What is an Amazon Six Pager Memo?
The presentation concept that deprecated PowerPoint at Amazon
A Six-Pager memo is a comprehensive written six page document that elaborates and details a business subject. The goal is simple: facilitating effective decision making.
Jeff Bezos introduced the Six Pager approach in 2004 at Amazon banning the use of powerpoint presentations. They don’t provide enough context and detail for making high-quality decisions.
The document consists of six distinct sections: introduction, goals, tenets, state of the business, lessons learned, and strategic priorities. These headers are ideal for strategic planning and deep dives. Some companies and teams interchange them based on the topic and goal of the doc.
There are many best practices for the preparation and review of a memo. It starts with one or several people taking the lead in writing the narrative. They are often subject matter experts who enrich the document with necessary details for the reader’s comprehension.
The preparation process of a Six Pager is iterative. The doc leader gathers early feedback from relevant stakeholders and iterates. The process concludes with a stakeholder meeting, which serves as the actual “presentation”. The review session starts with silent 20 min reading and commenting. After everyone read the document the discussion starts. The organizer goes through all comments. Some comments are straightforward answered, others lead to a larger discussion. A notetaker takes meeting minutes to capture important action items and decisions.
The Background of Six Pager Memos
In 2004, Jeff Bezos informed his top-tier group, the STeam, about Amazon's choice to stop using PowerPoint presentations. Pete Abilla, a former Amazon employee, revealed this insight in a blog post. He shared the original email from Bezos on his company's blog:
Jeff Bezo’s eMail to introduce Six Pager Memos
The recent publishing of the book “Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon" reveals further insights. Jeff Bezos found PowerPoint presentations to be inefficient, leading to their replacement. The Six Pager method is key to Amazon's culture, encouraging teamwork and ownership of initiatives.
The renowned professor Edward Tufte provided the initial inspiration for this approach. His research in data visualization critiques PowerPoint presentations.
“It is not how much empty space there is, but rather how it is used. It is not how much information there is, but rather how effectively it is arranged.” - Edward Tufte
Over the past few years, Amazon Six Page type of narratives have become more adopted at larger tech centric companies. Overall, the concept is still at its infancy, people wondering “What’s a Six Pager”, “How do I write and prepare it”?
I am sharing best practices and lessons learned on this website, gained through collaborating with executives who embraced this method. Don’t hesitate to reach out.
Also check out the free Six Pager Template and How to Guide.
