This is the discussion. You are supposed to ask me any questions that you noted down. The bullet points are to illustrate that they are a good tool to summarise what is already covered, not when they are the primary medium of communication.
I often think of PPT as selling / story telling, 6 pager as discussion / decision making. PPT for decision making is often a bad idea.
I am a huge fan of Amz 6 pagers and believe strongly in it but...but....there are 6 pagers and there are 6 pagers. The mere act of creating a 6 page document doesn't make it significantly better. The rigor in how it is constructed plays a massive role in its effectiveness.
1. No wasted words - being succint is key and not to stuff words to make it a 6 pager
2. Data over fluff
3. Being objective over using it to push an agenda
I've seen some bad examples of 6 pages. It is the worst of all worlds. Takes time, wastes time and is less effective than a great PPT.
I know you worked at Amazon. Do people get better at writing with time at Amazon? I agree with all your points, but #3 seems to be key. I would expect that people start with writing heavily one-sided 6-pagers and the experience of getting torn apart during questioning helps them learn to anticipate objections and counterpoints, and eventually they learn to write fewer advertising brochures and more thoughtful and data driven analytical documents.
I think they do. It's driven significantly by what you refered to as meetings to get it right before it even gets to the actual meeting. That's a function of having enough leaders in positions who've internalized it well and have honed it to a skill. But sometimes when teams grow fast and things need to happen quickly I've seen these processes slip and you end up with shittier and shittier 6 pagers until it gets in front of someone who'se a veteran and tears it apart.
Took me 20 mins to read this. Where is the discussion? And why the billet points?
This is the discussion. You are supposed to ask me any questions that you noted down. The bullet points are to illustrate that they are a good tool to summarise what is already covered, not when they are the primary medium of communication.
I often think of PPT as selling / story telling, 6 pager as discussion / decision making. PPT for decision making is often a bad idea.
I am a huge fan of Amz 6 pagers and believe strongly in it but...but....there are 6 pagers and there are 6 pagers. The mere act of creating a 6 page document doesn't make it significantly better. The rigor in how it is constructed plays a massive role in its effectiveness.
1. No wasted words - being succint is key and not to stuff words to make it a 6 pager
2. Data over fluff
3. Being objective over using it to push an agenda
I've seen some bad examples of 6 pages. It is the worst of all worlds. Takes time, wastes time and is less effective than a great PPT.
I know you worked at Amazon. Do people get better at writing with time at Amazon? I agree with all your points, but #3 seems to be key. I would expect that people start with writing heavily one-sided 6-pagers and the experience of getting torn apart during questioning helps them learn to anticipate objections and counterpoints, and eventually they learn to write fewer advertising brochures and more thoughtful and data driven analytical documents.
I think they do. It's driven significantly by what you refered to as meetings to get it right before it even gets to the actual meeting. That's a function of having enough leaders in positions who've internalized it well and have honed it to a skill. But sometimes when teams grow fast and things need to happen quickly I've seen these processes slip and you end up with shittier and shittier 6 pagers until it gets in front of someone who'se a veteran and tears it apart.