Stephen Turner
Akash Kumar
Jordan Lee
Taylor Scott
How to run a memo meeting: read first, then decide
In a memo meeting, one team writes a narrative document, everyone reads it silently at the start, and the discussion begins only then. Amazon describes this practice in its 2017 shareholder letter. It suits decisions that need a full argument, and it fails when the memo is rushed.
What a memo meeting is
A memo meeting starts with reading, not presenting. Attendees get a written narrative when they sit down, and they read it in silence before anyone speaks.
Amazon's 2017 shareholder letter describes the practice. The company writes "narratively structured six-page memos" instead of using slides, and reads one silently at the beginning of each meeting, in a kind of "study hall".
When to use one
Use it when the decision depends on reasoning that slides would compress away. Skip it for status updates and for brainstorming, where the ideas don't exist yet.
- Good fit: a new product proposal, a budget request, a policy change.
- Good fit: a decision involving people who weren't in the earlier discussions.
- Poor fit: a weekly check-in, which needs no long document.
- Poor fit: an urgent call, since a good memo takes days to write.
A 60-minute agenda
This is a starting point we suggest, not a fixed rule. Give reading whatever time the document needs.
| Time | What happens | Who leads |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5 min | State the decision needed and who makes it | Decision owner |
| 5–25 min | Silent reading, with comments written in the margin | Everyone |
| 25–50 min | Questions and objections, starting from the margin notes | Facilitator |
| 50–55 min | The decision, or what's needed to reach one | Decision owner |
| 55–60 min | Owners and dates for next steps | Note-taker |
Who does what
- Author team: writes the memo. Amazon's letter says authors' names don't appear, because the memo comes from the whole team.
- Decision owner: says up front what must be decided, and decides at the end.
- Facilitator: stops anyone from talking through the document during reading.
- Note-taker: records objections, the decision and its reasons.
Write a memo that earns the time
A common failure is underestimating the work. Amazon's letter says a strong six-page memo can take a week or more, rewritten, shared with colleagues, set aside and edited again.
Six pages isn't the point, so write what the decision needs. A simple structure can carry most proposals.
- The decision you want, in the first paragraph.
- The problem, with the evidence for it.
- The options you considered, and why you rejected them.
- Your recommendation, its costs and its risks.
- What would change your mind.
Capture what the document can't
The memo records the proposal. It doesn't record the objections, the changes made in the room or why the decision went the way it did. That's what the notes are for.
Send the decision, its reasons and the open questions to attendees the same day. File them with the memo, so later readers see both.
Using Bridge for the discussion
Capture the discussion so nobody has to take full notes. Bridge produces notes, a speaker-labeled transcript and assigned action items after the meeting.
A recap template can pull out what this format needs, such as objections and the final decision. The reading period adds little to the transcript, so the memo stays your record of the proposal.
Sources & further reading
Keep readingWhat is a decision-making meeting? →