Frugality is about spending money wisely. Money should not be spent on things that are not needed. It should go towards upgrading the experience for the customer. The best uses of the funds should be analyzed, and it should be spent with good purpose. Frugality means you should be able to do your job without spending too much money and are okay with limited time or resources.
This principle is also about value. You should try to accomplish more with less and do the best possible job with what you have. Having constrained resources forces people to invent to overcome the limits on resources. There is always a finite number of resources, and frugality is about always trying to do more with what there is and maximizing what you can do with those resources.
Resources are prioritized on customers, and money is spent on customer benefits and long-term value. Employees at Amazon don’t get expense accounts or cell phones. Amazon does this to save money on unnecessary things.
To Amazon, the leadership principle ‘Frugality’ also means having small teams. Small teams tend to be more stable and efficient than larger teams because they communicate easier, more effectively handle resources, and are better at being dynamic.
Although this principle may seem like it is about saving money, it is not as much about saving money as spending money in a way that makes full use of it. Frugality in Amazon is used as a “forcing function” to make people think more creatively. Amazon believes that having constraints forces people to innovate and think creatively to overcome the limits.
Frugality is not necessarily just about money. You can also be frugal in saving other things like time and resources.
The following quote shows how Amazon thinks about the leadership principle of Frugality:
“Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size or fixed expense.”
People who are frugal will try to save money when possible, be okay with limited time and resources, make sure that funds are being used most efficiently, and think creatively to overcome limits or constraints.
In an interview, you want to show that constraints on time or resources do not stop you from doing your job successfully. You also want to demonstrate that you can think creatively and find innovative solutions when faced with constraints on time or resources.
Examples of questions you may be asked about the principle of Frugality:
- Describe a time when you devised a new way to save your company money.
- When was a time you improved something with a limited budget?
- Tell me about a time you were forced to manage a budget/time/money/resource. Did you get more from less?
- When have you had to make decisions between quality and cost?
- How would you manage a project with no budget or resources?
- Describe a time when you were forced to work with constraints on time or resources. Were you able to find a creative way around the limits?
When you answer questions about the leadership principle ‘Frugality,’ you should talk about times when you did something creative to overcome limited time or resources while also demonstrating that you have the financial health of your company in mind when you make decisions. You also want to show that you can find ways to use less to accomplish more and save money for the company while still maintaining the same performance. Frugality is not about trying to maintain extreme limits on money but is about saving money on unnecessary things and thinking creatively to find ways to do more things with fewer resources.