I find this very insightful.

written by Stefan Christoph

November 24, 2025 - One minute read

I remember my early days at my current company. Coming from roles with relative high degree of freedom but embedded in “ask for approval” culture, it was hard for me to understand that I can do most of the things just based on my own judgement. No approval needed.

Another tool we use at Amazon to assist in making high-quality, high velocity decisions is a mental model we call one-way and two-way doors. A one-way door decision is one that has significant and often irrevocable consequences—building a fulfillment or data center is an example of a decision that requires a lot of capital expenditure, planning, resources, and thus requires deep and careful analysis. A two-way door decision, on the other hand, is one that has limited and reversible consequences: A/B testing a feature on a site detail page or a mobile app is a basic but elegant example of a reversible decision.