Amazon HR executive offers tips for leading successful teams

Plus, the first-ever NFL Black Friday game on Prime Video, how free access to education helps Amazon employees, and resources to help small businesses. March 11, 2023 Amazon News News, facts, original stories, and more from the source.   Watch: 5 lessons from an Amazon HR executive about leading successful, inclusive teams J. Ofori Agboka, Amazon's vice president of People eXperience and Technology, grew up in Michigan, the son of a Ghanaian immigrant and a New Orleans native who taught him to value faith, hard work, education, athletics, and respect for all. He used those values to earn an academic scholarship to Louisiana State University, where he played football, and then an internship at General Motors, where he began his now 25-year career in human resources. Here are a few of Agboka's top leadership lessons for building inclusive and successful teams: Words matter. Words have the power to build a person up or break them down, and that impact is especially important when you're a leader. Choose positive words and actions, even when delivering a tough truth. Investing in others is a business imperative. When you change one person's life, that impact can positively affect their family, community, and everyone around them. Everyone has a position to play. We win together. All roles at all levels are important regardless of where you sit. It is important that leaders support every member of the team to bring out their best.   Watch for more     Share this story Did you know?   Prime Video will kick off the 2023 holiday season with an early present for NFL fans: free access to an NFL game on Black Friday—even to people who aren't yet Prime members. The game, hosted by Prime Video's Thursday Night Football crew, will stream exclusively on Prime Video on November 24, with kick off at 3 p.m. EST.   Learn more     Share this story Free education: How Amazon employees earn their GEDs with Career Choice Amazon's Career Choice program, an education and skills-training benefit, has helped more than 110,000 Amazon employees since it began in 2012. The program now includes prepaid college tuition, English language courses, and help obtaining GED certificates and high school diplomas—giving hourly employees the opportunity to learn new skills and opening doors to better, higher-paying jobs. Adam, a loss prevention specialist in San Antonio, Texas, is among the Amazon employees who earned their GED certificates through Career Choice. Adam dropped out of school in eighth grade and never considered higher education until he joined Amazon in 2020. "Before Amazon, I never thought I could finish my education," he said, noting that obtaining his GED was relatively easy and quick. "And Amazon provided the entire program to me for free." Now Adam, who has been promoted twice in the past three years, is working on a bachelor's degree in information technology and recently applied for the Amazon Technical Academy, a skills-training program that offers job placement for software development engineers. He even persuaded his mother and roommate to join him at Amazon so they could further their own educations through Career Choice.   Read more     Share this story 'Daisy Jones & The Six' stars Riley Keough and Sam Claflin on the music that made them Prime Video's Daisy Jones & The Six details the rise and fall of a fictional rock band that burned bright—then flamed out in a blaze of interpersonal drama, drugs, and damaged egos. Based on the best-selling novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, the limited series (which premiered March 3 on Prime Video) stars Riley Keough and Sam Claflin as the band's lead singers, Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne, charismatic talents whose fraught relationship fueled the Six's meteoric success and subsequent demise. The series isn't just another cautionary tale about rock 'n' roll excess. It's a warts-and-all look at a bygone era of popular music, when the heady idealism of 1960s folk gave way to the oversized everything of '70s arena rock. While the Six might be a fictional band, everything about their world feels authentic, including the music they play, which was recorded by Keough, Claflin, and castmates. Learn more about how Keough and Claflin dealt with the challenge of playing rock stars who actually rock, the musical icons that inspired their roles, and the music they grew up loving—all in an exclusive interview.   Read more     Share this story Explore the new Amazon Small Business Academy, free resources for entrepreneurs Amazon offers small businesses a range of resources and networking opportunities. Investing in small business success is key at Amazon: Nearly 60% of products sold in Amazon's stores come from selling partners, most of which are small and medium-sized businesses.   Learn more     Share this story Amazon in the news   Amazon Business launches new AbilityOne storefront to advance inclusive procurement — Forbes     Audible is bringing a dynamic music storytelling experience to SXSW — Billboard     Amazon partners with Florida Gulf Coast University to pay for employees' tuition — WINK News   Be the first to know about Amazon News, and tell your colleagues to sign up here. Follow us Amazon.com, Inc.  |  410 Terry Avenue  |  Seattle, WA 98109-5210 ©2023 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Amazon, Amazon.com, the smile logo, and all other related logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. You've received this email because you've shown an interest in the past. 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