PowerPoint presentations have no place in those meetings, either. (The idea is that slide shows are a bad way to consume analytical information, as important info can get lost in a collection of bullet points and hierarchical outlines.) If someone has an idea to share — like launching AWS several years ago — it’s done via a six-page narrative aptly dubbed a “six-pager.” Everyone at the meeting will spend the first 20 or 25 minutes reading the document before discussion begins.
“If you don’t have writing skills at Amazon, it’s pretty hard to get along there,” Bell said in response to an audience question later in the session.