The theme this time is improving proposals and meetings in the business world. One of the most striking insights I took away from the recently held Product Manager Conference 2024 was a decision-making technique shared by a former Amazon HQ Product Manager. It emphasized document-driven meetings over PowerPoint presentations. Reflecting on my own experiences, I want to explore the value of this approach.
Throughout my career, I’ve encountered inefficiencies in countless meetings. Even when well-prepared slides were presented, discussions often remained superficial, and post-meeting information sharing was inadequate. What stood out to me the most was how the way a presenter spoke or their position in the organization could influence discussions—sometimes at the expense of genuinely evaluating the content itself.
In this session, the “document culture” was introduced as a solution to these challenges. The approach involves documenting proposals in advance and allowing participants time to read them in silence before discussions begin. This ensures that discussions are focused on the content rather than being influenced by the presenter’s speaking skills or status. The techniques of structuring proposals using the SCQA framework and the pyramid principle were particularly compelling. These methods reduce the cognitive load on readers, facilitating fast and accurate decision-making, which I believe is an essential mindset in modern business.
This method also proves highly effective for post-meeting information sharing. Once created, a document acts as an extension of the proposer, making it easier to share information with new members. In my own projects, explaining foundational concepts to each new team member has often been a time-consuming challenge. Moving forward, I plan to adopt this approach to improve operational efficiency.
However, one major barrier to widespread adoption of this method is the difficulty of writing effectively. While writing itself seems simple, structuring information in a way that captures the essence requires skill. As the person ultimately responsible for project management, I recognize the need to refine my own writing abilities as well.
Finally, I’d like to leave you with one key takeaway: The document-driven culture has the potential to elevate the quality of projects and organizations. By adopting this method, we can significantly enhance both the speed and quality of decision-making. I firmly believe that for those taking on new challenges, this is a valuable tool worth exploring. Moving forward, I plan to delve deeper into this topic and share insights gained through real-world implementation.