📝the rules behind Amazon's six-page memo

from Bezos's own shareholder letters plus what former execs have written about it since. read the original if you can.

no PowerPoint, ever

Bezos banned slide decks for internal meetings back in 2004. no exceptions for execs.

six pages, narrative prose

full sentences, not bullets. the writing itself is supposed to force clear thinking.

study hall: 20 to 30 minutes of silent reading

the whole room reads together before anyone talks. there's no pre-read, no summary slide to skim instead.

no bullet points, anywhere in the doc

lead with the recommendation, not the buildup

data and charts go in the appendix

working backwards: write the press release first

before a line of code gets written, for new products. forces you to state the customer benefit in plain english.

PR/FAQ: press release plus the anticipated questions

state of the business section, no spin allowed

lessons learned, stated honestly

read the original letter for this one, he's specific about it and i won't paraphrase badly.

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