@dickiebush: Bezos banned PowerPoint at Ama...

Bezos banned PowerPoint at Amazon.

Memos only.

He said, "There is no way to write a six-page narratively structured memo without clear thinking."

This is the Bezos Writing Framework (steal this and start using it today):🧵

Amazon's 6-page memos, called "narratives," follow this structure:

• Introduction
• Goals
• Tenets
• Current state
• Lessons learned
• Strategy

Meeting attendees get 20 minutes to read the memo in silence before discussion.

Bezos explains:

Here are Bezos' 6 rules for great memos:

• Use the "So What?" test
• <30 words per sentence
• Avoid jargon and acronyms
• Replace adjectives with data
• Use subject-verb-object sentences
• No "weasel words" like "nearly" or "significantly"

But there's a catch:

Following them means your memo will take days to write.

Here's why:

Now, some examples of Bezos' writing rules in action:

• Replace "in order to" say "to"

• Spell out acronyms like "ROI" on first use

• Instead of "Customers love Prime," say "Prime members spend 2x more than non-members"

This letter to his shareholders is a masterclass:

As Bezos says:

"The great memos are written and re-written, shared with colleagues who are asked to improve the work, set aside for a couple of days, and then edited again with a fresh mind."

Why does this matter?

Because Bezos wants a world-class writing culture at Amazon:

• Focus on clear thinking
• Avoid unnecessary meetings
• Frictionless knowledge transfer across teams

Here's how an Amazon employee describes it:

So, how do I apply the Bezos Writing Framework?

1. Choose 1-2 rules to practice
2. Set aside daily writing time
3. Start with a low-stakes setting (e.g. Slack messages)
4. Get feedback and repeat

But you can't do this without building a daily writing habit:

If you're looking for a (proven) way to build a daily writing habit, read this:

And highly recommend using the Bezos 6-pager memo for your next meeting:

That's it!

The Bezos Writing Framework:

• <30 words per sentence
• Replace adjectives with data
• Use the "So What?" test
• No "weasel words" i.e. "nearly" or "significantly"
• Use subject-verb-object sentences
• Avoid jargon and acronyms and clutter words.

Now you have the framework, it's time to put it into practice.

How?

By getting paid to write as a ghostwriter.

Ghostwriting is how I made my first $10,000 writing on the internet.

Here's a free, 5-day email course to help you get started: x.premiumghostwritingblueprint.com/?el=DickieP250…

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this, then follow me @dickiebush for more posts on digital writing.

Then, I'd appreciate it if you jumped back to the top and reposted the first post to share it with others:

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