Jeff Bezos' bizarre two-pizza rule broken down by business owner
A CCO and business owner has shared his thoughts on Jeff Bezos' unusual 'two-pizza' rule when it comes to building teams.
As the founder of Amazon, I think it's safe to say Bezos knows what he's doing when it comes to creating a successful business.
His company provides millions of people with the products they need at the touch of the button, but it's not just the ease of Amazon that's made Bezos successful.
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Instead, the CEO has certain rules he lives by to help his business run as efficiently as possible, and one of those includes a two pizza limit.
Now I know what you're thinking - two pizzas for the whole of Amazon? Well, not quite.
Instead, Bezos limits the size of each of his team at Amazon so that they can, in theory, be fed with just two pizzas.
This 'rule' is supposedly meant to help ensure a team’s maximum efficiency, encouraging teams to stay focused, have a clearer idea of what they’re supposed to do each day, and waste less time in meetings through being in constant with each other.
But does it really work? Well, according to Alex Brown, CCO of social first marketing agency Campfire, the 'two-pizza' rule does have its benefits.
Speaking to UNILAD, Brown explained how his company has implemented a similar process to Bezos in the form of 'client pods', which are theoretically big enough to feed with two pizzas.
He explained: "We don't actually work in departmental teams - for example, a paid media team, influencer team - which are all larger than 10 people and, in theory, don't meet Jeff Bezos' two pizza rule.
"We actually have smaller teams that are made up out of those teams, which all cover different bases. So there'll be a couple of people from an influencer team, a couple of people from a paid team, one person from an accounts management team. We call those client pods, and that way, they can get to know people a lot better, you can develop relationships with those people a lot better."
By keeping teams small, as Bezos does, Brown explained those involved feel 'a lot more comfortable' with each other.
"You can come up with better ideas, because you've got that rapport," he said. "You feel more connected to your team, and no one's just like a face or a number or an email.
"They become much more like friends and much more like a community if you keep your tribe small."
The two-pizza rule isn't the only piece of advice Campfire has taken from Bezos, either.
Brown explained the company also tries to follow the Amazon founder's rule for meetings, which involves having a clear agenda laid out at the start of each meeting to ensure it's as efficient as it can be.
So while Bezos' tips can prove useful to companies as a whole, Brown did acknowledge that literally hoping to feed an entire team with two pizzas might come with its issues.
"We can keep the teams small, but while the two pizza rule is great, people can put away a surprising amount of pizza!" he said, before joking: "You know who you are..."
Topics: Business, Technology, Jeff Bezos
Emily Brown