Week 5 - Leading Like Jeff Bezos: Words Are More Important Than Numbers

The title of this week’s blog references a 2013 Forbes.com article of the same name.

Amazon.com recently asked our group how we would help them deliver a new service. When recruited to this team, I learned of the no PowerPoint as pitch practice. With a bit of research, I was able to learn more of the reasoning for this practice. I can also share my experience.

The bullet points that follow, summarize the article (also referenced below), and include:

• “Amazon often begins its staff meetings with 30 minutes of silent reading.”
• “The company also forgoes PowerPoint, Bezos says, which is ‘easy for the presenter, but difficult for th­e audience.’ Bezos noted that slides generally communicate very little real information—primarily bullet points and numeric data—but the necessity to communicate thoughts in full sentences and paragraphs requires presenters to think more deeply and ‘forces a deeper clarity,’ he maintains.”
• “The company structures its meetings around a six-page memo. Whereas executives tend to interrupt a PowerPoint presentation, the memos are thoroughly read. In many cases, they don’t need to ask questions because the answers are plain to see in the memos.”
• “Another benefit of the memos, Bezos says, is that they force presenters to go beyond the numeric facts of an issue or statement to include the story around it.”
• “A numeric report tempts executives (both presenting and receiving) to gloss over the complexity of a business scenario. It also leads executives to focus on figuring out what they want to say while in the midst of their presentation. However, it is much harder work—and a much more meaningful message that is shared—when a presenter has prepared the material well enough to ‘speak simple.’” 

I was pleasantly surprised to learn this communication dynamic. Fortunately, I was also prepared. My primary tool in defining the scope of a project is a creative, or marketing brief. I use MS Word, and had already prepared an outline in bullet form. Team brainstorm sessions added more bullets to the mix. We each had to re-write our bullets into a narrative. Personally, it takes effort to consolidate the meaning and tell a succinct, credible, memorable, and compelling story. I understand the value of this philosophy, and get to see this communication dynamic first-hand.

I also had the good fortune to speak with classmates and colleagues. Each helped me gain a greater understanding of this practice. My key insights are this: the practice of preparing a clear, compelling description of a quest, is better that a bulleted PowerPoint deck.  Particularly when your client will communicate this business imperative to executive stakeholders (hoping they will remember the nuance in my bullet points, and detail in the speaker notes). More importantly, the practice of everyone reading a document is an excellent way to literally and figuratively get everyone on the same page. In my experience, this practice added a level of focus, efficiency, and support.

References:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2013/09/04/leading-like-jeff-bezos-words-are-more-important-than-numbers/