awesome-memos

A curated list of amazingly #awesome and interesting #memos.

Investing

• Buffett-Jeff Raikes email. PDF Copy. Warren Buffet and long time Microsoft exec Jeff Raikes email back and forth on how to value Microsoft as an investment.

• Howard Marks Memos. The founder and Chairman of Oaktree Capital regularly writes letters to Oaktree clients outlining his views on markets and economies. The letters read like Michael Lewis ghostwriting for Warren Buffett: insightful, direct, homespun, expert and sharply pointed. Their quality and insight have gained them a devoted readership among value investors, fund managers and smart aleck bankers who enjoy casting an erudite glow.

Platforms

• Steve Yegge on Google and Amazon platforms.PDF Copy Steve Yegge's famous "rant" to Google on how Amazon dealt with platforms. Sadly the original is no longer up after the demise of Google Plus.

• Stephen Elop's "Burning Platforms". PDF Copy. Elop's call to action to Nokia on how they need to embrace a non-homegrown platform.

Business

HP

• Dave Packard speech to HP. PDF Copy. This is speech Dave Packard gave to HP managers in 1960, from the book "The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company"

Microsoft

• Bill Gates - Tidal Wave memo. PDF Copy. Gates's memo to Microsoft's exec staff in 1995 asking them to pivot to focusing on the internet.

• Nathan Mhyrvold - Roadkill on the Information Superhighway. PDF Copy. Nathan's classic memo on how the internet will disrupt everything. I see this and Bill Gates's "tidal wave" memo and Steven Sinofsky's Cornell memo as related.

• Bob Gaskins on Powerpoin.PDF Copy. The memo outlining the pitch for Powerpoint.

• Ben Slivka's internal memo to MSFT on the web. PDF Copy. You can read more about this famous memo here.

Google

• Google's Ideological Echo Chamber. Commonly referred to as the Google memo, is an internal memo, dated July 2017, by United States-based Google engineer James Damore about Google's culture and diversity policies. The memo and Google's subsequent dismissal of Damore in August 2017 became a subject of interest for the media.

Facebook

• Mark Zuckerberg on the thesis for why Facebook should buy Unity. PDF Copy. From Blake Harris's "History of the Future", Zuckerberg lays out his reasoning for why Facebook should buy Unity.

• Andrew Bosworth on FB ads Andrew "Boz" Bosworth's strategy memo on how FB should approach ads

• Mark Zuckerberg negotiating with Kevin Systrom over the Instagram acquisition

Yahoo!

• Brad Garlinghouse "Peanut Butter" memo. PDF Copy. The famous internal memo to Yahoo from then-SVP Garlinghouse on focusing more on fewer efforts and having clearer accountability.

Starbucks

• Howard Schultz's strategy memo to Starbucks. PDF Copy. Schultz's famous strategy memo to Starbucks's leadership.

Snap

• Snap CEO's memo on Surival. Adults, not teens. Messaging, not Stories. Developing markets, not the U.S. These are how Snapchat will make a comeback, according to CEO Evan Spiegel in his 6000 word memo on Snap's survival.

VC

• Roelof Botha on his investment thesis for Youtube. PDF Copy. Roelof Botha's internal memo to Sequoia laying out an investment thesis for Youtube.

Strategy

• Joel Spolsky's business strategy letters/memos from 2000.

• Strategy Letter I: Ben and Jerry’s vs. Amazon
• Strategy Letter II: Chicken and Egg Problems
• Strategy Letter III: Let Me Go Back!
• Strategy Letter IV: Bloatware and the 80/20 Myth
• Strategy Letter V
• Strategy Letter VI

Music/Entertainment

• Jeffrey Katzenberg on Disney Studios. PDF Copy. The famous Katzenberg memo on revitalizing Disney studios.

• Dave Goldberg to Michael Lynton on the state of the music industry. PDF Copy. From the Sony hack, Dave Goldberg writes a fascinating, educational memo to Lynton on the state of the music industry.

• Walt Disney Explains How To Train Animators. Wondering how the Golden Era of Disney managed to look so good? Let Walt Disney himself break it down for you, in a wonderful 8-page memo from 1935 to Don Graham, the man tasked with teaching Disney’s animators how to reach the desired standard.

Sports/Gaming

• David Griffin to the Cavs David Griffin's famous memo to the Cavs team when they were down 1-3 in the NBA finals - which they would come back to win in one of the greatest comebacks in NBA finals history.

• Sam Hinkie's resignation letter. PDF Copy. Sam Hinkie's famous resignation letter to the owners of the 76ers. Trust the process!

Govt/Policy/Politics

• Zbigniew Brzezinski to President Carter. PDF Copy. Brzezinski's famous memo to President Carter around negotiation strategy for the Camp David accords.

• Mark Penn's positioning memo to the Clinton campaign. PDF Copy. Mark Penn, then working with the Clinton campaign, lays out a strategy to tackle the rise of one Barack Obama.

• Sorensen to Carl Albert. PDF Copy. Ted Sorensen's memo to Carl Albert preparing him for the possibility of ascending to the highest office to the land. Worth noting that they were on "opposite sides", remarkable show of bipartisanship.

Marketing

• Neil H. McElroy's memo on dedicated brand departments at P&G. PDF Copy. McElory's famous memo which lead to dedicated brand teams at P&G. Also famous for breaking P&G's "one page memo" rule!

• Ken Olsen memo on tractors. PDF Copy. Ken Olsen of DEC compares computers to tractors. H/T to Hal Berenson for sending me this.

Other resources

• Sriram Krishnan's original memos collection, which inspired the awesome-memos compilation.