My PIP at Amazon: What Happened and the Report That Got Me Off It

I was put on a performance improvement plan at Amazon, early in my career. I made it off in 30 days. Three things got me through: my mindset, the relationships I built, and one weekly report that showed my manager and my skip level exactly what I was doing.

That report is now the PIP Survival Email Template. Here is the story behind it.

The Team

I spent about two years on a launch team inside a marketing organization at Amazon. We ran live launch events and published the announcements that went with them. High visibility, high pressure, every single week.

We were all in our twenties, and for most of us it was our first real corporate job. None of us had ever been on a PIP. The pressure bonded us. Our weekly team meeting was a fast round of “what did you do this week,” and it ran long because there was so much to do. It also taught me something I still use: when everyone reports out, you find the gaps where you can help each other.

I loved that team. I will probably never work on another one like it.

What Happened

I was also in graduate school at the time, and I was running on fumes.

One day I was slammed, and I published an announcement that was not supposed to go out yet. I caught it fast, and there was no public fallout. But I had to ask my manager to help pull it down, which meant taking his time on a day when he had plenty of his own problems.

I apologized. I also learned that an apology does not fix the problem. Then I made the same mistake again later that month.

I was rushing. I was trying to do everything at once, and I lost focus. My performance was solid, but nobody above my manager could see the work, and in corporate, out of sight is out of mind.

My manager put me on a PIP.

The Manager Who Told Me the Truth

To this day, he is one of the best managers I have ever had. At the time, he was a little scary.

He chose his words carefully, and he told me the truth, which is rare. He said I needed to report out on what I was doing every week, and it needed to be clear. He needed to understand my work so he could vouch for me to his manager, my skip level.

That was his way of saying: I am trying to look out for you, so give me what I need to do it.

Looking back, my timing was lucky. I was early in my career, reporting to a senior leader who wanted to help me. I was coachable. And I did not want to leave. I loved the team, and I did not want to damage my reputation.

Thirty Days

Those 30 days were the hardest of my career. I would not wish them on anyone.

I did two things.

First, I made the report better every single time. I started sending it every two weeks. Once the work started stacking up, I switched to weekly. I sent it to the right people: my manager, my skip level, and the teams my work actually helped. Every update showed them that my work was moving their work forward.

Second, I decided that nothing mattered more than keeping my job for those 30 days. That meant sleepless nights. I was so stretched that I was afraid I would either fail out of graduate school or lose my job. I did neither. I kept my job, and I graduated on time.

When I needed to cry, I cried at home, or once or twice in the bathroom at work. In front of my manager, I stayed positive. I told him I would do everything I could, even if I did not make it. I was eager, and I was willing to do the work, even on the days I was miserable.

I believe at least 60 percent of my success comes from that mindset. It does not always work. But hard work, a forward-looking attitude and being coachable carried me through that plan.

Where the Template Came From

The PIP Survival Email Template is the exact report I sent. It was my receipt. My manager used it to show my work, and my skip level read it every week. It said: I am doing hard things, it is working, and here is the proof.

The format is one overarching goal with a status, then highlights, lowlights and a two week outlook. I wrote out how to write each part step by step here.

What Happened After

I made it off the plan. I also knew I could not stay on that team long term. Thirty days at that pace had cost me my personal life, and I was not okay mentally. Stress like that shows up in your body over time.

I was already finishing my master’s degree so I could explore other companies, and I had started applying. A few months after I made it off the plan, our manager told the whole team to start looking for new roles because the team was being disbanded. It was time for all of us to move on.

The plan changed how I worked. To get off it, I had to perform at the level above mine. I learned how corporate actually measures performance, and that understanding is what helped me make the jump to a senior role at Microsoft.

What I Want You to Take From This

Working hard, showing up on time and having a good attitude are the starting line. Past that, people above you have to see the work, and they have to understand why it matters.

That plan was painful, and it brought me closer to the people I worked with. I can reach out to any of them today, including the manager who put me on the plan, and they would vouch for me.

If you are on a PIP right now, I know what this feels like. Start with the report.

Samantha Cook is the founder of Inside the Cubicle® in Seattle. She spent seven years at Amazon, where she made it off her own PIP, and four years at Microsoft as a senior leader.

For education only. This is not legal advice, and no result is guaranteed. For your specific PIP, severance or contract, talk with an employment attorney. See our Terms.