Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career

by Kristi Coulter

“Help me understand” is Amazon-speak for “you are an absolute fucking moron.”

“We probably couldn’t prove with data that a typo hurts the business,” she says, “but they’re still wrong, because they make the brand look dumb, and dumb isn’t trustworthy.”

I start to worry I’ve become the thing Calista once warned me about: someone who wants a promotion too much. “They can smell it on you, and if they can smell it, they won’t give it to you,” she said. “It’s not fair, but it’s true.”

It’s surreally pleasurable to work for leaders who know that words matter.

I’ve long since shed any illusions that I matter to Amazon the capitalist organism, which is bearable as long as I matter to the people around me. If I don’t matter to Josh, I’m lost.