Why Amazon keeps doors as offices

Hello and welcome to the new subscribers joining us this week 💚

Today, I'd like to talk to you about… IKEA doors .

Yes, you read that right.

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The cult anecdote

In its early days, Jeff Bezos made a strange choice (at least on the surface): Amazon's first offices were made with IKEA doors placed on trestles.

Why? Not due to a lack of budget.

But to establish a value: frugality.

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Each employee, by placing their computer on this door, was reminded every day that at Amazon, we don't waste anything.

We invest with intention .

And even today, this “door desk” remains a symbol of corporate culture at Amazon.

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What this says about a strong culture

For visionary founders, every structural detail counts.

• Low-cost furniture? A way of reminding us that every euro must create value.
• A KPI that is publicly tracked by the entire team? A strong signal of transparency and alignment.
• A highly structured process from onboarding? A mark of rigor and excellence from a new employee's Day 1.

Your culture cannot be decreed. It is embodied.

And what you structure in your daily life — rituals, tools, priorities, objectives — strengthens or weakens this culture.

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As COO, that's exactly where I come in.

When I join a company, I look well beyond the tools.

I am asking (among other things):

• Are team rituals aligned with the CEO's vision?
• Do the tools put in place reinforce good habits?
• Are the projects aligned with OKRs or strategic objectives?
• Is each team member responsible for a key performance indicator?
• Does the management system reflect the true growth priorities?

Structuring means making cultural choices.

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PS:

For the past few months, I have started to coach several female OBMs (Online Business Managers) in a 1:1 capacity, who wish to move towards a more strategic COO role.

Their enthusiastic feedback — and the clarity it brought them 💡 — made me want to go further: so I structured a 6-week support program that was both concrete, actionable, and grounded in the reality of the field.

If you are part of my community, if you recognize yourself in this evolution or if you simply want to consolidate your position in preparation for the next level, my next availability will be in September.

→ If you're interested, you can reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn. I'd love to discuss it with you.

👉 And to learn more, here are the two coaching formats offered: link

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PS:

If we don't know each other yet, I'm Aurélie, Fractional COO.
I help solopreneurs generating over €250K/year to save 10 hours/week, structure their business, and scale without burning out.

And behind every tool or dashboard, there is a single intention: to align your structure with your vision.

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