Amazon

To succeed at Amazon, you really do need to drink the Kool-Aid and subscribe to their peculiar ways. This is a place where you are given enormous latitude to chip in to solve problems. Your role is defined by what you want to drive and own, not by a title. I appreciate the autonomy that Amazon gives its leaders – for good and bad. We are given room to make mistakes, learn, and grow from them. As a leader, I have made mistakes, and I've been praised for my analysis of the failure and the corrective actions.

I currently work in an organization with tenured Amazon leaders. They've collectively launched world-class operations and billion-dollar businesses. It's amazing to learn from these leaders; they are remarkably calm amid the chaos, having seen it all before.

As with any large organization, you have to watch out for certain pockets where the work-life balance is really screwy. The nice thing is there is very fluid lateral movement within the company. The policies have changed to make this easier, and these poor leaders are being exposed quickly.

Keep up the momentum on improving transparency -- for good and bad. The changes to the promotion process are the right step.