What companies can learn from Amazon
IU professor and former Amazon executives reveal which success methods really work
In "The Secret Playbook," an IU professor and former Amazon executives reveal which success methods truly work.
With "The Secret Playbook", Prof. Dr Marc Ebel, Georg Hesse and Amelie Rose present the first empirically based work on the transferability of Amazon's management techniques.
Munich, 24 September 2026. Amazon has grown rapidly over the past decades and remained consistently successful. But what management principles are actually behind this success – and which of them also work in other companies? In their book, The Secret Playbook, three Amazon insiders reveal for the first time in detail which key management techniques of the world's largest company work and under what conditions they can be transferred.
One of them is Prof. Dr Marc Ebel, Professor of Marketing Management at IU International University of Applied Sciences in Munich. For sixteen years, he was an Amazon manager, where he helped build the Amazon MP3 Store, the one-hour delivery service Prime Now, and Amazon Fresh in Germany. Today, he translates this practical knowledge into research and teaching, preparing students for an innovative and dynamic work environment. Together with Georg Hesse and Amelie Rose, also former Amazon executives, he draws on over 30 years of insider experience and dispels myths and presents effective methods for other companies. The Secret Playbook will be published on 24 September 2026 by Campus Verlag.
The first empirical reality check for Amazon's management methods
What sets The Secret Playbook apart from previous Amazon books is that it doesn't simply describe well-known management principles, but subjects them to an empirical practical test outside the Amazon organisation. To this end, the authors interviewed 57 former top Amazon executives who had taken on leadership roles in other companies after leaving the corporation. The central question: Which methods did they take with them, what worked – and where did approaches fail?
“We didn’t just want to describe what Amazon does differently. The crucial thing is to understand how the methods work in detail, what problem they solve, and what prerequisites are necessary for successful transfer,” explains Prof. Dr Marc Ebel.
The result is 20 readily applicable techniques – each with implementation tips, checklists, scorecards, and probability of success, suitable for both startups and medium-sized businesses. The techniques are categorised according to their potential impact on the organisation – for example, on innovation capacity, customer focus, efficiency, strategic clarity, or personnel decisions. Thus, the book not only demonstrates which methods work, but also identifies the challenges they are suitable for and the conditions under which their implementation is successful.
The book is aimed at managers, entrepreneurs, founders and ambitious employees who want to make their organisation faster, more data-driven and more customer-oriented.
Three surprising insights from the book
The interviews reveal that well-known Amazon principles have varying degrees of success outside the company. Some methods translate well, while others fail due to the organisational constraints.
Data beats customer focus: Contrary to popular belief, it's not the famous customer focus that's the most successfully transferred technique, but rather a consistent focus on data and metrics. All 57 former Amazon executives surveyed implemented this approach in their new companies – with the highest success rate of all the methods examined.
The paradox of long-term thinking: 90 percent of respondents consider "long-term thinking" vital for Amazon's survival. Outside the company, however, this principle has the highest disappointment rate at almost 40 percent – often because short-term quarterly pressures stifle long-term decisions.
PowerPoint ban: For important decisions, Amazon relies on written six-page documents (detailed decision-making documents) instead of traditional PowerPoint presentations. The surveyed former Amazon executives rate the method as particularly effective, but its transfer to other companies often fails due to the significant time investment required to create and read these extensive documents.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all Amazon recipe. Blindly copying management techniques risks achieving the opposite of what you want. The key is to first understand your own problem and then systematically examine which method might be the right solution. That’s precisely what The Secret Playbook aims to help leaders do,” Ebel says.
The online “AMT Finder” provides an initial overview of the management techniques examined and their potential suitability for your own organisation at: https://secretplaybook.de/finder/
Press copies and interviews
We will gladly send you a free sample copy of the book upon request. Furthermore, Prof. Dr Marc Ebel, as an IU expert on topics related to Amazon, management, innovation and digitalisation, is available for interviews.
Please direct inquiries to presse@iu.org.
About the authors
Professor Dr Marc Ebel is a professor of marketing management at IU International University of Applied Sciences in Munich. Previously, he worked at Amazon for 16 years, where he helped build the Amazon MP3 store, the Prime Now one-hour delivery service, and the Amazon Fresh grocery store in Germany. Today, he advises companies on innovation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and the Amazon ecosystem.
Georg Hesse worked at Amazon for a total of 15 years, starting in 1999, and was a member of the German leadership team for many years. He subsequently served as CEO of two publicly traded digital companies. Today, he works as an executive and consultant specialising in digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and organisational development. He also serves on the supervisory boards of publicly traded companies and coaches sustainability startups.
Amelie Rose is an independent consultant and interim manager. She works with technology startups and medium-sized company management teams on structures for sustainable growth. At Amazon, she was involved in building a new grocery delivery business. Later, at N26, she implemented and led the strategic Project Management Office for Operations and was responsible for the EU market entry and a multi-million euro funding round in a medtech scale-up.
Bibliographic information
Title: The Secret Playbook
Subtitle: Amazon's management techniques – how they really work and what companies can learn from them
Authors: Marc Ebel, Georg Hesse, Amelie Rose
Publisher: Campus Verlag
Release date: September 24, 2026
Number of pages: 316
With nearly 130,000 students, IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is the largest university in Germany. The private, state-recognised educational institution, based in Erfurt, began teaching in 2000 and now has 37 campuses. IU stands for maximum flexibility in study: whether through dual study, distance learning or on campus – students from over 160 nations tailor their educational path to suit their individual circumstances. With more than 200 degree programmes at bachelor’s, master’s and MBA level, IU imparts practical skills. Innovative learning concepts foster targeted, future-proof skills for an increasingly AI-driven world of work. A modern, digitally supported learning environment and the use of artificial intelligence enable effective, personalised learning. As a pioneer in this field, IU has developed its own digital learning companion, ‘Syntea’, which has been in use since 2023. A network of over 15,000 companies – including Motel One, Vodafone, AWO and Deutsche Bahn – makes IU a strong partner in the training of skilled workers and consistently links academic teaching with practical experience. Further information at: iu.org
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