Mastering Weekly Business Reviews: Insights from Amazon's Iconic WBR

The Weekly Business Review (WBR) isn't just a meeting; it's a tactical mechanism for analyzing performance trends and driving accountability. While Amazon's WBR is widely recognized as a best practice at Amazon, the principles behind it are universal. Rooted in Six Sigma's DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control), WBRs create a disciplined framework for operational excellence. By tailoring the cadence, depth, and scope of your review process, you can transform how you operate—whether you're leading a global enterprise or a one-person business.

In my experience as a leader of teams at AWS and now building a business focused on helping AWS Security businesses, I’ve embraced the power of metrics, structured analysis, and continuous feedback to stay focused and drive results. At Amazon, WBR discussions were a constant. Preparing for these meetings sharpened my ability to identify trends and highlight risks. It helped me make data-driven decisions. Even when feedback from colleagues was sparse, the preparation alone provided clarity and focus. This discipline has been invaluable in running my own initiatives.

Drawing on Amazon’s Leadership Principles, insights from foundational works like The Amazon Management System by Ram Charan and Julia Yang and Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr, and my experience running my own businesses at AWS, I’ve outlined a structured approach to implementing WBRs in your business.

Step 1: Define and Measure What Matters Most

One of the most impactful lessons from Amazon’s WBR mechanism is the emphasis on controllable input metrics—actions that directly influence outcomes. While output metrics like revenue or customer retention are important, input metrics provide clarity on the levers you can pull to improve those outputs.

Examples of Input vs. Output Metrics

• Input: Number of vulnerability scans conducted weekly.
• Output: Reduction in customer-reported security incidents.

By focusing on input metrics, leaders avoid reactive decision-making and instead take proactive steps to drive outcomes.

Tailoring to Your Business:

• Large Businesses: Track metrics across teams that reflect performance trends for the prior week. For example, a security team might measure compliance audit completions, security patch cycles, and incident response times.
• Small Teams or Solopreneurs: Concentrate on a small set of metrics that are directly tied to operational efficiency or customer satisfaction. Examples include billable hours or completion rates for key deliverables.

Insights for AWS Security Businesses:

For a security business, these metrics could include:

• Operational Efficiency: Security assessments completed, mean time to remediation (MTTR), or compliance certifications obtained.
• Customer Engagement: Net Promoter Score (NPS), resolution time for support tickets, or recurring consulting hours.

Key Insight: Metrics are only valuable when tied to strategic objectives. Ask, “What does this trend tell us?” For instance, a drop in completed security assessments might signal resource allocation issues or customer scheduling conflicts. Understanding the cause enables swift, targeted action.

Step 2: Use a 2x2 Matrix to Structure Your Review

The 2x2 matrix employed in Amazon’s WBR mechanism offers a clear framework for synthesizing data. It keeps discussions focused on operational performance and prevents meetings from veering into strategy or project updates.

Quadrant Breakdown:

1. Business Update – Key Performance Trends: Highlight the most significant data points from the week.
2. Risks, Observations, Trends, and Challenges: Identify immediate issues and actionable insights.
3. Metrics: Present weekly metrics with current values, targets, and trends.
4. Customer Highlights and Lowlights: Share notable feedback, both positive and negative.

Example: AWS Security Services Business

Insights:

• Security Assessments Completed (Green): Overachieving here suggests capacity to explore additional services or expand customer engagements.
• Customer Satisfaction Score (Yellow): Dig into the root cause. Is it related to delays, miscommunication, or unmet expectations?

The matrix distills complexity into an actionable format, helping leaders focus on what matters most.

Step 3: Focus on Risks, Observations, Trends, and Challenges

Using “Risks, Observations, Trends, and Challenges” as a framework sharpens operational focus. This structure enables teams to identify pressing issues and devise immediate solutions.

Example for an AWS Security Services Business:

• Risk: A customer risks non-compliance due to delayed patch updates.
  • Action: Expedite updates and prioritize deployment. Owner: pmd@, ECD: Dec 17.
• Observation: Increased customer interest in automated security tools.
  • Action: Research and propose automation solutions. Owner: abc@, ECD: Dec 16.
• Trend: Misconfigured S3 buckets are a rising issue.
  • Action: Develop an S3 audit solution. Owner: def@, ECD: Dec 16.
• Challenge: High demand is straining team capacity.
  • Action: Recruit additional consultants. Owner: ghi@, ECD: Dec 31.

Step 4: Analyze Metrics with R/Y/G Status

The R/Y/G system simplifies operational data into actionable insights. It highlights where attention is needed most, allowing teams to prioritize effectively. These metrics are often linked to your team's SMART goals or OKRs.

The metrics were shown in a table in Step 2.

Insights and Actions:

• Green Metrics: Maintain or scale. For instance, exceeding security assessment targets may open doors for additional offerings.
• Yellow Metrics: Prioritize root cause analysis and fixes. Address customer satisfaction dips by identifying common themes in feedback.

This approach provides immediate clarity on where leaders should focus.

Step 5: Highlights and Lowlights

Recognizing achievements while addressing weaknesses drives team accountability and morale.

Examples:

• Highlight: The team exceeded security assessment targets, completing 5 in a week.
  • Next Steps: Sustain performance and evaluate the feasibility of scaling further.
• Lowlight: Weekend support response times lagged at 4 hours.
  • Next Steps: Implement temporary on-call rotations to address weekend demand.

Step 6: Appendices for Detailed Operational Data

For larger businesses, appendices offer granular details—such as incident analyses or customer feedback summaries—to provide deeper context while ensuring the first page or 2x2 remains self-sufficient. For smaller teams, dashboards or concise summaries deliver key metrics effectively while maintaining brevity.

Examples:

• Incident Analysis: Break down major security events, their resolution, and lessons learned.
• Customer Feedback: Include trends in NPS or CSAT scores, categorized by themes.

Why This Works

The WBR mechanism drives operational excellence by focusing on weekly performance trends. By tying metrics to goals, identifying actionable risks, and using structured frameworks like the 2x2 matrix, leaders create a disciplined, data-driven approach to improvement.

Key Insight: The WBR isn’t the time for strategic planning or forward-looking initiatives. Its power lies in addressing the here and now, ensuring teams stay aligned and accountable.

A well-executed WBR transforms data into meaningful insights. By leveraging structured analysis, focusing on controllable metrics, and addressing operational risks promptly, you’ll create a review process that drives tangible results.