Managing Up and Across: How to Write Memos and Present to the C‑Suite
Senior leaders don’t lack opinions-they lack time, context, and clear trade‑offs. Your job as a PM is to make decisions easy to make and hard to misinterpret. That’s what great executive communication does: it compresses complexity into a narrative that highlights what matters, why it matters now, and exactly what you need from the people who can move mountains.
Below is a tactical guide to executive memos, board‑update decks, and frameworks for presenting complex trade‑offs. It pulls from well‑documented practices (Amazon’s narrative memos and PR/FAQ, Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle, board guidance from top VCs) and research on how people actually process information.
Why memos (and narrative slides) beat raw decks
Amazon famously replaced slideware with prose. As Jeff Bezos put it: “We don’t do PowerPoint… Instead, we write narratively structured six‑page memos. We silently read one at the beginning of each meeting in a kind of ‘study hall.’” The practice exists because narrative forces clearer thinking and creates a shared base of facts before debate begins. (SEC)
There’s also a cognitive reason narrative works: working memory is limited-often to about 3–5 meaningful items so your communication must foreground the few ideas that change the decision. This is not taste; it’s how minds work. (PubMed)
The executive memo: a repeatable structure
Two complementary patterns will carry you a long way:
BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)
Lead with the decision and consequence in one to three sentences. BLUF is standard in U.S. military writing because it accelerates decisions under time pressure. (Maine)Minto’s Pyramid + SCQA
Open with the answer, support it with 3–5 reasons, then supply evidence. When you need to build tension constructively, frame the intro as Situation → Complication → Question → Answer (SCQA), then return to the top‑down pyramid for the rest. (Texas Health Services)
Memo skeleton (2–4 pages + appendices)
BLUF / Decision: the call you’re making, plus the single metric or risk that justifies urgency.
Context (SCQA): what changed and why deciding now matters.
Options & trade‑offs: 2–3 real alternatives, pros/cons, expected impact.
Recommendation: why this beats the next best alternative.
Risks, guardrails, kill criteria: how we’ll know we’re wrong.
Asks: the 1–3 specific approvals or resources you need, owners, dates.
Tip: Keep the main body “Pyramid‑tight.” Put detail (market scans, experiments, redlines) in linked appendices so execs who need depth can get it without bloating the core argument. The Pyramid Principle is designed for exactly this top‑down consumption. (ModelThinkers)
The PR/FAQ when you need to sell a future
When the decision is about creating something new, use a PR/FAQ (Amazon’s “Working Backwards” method): a one‑page press release that describes the customer‑visible outcome, followed by FAQs that pre‑mortem objections (feasibility, adoption, economics, risks). The goal is to align on what success looks like before you debate how to build it. The originators describe it as “start by defining the customer experience, then work backwards,” which is why the PR/FAQ has powered many of Amazon’s major initiatives. (Working Backwards)
PR/FAQ quick outline
Press release (customer‑facing)
Top 10 FAQs (feasibility, GTM, economics, risks)
Milestones & owner
Key uncertainties & test plan
Deconstructing a high‑impact product strategy memo
Imagine you’re proposing “Guided SSO & Admin Controls” to unlock enterprise upgrades.
BLUF
Ship Guided SSO + role‑based audits this quarter to increase enterprise conversion by +2–3 pts while reducing security exceptions by 30%.
SCQA intro
Situation: Self‑serve teams are growing; admins are emerging.
Complication: Security reviews are delaying upgrades; SSO attempts fail and support escalations spike.
Question: Which admin features unlock the most enterprise revenue soonest?
Answer: Guided SSO + audit logs now; SCIM and granular RBAC next.
Options & trade‑offs (one paragraph each, not a wall of text)
A. Guided SSO + audit logs (now): +2–3 pts upgrade; low eng risk; clears security reviews.
B. Full SCIM now: higher impact later, but slower to learn; more dependencies.
C. Defer features; push sales‑assist: near‑term lift, but keeps ops/SE load high.
Decision model
Expected value: probability‑weighted revenue impact – cost (build + delay). If A has a 60% chance of +$2.5M in 12 months vs. B’s 40% chance of +$3.5M but 2× cycle time, A wins on EV and time‑to‑proof. (Expected value is the probability‑weighted average outcome; use it to make choices under uncertainty.) (Investopedia)
Risks & guardrails
Risk: SSO edge‑case complexity. Guardrail: limited IdP scope for v1; success = ≥70% guided completions; kill or pivot if <40% by Week 6.
Asks
Approve scope (A), staff 1 FE/1 BE, and commit GTM enablement by MM/DD.
That’s everything an exec needs: the call, why it matters now, what you’re not doing, the math behind it, and how you’ll know if you’re wrong.
Board‑update slides that actually help you
“Board decks don’t actually have to be decks.” Several Sequoia companies use Amazon‑style memos; pick the medium that conveys the fewest, right metrics with the clearest narrative. (articles.sequoiacap.com)
Whether you send a memo or slides, your package should calibrate the board quickly, surface decisions, and reserve time to think together-not rehash last quarter. Sequoia’s guidance includes a simple flow: Big Picture, Calibration (select, story‑telling metrics), Company Building, Working Session, Closed Session-with examples like monthly waterfalls for revenue/burn/cash/headcount. Share materials 1–2 days early so the meeting is for discussion. (articles.sequoiacap.com)
Bessemer’s CFO playbook adds practical guardrails: limit core KPIs to five or six; lead with takeaways (“tell the punchline at the beginning”); and-critically-spend two‑thirds of board time on decisions the CEO is considering but hasn’t made yet, not retroactive reporting. (Bessemer Venture Partners)
Board packet backbone (8–12 slides + appendix)
BLUF / CEO letter - state the business in one page: what’s up, what’s down, where you need help. (BLUF.) (Wikipedia)
KPI Scorecard - the fewest right metrics (e.g., ARR, NRR, CAC payback, cash, runway), with green/yellow/red vs. plan and one‑sentence insight per metric. (Bessemer Venture Partners)
Narrative Metrics - the story, not a data dump: pipeline vs. target, product engagement/retention, customer experience (NPS with context). (articles.sequoiacap.com)
Product & Roadmap - launches since last meeting, what’s next, biggest risks. (articles.sequoiacap.com)
People/Org - forward‑looking org chart, open key roles. (articles.sequoiacap.com)
Working Session Topics (1–2) - the debates you want.
Risks & Mitigations - top 3.
Asks - the decisions/introductions/resources needed, owner, date. (Bessemer’s note: highlight whodecides when.) (Bessemer Venture Partners)
Rule of thumb: If a slide’s headline isn’t a complete sentence that states the insight, you’re outsourcing interpretation. Don’t. (Bessemer explicitly recommends “provide the takeaways upfront with metrics supporting.”) (Bessemer Venture Partners)
Presenting complex trade‑offs (so executives can say “yes” fast)
1) Classify the type of decision first
Bezos’s door metaphor is useful: “Some decisions are consequential and irreversible-one‑way doors… But most… are two‑way doors.” Use slow, high‑rigor process for Type 1 and bias to speed for Type 2; don’t over‑process reversible choices. (Q4 Capital)
When you do disagree, apply the principle that “saves a lot of time”: “disagree and commit.” Use it to maintain velocity when evidence is ambiguous and a leader has conviction. (SEC)
2) Put math to the trade‑off
Expected Value (EV): Multiply outcomes by probability; choose the option with the highest EV, sanity‑checked by downside risk. Use EV for product bets, GTM experiments, and hiring plans under uncertainty. (Investopedia)
Cost of Delay / WSJF: Prioritize by (Cost of Delay) ÷ (Duration). SAFe popularized WSJF to sequence work for maximum economic benefit; it’s especially helpful when too many “good” things compete for limited capacity. (SAFe Framework)
One‑slide trade‑off template
Decision: what, by when.
Options (A/B/C): one‑liner each.
Impact (12 months): EV, uncertainty bands.
Cost of Delay: $/month, WSJF rank.
Risks & Reversibility: door type, kill criteria.
Recommendation & Ask.
3) Clarify who decides
Decision roles prevent “everyone owns it, so no one owns it.” Pick one and declare it:
RAPID (Bain): Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, Decide. (Bain)
DACI (Atlassian): Driver, Approver (one!), Contributors, Informed. (Atlassian)
SPADE (popularized at Square): Setting, People, Alternatives, Decide, Explain. The public toolkit includes examples and templates. (Coda)
State the framework on your slide/memo header (e.g., DACI: Driver - A. Lee; Approver - CPO; Decision by MM/DD). This tiny move eliminates most governance thrash.
Slidecraft and meetingcraft for the C‑suite
Lead with the line: Your slide headline should say the insight (“NRR dipped to 117% from lower expansion in Enterprise; plan to recover to 122% in Q4 via add‑on packaging”). Then put the chart beneath. This aligns with BLUF and reduces cognitive load. (Wikipedia)
Choose the fewest right charts: Sequoia warns that “picking the fewest number of correct metrics/charts to properly frame the current status” is the hard part-do it anyway. (articles.sequoiacap.com)
Reserve time for decisions: Bessemer recommends that effective boards spend two‑thirds of time on pending CEO decisions. Your agenda should reflect that split. (Bessemer Venture Partners)
Send pre‑reads; or read silently: Either share 24–48 hours in advance (Sequoia), or use Amazon’s silent reading to level‑set at the top. Both reduce meeting time wasted on exposition. (articles.sequoiacap.com)
Cap KPIs to what humans can hold: Bessemer advises 5–6 core KPIs; Cowan’s memory research explains why that limit works in practice. (Bessemer Venture Partners)
Putting it together: a 3‑artifact system you can reuse
One‑page CEO/Exec Summary (BLUF)
What changed, what you’re asking for, and the single chart that proves it. (BLUF.) (Wikipedia)
Narrative memo (or narrative deck)
SCQA intro → Pyramid body. Options, trade‑offs (EV/WSJF), recommendation, risks, kill criteria, and asks. (Texas Health Services)
Appendix / Data Room
Links to the PR/FAQ (if you’re inventing something), financial model ranges, user research, legal/security notes. (The PR/FAQ is your customer‑visible north star.) (Working Backwards)
Use the same scaffolding for board packets. Sequoia’s outline plus Bessemer’s “takeaways first” rule gives you a standard you can stamp out every quarter with minimal rework. (articles.sequoiacap.com)
Sample: Board “Big Picture” slide copy you can paste
Headline (the punchline): Beat new‑logo plan by +9% but missed expansion by −3 pts; expect NRR to recover to 122% by Q4 via new add‑on packaging and sales‑assist on Guided SSO.
ARR: $XX.XM vs plan +3.1% (drivers: EMEA new logos, U.S. mid‑market)
NRR: 119% (plan 121%); expansion softness concentrated in >1K‑seat enterprise
Gross margin: XX% (flat); COGS variance from unplanned infra spend
Runway: XX months; burn stable
Top risks: enterprise expansion, infra unit costs, hiring in data science
Asks today: approve add‑on packaging pilot; greenlight infra cost program; discuss VP Eng candidate
This is BLUF in a box: conclusion first, a few crisp facts, and explicit asks. (Wikipedia)
Conclusion
Executive teams win by making more correct decisions, faster. Use door types to set process rigor, EV/WSJF to quantify trade‑offs, and disagree and commit to keep moving when there’s no single “right” answer yet. (“I disagree and commit… Consider how much slower this decision cycle would have been if the team had actually had to convince me.”) (SEC)
And remember the human constraints behind all this: leaders can reliably reason about only a handful of moving pieces at once. Your craft-BLUF, Pyramid/SCQA, a few decisive metrics-respects that limit, which is why it works. (PubMed)