Brigadier-General Eliezer Toledano, commander of the IDF's Gaza Division, is concerned that officers are spending too much time preparing PowerPoint presentations.
Toledano, who previously served as the Prime Minister's military secretary and as commander of the Paratroopers Brigade and Maglan Unit, reminded officers that slideshows are a tool to aid thinking, but do not replace brains and the need to use them.
In a letter to those serving under him, titled, "There's no Point in Power," Toledano wrote: "I understand that much of officers' time is invested in preparing slideshows. There's nothing substantial in slideshows, it's just a tool to aid thought. It doesn't replace thought."
"Discussion and thinking can be prompted with papers prepared by the discussion leader and read by participants at the beginning of the discussion. " He added that slideshows are good for visually presenting pictures, sketches, or a graph, and help the thinking and decision-making processes.
"Your time is the most precious resource you have," he emphasized. "Invest it with wisdom. No manager of a civilian company would allow his subordinates (employees) to sit facing a computer all day."