‘It's really hard to hide sloppy thinking': Why Jeff Bezos makes everyone read memos for 30 minutes before Amazon meetings, and what this approach teaches us

Indian Express

a day ago

Imagine walking into a meeting, expecting a PowerPoint presentation, only to be handed a six-page document, and then sitting in silence for 30 minutes to read it. According to billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos, this isn't an unusual occurrence. 'Meetings at Amazon … are unusual,' he recently told podcaster Lex Fridman. 'For 30 minutes, we sit there silently together in the meeting and read, take notes in the margins. And then we discuss.'
This approach isn't new. Bezos banned PowerPoint presentations in executive meetings as far back as 2004, replacing them with 'well-structured, narrative text.' The reasons? People weren't preparing, PowerPoint leaned too much on persuasion, and shallow thinking could hide behind slides.
'It's better just to carve out the time for people,' Bezos explained. 'So now we're all on the same page.' According to him, memos promote deeper thinking, truth-seeking, and more thoughtful conversation. 'When you have to write in complete sentences with narrative structure, it's really hard to hide sloppy thinking,' he said.
Gurleen Baruah, organisational psychologist at That Culture Thing, tells indianexpress.com, ' Absolutely. Traditional meetings often lack clear agendas or rely on slides with bullet points, which don't require much thought. Many executives end up showing up unprepared simply because they are busy.'
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She continues, 'Bezos's approach, starting with a detailed memo, makes everyone slow down, focus, and enter the discussion informed and prepared. Full sentences demand clearer thinking than bullet points. This improves the quality of dialogue and decision-making. It's not just a meeting hack but a cultural shift that values preparation and depth over presentation.'
According to Baruah, writing in complete sentences forces the author to think more clearly, connect dots, and structure arguments with logic and coherence. 'Research in cognitive psychology suggests that the act of writing deepens critical thinking and improves memory recall. A memo reveals gaps in reasoning that a flashy slide might gloss over. It invites feedback not just on the 'what' but on the 'why' and 'how.''
From a team dynamics standpoint, this kind of writing encourages intellectual honesty and thoughtful debate, rather than just performance or persuasion.
'Yes, a 'silent start' with written memos can absolutely work for smaller teams or non-corporate setups, sometimes even more effectively than in large organisations. But whether it works depends less on team size and more on cultural alignment. If an organisation values speed over thoughtfulness, or charisma over clarity, this method may feel slow or forced,' notes the expert.
For memo-based meetings to succeed, leaders must model depth over performance and prioritise substance over style. Baruah concludes, 'It's not just about reading memos but building a culture where people are given time to think, where preparation is respected, and where the default isn't always 'move fast,' but 'decide well.' As with any change, consistency and clarity around the why is key.'