Download - Dumb Dumb Bullets Overview
Dumb-dumb Bullets
Use of PowerPoint as a Decision-Making Tool
Summary of major points in an article by T.X. Hammes in Armed Forces Journal, July 2009
Agenda
• Overview of How Servicemembers Think• Staff Work
– Before PowerPoint– After PowerPoint
• Impact of PowerPoint– Bullets– Information per Slide– Achievements– Impacts on Decisions
• Pitfalls• Conclusion
BLUF
• PowerPoint can be highly effective if used purely to convey information — as in a classroom or general background brief. It is particularly good if strong pictures or charts accompany the discussion of the material. But it is poorly suited to be an effective decision aid.
How Servicemembers Think
In Service Schools• Issues• Historical Insights• Exposure to complex and
interactive nature of decisions they make
At Their Units
Before PowerPoint
Staff prepares succinct 2-3 page paper
Decision-maker reads paper
Convene a meeting with staff or experts to discuss
Decision
After PowerPoint
Staff receives 5-minute brief
Staff prepares slides
20-minute presentation to decision-maker
5 minutes of discussion
Decision
Before vs. After PowerPoint
Before• Staff had time to prepare to
discuss the issues
After• Staff is not well-prepared to
discuss the issues
Toxic effect on staff work and decision making!
CONTRAST
Impact on Staff Work
Before PowerPoint• Intellectually demanding• Complex issue -> 2-3 pager• Coherent thoughts
developed
After PowerPoint• 20 to 60 slides• Pictures and builds• Bullets and colors• Bullets ≠ sentences• Premium placed on slide
building
Problem with Bullets• “Our personnel clearly understand the lack of clarity and depth
inherent in the half-formed thoughts of the bullet format. In an apparent effort to overcome the obvious deficiency of bullets, some briefers put entire paragraphs on each briefing slide. (Of course, they still include the bullet point in front of each paragraph.) Some briefs consist of a series of slides with paragraphs on them. In short, people are attempting to provide the audience with complete, coherent thoughts while adhering to the PowerPoint format. While writing full paragraphs does force the briefer to think through his position more clearly, this effort is doomed to failure.”
• - T.X. Hammes, “Dumb-dumb Bullets,” Armed Forces Journal, July 2009
Information per Slide
Up to 90 pieces of information per slide!Rise of the quad-chart-Four slides put into one slide for more information content per slide-Attributed to the PowerPoint Ranger
Rule of thumb is 1 minute per slide 1 minute per slide, divided by up to 20 items per slide = 2 to 3 seconds per item
PowerPoint’s Achievements
• Decreased quality of information• Changed culture of decision-making• Decision-maker days broken down into one-
hour or 30-minute segments• More decisions with less preparation
Doing more with less!
Impact on Decisions
• Type-A personalities can make more decisions• More decisions made at higher levels• Reaching down to find more decisions to make
at higher levels• Wrong person making decisions at wrong level
Wrong Level
More
Type A
Proper Use
• Information vs Decision• High-impact photos, charts, films, and humor• Not for thesis submissions• Operational decisions for immediate
implementation• In a crisis
Improper Use
• Focusing thought process on bullets and complex charts
• Outlining paragraphs with a series of bullets• Omitting details
Pitfalls
• Often disseminated to wider audience than anticipated
• Reliance on slides for records of decisions made• Future historians will hate the era
Conclusion
• The Pentagon has virtually made a cult of the PowerPoint presentation.
QUESTIONS?