Dave Anderson went from getting a D in high school theater (which derailed his medical career dreams) to becoming a director at Amazon, where he helped change the company's transfer policy that affects hundreds of thousands of employees. In this candid conversation, Dave reveals how a recruiter told him his resume was "terrible," why he believes managers don't need to be great coders, and how he saved 85% of his income to retire in his 40s. He shares unfiltered insights about Amazon's culture, including why he thinks the company started declining before Jeff Bezos even left, and offers a surprising take on why Facebook's chaotic promotion process might actually be better than Amazon's rigorous documentation requirements.
The conversation takes unexpected turns as Dave explains why he tests his team by proposing "absurd" ideas, admits he was never actually a senior engineer despite writing guides about it, and reveals what number would bring him back to corporate life (spoiler: it's in …
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