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Amazon really emphasizes hiring and developing writing ability. I’m convinced it’s a major reason they’ve been so successful.

(I worked there 2006-2016)

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Can you talk at all about what they do to develop writing skill?

> I'm convinced it's a major reason they've been so successful.

I'd be interested to hear why you think this.

One guess I've got is that a high standard for writing is a filter for bad ideas - if you can't justify your idea in a tight, well-written document, then it's probably not worth trying out.

They have classes and workshops for employees who want to get better at writing, but primarily they just expect you to get better with practice. I wrote a few one pagers every month as an engineer, and managers produced an order of magnitude more.

You've got it more or less. The way I say it is that bad ideas can't hide in writing. You can fool yourself and others with a powerpoint or a spoken argument. But clear writing demands clear thinking. Poorly constructed arguments are (usually) obvious as such when put into writing.

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