Some Amazon teams have used an empty chair in meetings to represent the customer who is not in the room. The practice turns the abstract principle of customer centricity into a visible reminder: whenever people discuss a product, process, or service, they should reconsider the decision from the user’s point of view.

The chair’s value lies not in the ritual itself, but in the concrete questions it prompts. What difficulty is the customer actually facing? Does our proposal add effort to the experience? If users scrutinized this decision publicly, could we clearly explain our reasoning? These questions can redirect a discussion away from departmental convenience, internal metrics, or personal preference and back toward the needs of the people being served.

A customer perspective does not mean accommodating every request. Managers still need to weigh safety, cost, sustainability, and the long-term experience. The key is to understand the need first, then make trade-offs based on evidence. When a team cannot meet a request immediately, it should explain the constraints honestly and look for an alternative that addresses the underlying problem.

The practice also gives cross-functional discussions a shared reference point. Product, engineering, operations, and customer service may each pursue different goals. Asking, “How would the customer experience this?” can help the group see whether local optimization is harming the overall experience. It reminds leaders that results should not be measured only by how much work the organization completes, but also by whether users can accomplish their goals more easily.

A Practical Management Lesson

Bringing the customer to the meeting table does not require buying an extra chair. Add three questions to the agenda:

  • What is the user’s pain point?
  • What evidence supports our understanding?
  • How will we verify that the decision improved the experience?

If the answers remain unclear, improve the team’s understanding before rushing to launch a solution.

Which decision in your organization would benefit from hearing the customer’s perspective first?