemical plants and oil refineries. She invented the Kasennu™ framework for business infrastructure and authored, Behind the Façade: How to Structure Company Operations for Sustainable Success. It is the world’s first published book on business infrastructure for small businesses. Alicia hosts the weekly Business Infrastructure podcast with a global audience across 53 countries. 
More About Sponsor, HubSpot:
HubSpot offers a full platform of marketing, sales, customer service, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software — plus the methodology, resources, and support — to help businesses. Their CRM platform is powered by the same database, so everyone in your organization — Marketing, Sales, Service & Operations — is working off the same system of record. This allows for a smoother handoff between teams and results in a more delightful experience for your customers. More About Sponsor, ThinkSmart Whiteboard:
Thinksmart Whiteboard is a Windows App that turns your Tablet PC into a shared whiteboard. It allows you to create a whiteboard on your computer screen, then allows other people to write onto your whiteboard, even if they are in another location! Learn more.