Old video of Jeff Bezos banning PowerPoint goes viral, users react

New Delhi : An old video of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has resurfaced on social media, showing him discussing a rule he once executed that banned the use of Microsoft PowerPoint in company meetings.

The video, shared by a LinkedIn user Daniel Abrahams, revealed Bezos’ preference for memos over traditional presentations.

"Just like high school kids, executives will bluff their way through the meeting as if they've read the memo. Because we're busy. And so you've got to actually carve out the time for the memo to get read… And then everybody has actually read the memo. They're not just pretending to have read the memo," Bezos said in the video.

The LinkedIn post was shared a day ago and has received over 3,500 likes. It has also gathered several comments from users. While others were impressed, some were sceptical of this approach.

"Nice process. Need not worry about allocating a separate time to read the document. And when everyone will do it at the same time, it will be definitely less boring," a user wrote.

"This sounds insane. There are plenty of methods to ensure productive meetings other than forcing management to sit quietly and read," another user said.

One more user mentioned, "The lack of trust here is notable. This approach is controlling and assumes everyone absorbs information at the time and pace that’s optimal for the leader. If they are not managing their time well, fix that."

Meanwhile, Amazon has said that it is laying off nearly 5 per cent of its workforce at its Buy with Prime unit. The company also announced to lay off hundreds of employees at Twitch, Prime Video, Audible and MGM Studios.