To keep the packages moving at Amazon can take a village—or as Alessandro Carbone referred to it—a small town. A small town where he proudly serves as “mayor.”
That’s how the general manager of Amazon’s ACY1 building in southern New Jersey described it on the latest episode of the Learn and Be Curious with Doug Herrington podcast.
“I have 3,000 associates I need to take care of their well-being," Carbone said. “I need to take care of the roads around the building because I have a huge yard, trailer yard, a parking lot. I have a social responsibility for my township. I have the financials, our cost to serve customers, it’s our priority. I pay the bills. I literally pay the electricity.”
And it’s no exaggeration. The ACY1 building measures 665,000 square feet (or 1.4 million with mezzanine levels), holding up to 20 million individual units and 3 million unique items. But regardless of the size, Carbone said he still walks the floor to talk directly with his associates.
“We walk the floor with an associate and then we listen from them what are the main barriers, the recurring barriers,” he said. “And then we put an action plan into place.
“Once you start solving one problem at a time, or sometimes I call them in my office and say, listen, here I can’t help you, but I have this other option—once you start building this trust, that’s where you are changing the culture.”
However, despite the direct contact, Carbone said the secret to his success is empowering his team, not micromanaging them.
“Empowering your team to take risks,” he said. “It’s not paying off in the first six months, but then it’s unlocking a lot of potential. When everyone is leading at their scale, you will see the building flying.
“When you stretch yourself and when you push yourself to learn new things, this is where you are improving. And this is not helpful only in the professional way. It’s a great life skill.”
Learn and Be Curious with Doug Herrington is a monthly podcast hosted by Amazon CEO of Worldwide Stores Doug Herrington and available anywhere podcasts can be downloaded. Listen to the full episode on Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcast app of choice.
