Sense and decide
The Narrative, Not the Deck
Make high-stakes decisions from a written argument in full sentences instead of slides, because prose forces the thinking that bullets let you skip.
Borrowed from Amazon's practice of making decisions from six-page written memos instead of slide decks. Read the original source.
Ongoing habit · An hour or more to set up · Anyone on the team can start it
Try this first
Ask for the next big decision as a page of full sentences instead of slides.
Use it when
Important decisions are being made off decks, and the thinking is the scarce thing.
Skip it when
Reserve it for consequential arguments. Routine updates do not need a memo.
How to introduce it
Require the case for a high-stakes decision in full sentences, not bullets. Prose forces the author to work out what matters, how the parts connect, and where the argument gives way. Bullets let all three go unexamined. AI makes polished slides much easier to produce, which makes it more important to inspect the reasoning underneath.
How to show up
Hold the line that big calls arrive in prose, and read for the thinking, not the finish. Watch for fluent AI text with nothing underneath it.
How long it takes
More time to write than to make slides. The payoff is clearer thinking and better decisions.
What makes it hard
Writing is slower and people resist it, which is the point. A model will now produce a fluent memo with no thought behind it, so read for the author's reasoning rather than the prose quality.
What it looks like when it's working
Big decisions rest on arguments you can follow, and weak reasoning shows up on the page. Decisions still riding on slick slides mean nothing changed.
How long until it sticks
Expect several decisions before writing-first feels worth the effort rather than a burden.
How you know it stuck
The team reaches for a written argument on important calls and judges it by the thinking.
The idea behind it
Bullets let people gesture at ideas without connecting them. Sentences make the reasoning visible, including the gaps.
Where it comes from
Amazon's writing culture. AI makes polished slides and fluent prose cheap. The thinking is the scarce part, so writing culture matters more now, not less. High-stakes decisions get made from a written memo in full sentences. No bullets. Prose carries more, and it forces the author to work out what matters and how the parts connect.
Why it matters for senior teams
It shapes direction and consequential decisions