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Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and an iconic figure in entrepreneurial success, does not only shine with his strategic vision. He is also known for his careful management of time and meetings. If you are looking to improve the performance of your business meetings, the methods adopted by Bezos are as surprising as they are effective.
Here are two practices from its corporate culture, simple to implement and yet deeply transformative.
1. The “Silent Start”: a silent start for deeper exchanges
At Amazon, Jeff Bezos quickly identified three major problems in traditional meetings:
- The lack of preparation of stakeholders
- The participants' approximate understanding of the subject
- The use of PowerPoint, not conducive to critical thinking
To remedy this, he established the “Silent Start”. Concretely, each meeting starts with 30 minutes of silence, during which participants read a 4 to 6 page preparatory memo. This document, written in complete sentences (no bullet points), serves as a basis for reflection.
Why it works:
- Silent reading eliminates distractions and focuses attention on the subject.
- Each participant enters the discussion with the same level of information.
- The author of the memo, by synthesizing his idea in writing, is better prepared and clearer.
Jeff Bezos recalls it himself: “It is impossible to write a 6-page memo without thinking deeply about the subject”. The result: meetings become clearer, more effective, and the discussion becomes truly collaborative.
2. The “2 pizzas” rule: limit the size of your meetings
Another key principle at Bezos: avoid overcrowded meetings, where productivity is plummeting. His solution is as simple as it is telling: Never bring together more people than two pizzas could feed.
In other words, limit the number of participants to encourage:
- Everyone's voice
- Collective concentration
- The emergence of new ideas
Smaller teams allow for better alignment, fewer digressions, and better decision-making efficiency. According to Rachel Gillet (Fast Company), this method also reduces the phenomenon of “idea killers”, these inhibitory behaviors that hinder innovation in large groups.
Fewer people, more value
What Bezos is proving through these two approaches is that a meeting is not an end in itself. It is a coordination tool, which should never replace individual reflection or dilute responsibility. Efficiency is based on preparation in advance, the ability to listen, and the quality of exchanges, much more than their quantity.
In summary:
- Start your meetings with concentrated reading time to align all minds
- Reduce the number of participants to promote the quality of decisions
- Replace PowerPoint presentations with clear, written notes
What if you reinvented your meetings like Jeff Bezos?
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Discover our turnkey meeting spaces, designed for shorter, more human, and above all more impactful formats.
