Why Amazon Doesn't Use PPTs

SHUTTING DOWN

Does your training give your team information overload?

When it comes to employee training, speeding up will actually slow your team down. Sounds counterintuitive - I know. But while you (the trainer) technically made it through training, your team is left dealing with some serious information overload. 

(And spoiler: they'll just need to go through it all again tomorrow!)

Just like it sounds, information overload is when you give someone too much new knowledge at once. So, instead of being helpful, the training becomes overwhelming. And ultimately, it doesn’t stick.  

Meaning, you’ll end up answering the same questions again and again. And the training you tried racing through will end up taking a lot longer.

So, how exactly can you avoid information overload?

• Present content in bite-size bits. Sounds cliche, but your team needs to know how to walk before they run. So, sort through what information you have to get through first - then wait on the rest.
• When it comes to training, less is more. I’m not saying skimp on the training content (in fact, don’t!). Just make sure that what you assign out gets your trainees the information they actually need and nothing they don’t. 
• Make the training experience more enjoyable. Think more Blue Planet – and less high school biology. Complete with gifs, videos, and - bet you won’t see this one coming - scheduled breaks to keep your team engaged! 
• Let people learn at their own speed. Otherwise, you’ll always go too fast for some people and too slow for others. And you’ll lose a few folks to confusion, boredom, or both. 

👉  Get the tricks for avoiding information overload.

WORTH A TRY

Why Amazon decided to ditch PowerPoints

It seems every time longtime execs leave Amazon, we get an inside look at all the strange ways the company operates. And Bill Carr and Colin Bryar have been no different - thanks to their new book Working Backwards. 

It’s no shocker that PowerPoints are the punchline of just about every boardroom joke. But unlike the rest of us, Jeff Bezos actually did something about it. 

In 2004, he said goodbye (company-wide) to PowerPoint presentations and hello to the 6-page memos. 

And while we’re not saying ditch PowerPoints altogether, Amazon does have a solid argument for why a narrative might be a better tool for rallying your team. Namely, that it: 

• Makes the point faster (People read faster than they talk. That’s why you always finish reading the slide before the presenter stops talking)
• Actually persuades stakeholders because it gives depth to the topic on the table (beyond just a few impressive-sounding data points)
• Highlights the quality of the idea, not the quality of a presenter. A good presenter can make a bad idea sound, well, good - costing your company big
• Gets everyone on the same page (no pun intended) because everyone has the same comprehensive context before opening up a discussion

👉 Get the full scoop.

ALL THE BUZZ

Bumble’s IPO shattered more than one glass ceiling

This Valentine’s day, it was love at first sight for Bumble investors. Last Thursday, America’s #2 dating app made their IPO official, closing the day at an $8B+ valuation (a 64% gain on the first day). 

Not to mention (or repeat, I guess) that this makes CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd one of the few female founders to ever take her company public (and the youngest at 31). 

But that’s not the only place where this market debut broke the glass ceiling. In the last 12 months, 560 companies went public, per Morning Brew. But Bumble was: 

• One of 3 companies with a female founder
• One of 8 with a female CEO
• The only one with over 70% of board seats held by women

And with over $900M+ in company stocks, Whitney’s net worth pushed past the $1B mark on Sunday. (And with only about 5% of the world’s wealthiest people being self-made women, this feat is extra noteworthy.)

TL:DR

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