
The Peterman Pod
Amazon VP: Questions On Corporate Politics But They Get Increasingly Darker | Ethan Evans
In this episode, I asked Ethan Evans (ex-Amazon VP) questions about common situations in corporate politics but they get increasingly darker. • My ergonomic keyboard project I mentioned, you can follow along here: https://read.compose.llc/ • The Kickstarter page for it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ryanlpeterman/compose-simple-ergonomics-beautifully-done Podcast links: • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhjhRRz3VJw • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835 • Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/e068-ethan-evans Thank you to this episode's sponsor for supporting my work: • WorkOS: makes your app Enterprise Ready with easy to use APIs to add SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more in just a few lines of code, check them out at https://workos.com/ Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (00:42) How to receive credit for your work (19:18) Ways for quiet people to get visibility (21:32) How to be trusted for top projects (29:52) How to defend from others taking your project (36:13) How to reject bad projects (44:10) How to be first for promo (55:35) How to handle managers that dislike career growth talk (01:06:30) What if your manager is in the way (01:15:43) Did he ever have overly political reports (01:28:06) How to fire a bad manager (01:35:16) What gives you leverage (01:43:41) How to defend against peers undermining you (01:50:24) What if everyone is good at politics (01:55:11) How Jeff Bezos burned him for empire building (02:03:27) How to retain your headcount (02:07:31) Career recommendations for the current landscape (02:15:11) How to avoid negative layoff optics (02:18:39) How to develop executive presence (02:29:25) How to network in a natural way (02:33:30) How to network with powerful people (02:41:01) How to learn hidden incentives (02:44:43) What happens behind the scenes with HR (02:50:13) Did he burn people to get ahead (02:53:24) What he says to people who hate politics (02:59:03) Top book recommendations on power dynamics (03:00:45) How he would speedrun career growth today (03:06:56) Outro Where to find Ethan: • Personal website: https://www.ethanevans.com/ • Newsletter: https://levelupwithethanevans.substack.com/ • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EthanEvansVP • X/Twitter: https://x.com/EthanEvansVP • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ethanevansvp Where to find Ryan: • Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/ • X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/ • Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman Referenced in this episode: • Never Split the Difference: https://www.blackswanltd.com/never-split-the-difference • Leadership and Self-Deception: https://arbinger.com/bookstore/leadership-and-self-deception • The 48 Laws of Power: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/330912/the-48-laws-of-power-by-robert-greene/






