Overview

At Amazon, narratives (one to six page max) were used as a decision making mechanism. Narratives are written for operational planning, new product ideas, launch decisions, hiring, etc. – for every decision. Oftentimes, there are decisions that need leadership approval or their guidance. For such cases, it is important for the team to focus on the right topic within the document so that the discussion can be routed correctly to the most important topic and the team gets the best out of the limited time they have with the leadership. “Hotly Debated Topic” was one such mechanism to ensure that the team discusses the most burning issue at hand and leadership point of view is gained in the allotted time. 

Hotly Debated Topic

It is a list of topics (maximum 3) that the author/team would put in the narrative document. After the reader has read through the narrative and understood the entire context, the document will have a section called “Hotly Debated Topic” dedicated to the burning topics that need leadership point of view. 

These hotly debated topics are the key decisions that the team needs to make through that narrative document. They are presented in such a way that all possible options are put forth and the best possible option (according to the team) is suggested. It is hotly debated because the team is either not sure of the choice made or has multiple differing point of views from various stakeholders that need to be resolved. Putting forth all options, helps the leadership take a holistic view of the problem and thus help the team in guiding the best possible decision.

Having a “hotly debated topic” is a great way to navigate the discussion towards the key areas that are either unclear or need help in resolving the key bottlenecks at work. It ensures that the discussion does not go in all different directions and there is focus within the meeting. It also establishes clarity around what the team expects from the leadership with the meeting. 

Best Practice

• Keep the hotly debated topics to maximum 3 topics
• Ensure that you have considered all possible options and chosen the option that you as a team think
• Keep the hotly debated topics at the very end of the main reading section of the narrative/document
• Use hotly debated topic to get the point of view or guidance from leadership team