The New Amazon CEO's Year 1

When Andy Jassy succeeded Jeff Bezos as Amazon CEO last year, he was widely expected to continue the company’s traditions and habits.

But Jassy has reportedly shuttered brick-and-mortar locations, put some warehouse expansions on hold, and taken a far more active role in lobbying politicians, to the surprise of many within the company.

Whether these decisions ultimately elevate Amazon's status and make a significant long-term difference remains to be seen, but Jassy’s first year has some important reminders.

1. Address the obvious weaknesses

Jassy viewed these as the unsuccessful physical bookstores and excessive real-estate space that amounted to significant overspending. No matter how accomplished our team might be, there are usually a couple shortcomings that need to be addressed sooner rather than later. We're always wise to identify these and quickly formulate the plan to fix them.

2. Create the vision. Execute the strategies

While this may sound obvious, too often, we cater to the opinions of others and end up trying to pander to the crowd instead of pursuing what we really believe. Taking a sledgehammer to every component of the organization is rarely the right approach, but we have to remember we were put in this new role because someone trusted us. Our responsibility is not to quickly win a popularity contest. It's to strategically elevate our new team to where it needs to be.

3. A successful team can still do better

Amazon is among the most famous companies in the world, and its founder is among the wealthiest. Yet Jassy still feels it can operate more efficiently. He isn’t resting on brand recognition or simply assuming the strategies of the past will carry it to the future.

Many of us will ultimately succeed someone who has been in a role for years — and we’ll inevitably have to balance maintaining tradition with bucking trends.

Taking over a new team requires a vision, it requires intelligence and it requires a conviction in a belief system to bring about the change we see fit.

Ultimately, these leadership elements packaged properly can be what we need to take our own teams from A to Z.

Tired of searching for pants that actually fit?

unspun is an ultra-sustainable denim brand, recently named one of Time’s Best Inventions. They guarantee their $200 bespoke jeans will be your new favorite pair, and they're recruiting product testers to give early feedback in exchange for a $40 gift card — sign up below.