Erm, isn’t this normal annual stuff?

When I was a manager at Amazon, I asked my engineers to keep a list of what they were proud of throughout the year, as it’d be used in annual and mid year reviews..

The distinction between asking employees to document accomplishments versus systematically auditing them for "validation" purposes is important. While self-documentation is indeed common practice, the reporting suggests something more intrusive - essentially demanding proof of productivity in real-time.

This reflects a broader shift in corporate culture away from outcome-based metrics toward activity-based surveillance. The problem isn't knowing what was accomplished, but rather the implied skepticism that necessitates constant justification. It signals management has lost faith in trusting knowledge workers to manage their own time and output.

For someone in a knowledge work role, this kind of pressure actually decreases productivity because it shifts focus from solving problems to documenting that you're solving problems.

Is ‘not a damn thing’ an option?

Jassy's style of leadership is so much starkly worse that his predecessor's its obvious on the frontlines even outside the company.