🪑Empty chair theory

Empty chair theory was introduced by Jeff Bezos at Amazon, where every meeting would have at least one empty chair. This chair is reserved for most important person who is not in the room, when making business decisions.

The Customer

Bezos said:

This simple practice, which might seem small, became a key driving force behind Amazon’s growth into a global company. The empty chair was not just a physical object but a strong symbol that the customer must be at the center of every decision-making process.

It emphasizes customer obsession

• Will this decision help solve the customer problem ?
• Were the customer here today, what would be their opinion about the decision ?
• Have we covered everything customer would have asked for ?

Such visual reinforcement technique can help garner empathy and perspective taking thereby lower own biases and assumptions.