Why it matters
Jeff Bezos was known for leaving an empty chair in meetings to remind everyone of the most important person not in the room: the customer. It’s a simple, physical prompt to keep decisions anchored to who they serve.
How to run it
- Set an empty chair at the table (or an empty video tile labelled “Customer”).
- Assign a voice. Rotate someone each meeting to speak for the person in the chair.
- Ask before deciding: “What would the person in this chair say about this?”
- Adapt the occupant. For internal decisions, the chair can represent frontline staff, patients, students — whoever you serve.
Watch out for
- The chair becoming furniture nobody notices — someone must speak for it
When not to use it
Internal process meetings with no customer impact — substitute whoever the decision affects.