Level Up: Your source for executive insights, high performance habits, and specific career growth actions

In my 15+ years at Amazon, I led global teams of 800+ and invented well-known businesses and products such as Prime Video, Amazon Video, Amazon Appstore, Merch by Amazon, Prime Gaming (formerly Twitch Prime), and Twitch Commerce.

• Hold 70+ patents.

• Reviewed 10,000+ resumes, conducted 2,500+ interviews, and 1,000+ hires.

• Was an Amazon Bar Raiser and Bar Raiser Core Leader, responsible for training and maintaining Amazon's group of interview outcome facilitators.

• Helped advocate for and draft the Amazon Leadership Principle (LP) “Ownership” — the words, “They never say ‘that’s not my job.’” are mine (read the story).

I've promoted 8 reports from Senior Manager (Amazon L7) to Director (Amazon L8), contributed to 25+ Director promotions, hired 10+ Directors internally and externally, and drove the promotion of 3 engineers to Principal. Of my former reports, 2 are current Amazon VPs (L10) and 5 are C-Suite outside Amazon.

I retired from Amazon as a Vice President in September 2020.

Prior to Amazon, I spent 12 years at 3 startups.

What I post here is guidance for those who want to become better leaders, perhaps reach an executive level, and is one of my ways of paying forward my good fortune.

I hope to give everyone a solid overview of the basics for free and then provide custom help to those executives facing specific problems with my courses and coaching.

Join our Level Up Career Community

Paid member benefits:

1. Every issue of the newsletter (~8 per month).

2. Access to a private Slack community with networking events.

3. Access to member-only content: Ethan’s Career Talk classes (includes live attendance with Q&A), watch Ethan live coach a real client, fireside chats with leaders, and more.

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Student discount for academic email addresses.

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Leadership Development Courses

I work with clients at Amazon, Meta, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Airbnb, Stripe, Uber, Salesforce, as well as customers in banking, consumer goods, and other industries.

In addition to 1:1 executive coaching, I offer live and on-demand courses.

#1: Live online classes:

• Cracking the C-suite 'How to Get and Master Key Executive Roles'

• Stuck at Senior Manager - How to Break Through to Executive

• Hiring Hacks - Build Your Best Team

See all live online courses

#2: On-demand courses:

• Cracking the C-Suite: How to Get and Master Key Executive Roles

  • The on-demand course is the video recording of the content from the February 2024 live online class.

  • The live online class includes multiple peer group breakout sessions for dive deep case study discussion and networking, live Q&A with Ethan and Sue, prework video recording, and access to the Maven Student Portal where you can network and stay connected to peers.

• Stuck at Senior Manager - How to Break Through to Executive

  • The on-demand course is the 3 hour version of the core material I developed in Q4 2022.

  • The live online class is 17.5+ total hours. 7.5 hours of on-demand video lectures for self-learning followed by 10 hours of live sessions which include an intense weekend of live Q&A and peer networking plus 4 weeks of dedicated implementation follow-up (advice, Q&A, and peer networking).

• Managing Up Successfully

• Leadership Networking

• Leadership Resumes That Get Results

• The Growth and Promotion Recipe

• How to Get a Raise

• How to Negotiate a Job Offer

• Maximizing a Severance Package (priced at $5)

See all on-demand courses

Popular articles

Executive Performance:

1. 4 Behaviors of Top CEOs: Harvard Study

2. My Jeff Bezos Story: How to Survive a Bad Failure

3. Traits of top performers: 3 ways to be High Agency

4. Career from Engineer to CEO & EVP with Ethan Evans & Ameesh Paleja

5. Executive advice on corporate politics: From an EVP of a 3,000 person team

6. Maximize Executive Coaching with Sue Bethanis (Founder & CEO of Mariposa Leadership) & Ethan Evans

7. What a Series B Co-Founder looks for in their Leadership Team with Dee Murthy (Co-Founder, Ghost) & Jason Yoong

8. Dissecting Amazon Leadership Principles (LPs) for Amazonians & Non-Amazonians with Ethan Evans & David Anderson

9. Taking control of your career: Podcast with Ethan Evans & Lenny Rachitsky: Jeff Bezos failure, drafting an Amazon LP, The Magic Loop

Management & Managing Up:

1. Be a High-Impact Employee

2. Why managers fail: Harvard Study

3. Manage Up to Executives: A guide for Senior Managers

4. Managing Up with Ethan Evans & Ella Irwin (YouTube link)

5. The Magic Loop: A framework for rapid career growth (top post in Lenny’s Newsletter)

6. How to Influence Without Authority with Irina Stanescu (Eng Leader & Coach; ex-Google, ex-Uber) & Jason Yoong

7. What Your Manager Won't Tell You: The Art of Managing Up with Wes Kao (Cofounder of Maven & altMBA) & Jason Yoong (YouTube link)

Get Promoted:

1. Make the case for your promotion: Promotion document framework

2. "Attitude matters" - Amazon VP: A deciding factor in promotions

Executive Presence:

1. How to Speak like an Executive and Command the Room — with Ethan Evans & Harriette Cole

Network Effectively:

1. Network to maximize your life: Advice on how to network easily

2. Be a High-Value Connector & Networker with Andrew Yeung (Founder & Investor; ex-Google; ex-Meta) & Jason Yoong

Connect With Ethan & Jason

• Follow Ethan on LinkedIn.

• Get Ethan’s career advice on YouTube.

• Connect with Jason (Ethan’s operating partner) on LinkedIn.

• Learn more about Ethan’s live online courses and on-demand courses.

• Contact us for corporate training, speaking, podcast appearances, and more.

Many subscribers expense this newsletter to their Learning & Development budget, use this email template to send to your manager.