Presenting ideas through eye-catching slides has become almost a norm.
Many believe this is an effective way of handling executive meetings to share and debate ideas and proposals. But not Jeff Bezos – oh no! – he became quite famous for challenging and dismantling this belief.
And it is not by chance that many leaders are choosing to adopt Jeff Bezos’ presentation style. His method is based on a simple yet effective idea for promoting productive discussions: written memos instead of PowerPoint presentations.
I like a crisp document and a messy meeting! Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon
Let’s explore this further.
So, what is wrong with PowerPoint?
PowerPoint is a great sales tool, but it should take the back seat when the goal is successful communication.
Here is why:
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Managers and executives tend to include very little information on the slides. Although this makes it easier to quickly walk the audience through a project, it often lacks critical information for practical decision-making.
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Just as small gifts can be wrapped with glaring packaging, you can make a few good-looking slides that carry little meaning. With PowerPoint, it is easy for presenters to only cast a light on the details or information they want to share to avoid prompting a real debate and eventually making very little to no changes to their projects.
Thus, if your goal is to optimise time while promoting a debate of good ideas and identify and eliminate the bad ones, you need a more effective method to guide your meetings. And this is where Amazon's 6-page memo strategy comes in.
What makes memos so effective?
A memo is a well-structured narrative containing comprehensive information about an idea, a proposal, or a project. And that alone makes it a better format to expose both solid reasoning and flaws.
When making a memo, you (as a writer) are forced to put your ideas into paper. If you wish to persuade the reader, you have to articulate your thoughts between the topics, make the narrative clear to follow, and go deep when explaining details – especially those that can make or break a plan!
Another win for Jeff Bezos memos is how, through writing, they help you think better and accurately analyse your own words and content and make the iterations necessary. Being a good communicator starts with how you think, and writing can help you improve. There is a reason that great leaders often are great writers and readers.
How to become a memo wizard?
Jeff Bezos 6-page memo was created to ensure productivity and effectiveness in decision meetings. Specifically on the ones where you want to have everyone's insights on the matter.
A great memo is easy to understand and promotes critical thinking. There is a specific structure you can follow to ensure all the content is there and to facilitate its reading. Here is what a Jeff Bezos meeting memo should look like:
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Introduction: Why are we having this meeting in the first place? – Concisely explain the situation, the aim, and the relevance of the meeting.
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Goals: What are we trying to accomplish? – Write down where you want to go in the form of SMART goals so that everyone is on the same page.
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The Team: Why this group of people? – Get everyone you invited on board by explicitly explaining how each one can contribute and which actions are expected of them.
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Background: What needs to be shared to lay the ground for ideas? – Gather all the relevant facts, observations, and events into comprehensive paragraphs. This ensures everyone has the same information to analyse your idea.
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The pitch: What is your message? – You have already set the scene, now comes the time to objectively spread your message. Do not leave any key details out.
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The ask: What do you need? – Explicitly share the calls to action needed to make your idea a reality.
The main point of memos is to prepare your team so you collectively can make a good decision.
Making the change to Jeff Bezos meeting memo
Creating change starts with changing habits.
Typically, people tend to unconsciously have unproductive meetings simply because they do not prepare enough for the meeting and set strict agendas. In most cases, they will finish the meeting with no valuable outcome.
Moving over to Jeff Bezos meeting memo culture implies that you do the reverse of what you are probably used to. There should be a greater effort in the preparation phase and the agenda should have enough room for the team to navigate the topic. The agenda can simply be the questions you have after reading the memo.
We have put together simple steps you can follow to ensure a smooth transition into the “memo culture”:
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Schedule the meeting, send the invites, and start preparing the memo right away;
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Set your expectations right – according to Jeff Bezos, a great memo may easily take you 2 weeks to develop, analyse, and revisit. Use your time wisely.
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Ask for feedback – another person can look at your words with a different lens and give you insightful feedback. As Jeff Bezos mentions “The great memos are written and rewritten, shared with colleagues who are asked to improve the work, set aside for a couple of days, and then edited again with a fresh mind”.
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Start the meeting with a reading session – To make sure everyone has the time and mental disposition to read through the memo, take the first 30 minutes for a silent reading session. This is when everyone individually will form their opinions and questions.
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Clarify – Was something left unclear after the reading? Use this time to allow each person to ask you clarifying questions.
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Discuss the asks – with everyone tuned in, discuss the asks. Make sure you leave room for wondering, as it may lead to new insights. After all, that is the aim of the discussion.
How to convince your team to use 6-page memos
If you are looking to introduce memos in your company, you may already imagine the resistance you will receive in return.
When you introduce something new to others, people will fight it. It is in our nature. In the case of Jeff Bezos memos, your team might resist because of two reasons:
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Our brain has a default response to only stick to things that are familiar - thousands of years ago this determined survival. As PowerPoint is a tool the majority of people are already hyper familiarised with, there is more resistance to other solutions.
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Memos clearly expose the flaws of someone’s thinking, which are easily hidden in PowerPoint presentations. Hence, some people are afraid of the discomfort this level of exposure might bring.
The best way for you to overcome this initial resistance is by setting the example yourself. Be the one that starts using memo as a regular practice.
Slowly but surely, your team will acknowledge its advantages. They will realise that meetings become more productive and lead to more valuable insights and better decisions.
Once your team is familiar with the approach and sees memos as a benefit, you can challenge them to start owning meetings and using 6-page memos. After all, memos do everything PowerPoint presentations do, plus they allow for enough text to connect the dots.
Summary
Compared to PowerPoint, Jeff Bezos’ presentation style - the 6-page memo - is a compelling way of promoting mutual alignment before decisions are made - a crucial step for implementing good ideas.
The foundations for putting Jeff Bezos memos at the centre of your meetings can be summarised as follows:
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Prepare the 6-page memo – take the time to analyse it, ask for feedback, and reframe it;
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Always start the meeting with a reading session, followed by questions to set matters clear;
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Finish with a productive discussion around the asks.
Remember consistency is key when building new habits and creating positive change. Set the example first, and your team will follow it ;)