Part 7/14:
Evans highlights that promotions at Amazon depend heavily on perceived contribution, storytelling, and strategic visibility. His own ascent involved small but crucial high-risk decisions—like pushing projects despite managerial disagreement—and skillfully leveraging relationships.
He stresses that risk-taking, coupled with the ability to demonstrate unmistakable impact—"if you pull me out of this, it wouldn’t have happened"—is key to rapid advancement. He's candid about wishing he had taken more risks earlier in his career, implying that safe, incremental steps may slow growth compared to bold moves.